Whether you’re a New Year’s resolution person or not, you have to admit there’s something exciting about turning over a new leaf with the coming year. As you look to grow your company in 2019, there are doubtless some areas where you’d like to improve. One critical aspect involves hiring the right people. As you seek to fine-tune your hiring processes, here are some tricks of the trade from leading recruitment companies and temp agencies.
Focus on the Goals
If you have only a nebulous idea of what you need in a potential employee, you may not make the best hiring decisions. Before you post your job opening anywhere, take some time to clearly define exactly what your goals are for the position in question. What skills should the new employee bring to the table? And which of these skills are vital vs. simply nice to have. What personality traits would be most helpful for the work environment? Working out these important details beforehand will make your hiring process more efficient.
Ask the Right Questions
We tend to ask a lot of the same questions in job interviews that we’ve been asking for many years. The problem is that they are predictable and they open the door to overly general and cliché answers. Try asking more specific questions that get to the heart of people’s character. For example, don’t ask the tired, old question, “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” Instead, you can ask something like this: “Name one or two qualities from mentors that you would most like to teach to the people you manage.” If the applicant answers too vaguely, simply ask, “Could you tell me more?” And don’t be afraid of silence while they formulate an answer. You can also try asking a difficult question about current events or history that they may not know the answer to. This trivia question may have nothing to do with the job, but it will give you a chance to see how people react under pressure or when they don’t know something.
Don’t Wait Around
If you are the recruiter for your company, don’t drag your feet. It’s tempting to fall into indecisiveness and delay hiring. Perhaps you’re second-guessing your decisions, or maybe you just want to interview one more person to solidify your choice. If you’re happy with a potential employee, though, waiting too long could backfire. There’s a rule of thumb that qualified applicants only stay in the job market for a week or two. If you snooze, you could lose.
Improve Job Descriptions
A common mistake that hiring managers make is creating excessively lengthy job descriptions. These descriptions can discourage good applicants because they think that the position is out of their league. It’s good to delineate the most important requirements so you can weed out people who don’t qualify. However, make sure to balance these requirements with details about what your company can offer applicants.
Consider the Person as a Whole
An applicant needs to have the right skill set, but use some flexibility here. Some skills can be taught on the job. You can’t, however, teach character and integrity or improve a person’s personality. An applicant may have all of the qualifications in the world but be demanding and difficult to work with. Consider how each applicant will blend with your team. As you look at potential employees as a whole, you’ll be better able to see how they will benefit all aspects of your business.
Stay Present on Social Media
You have expectations for applicants, but they have their own set of expectations for you. One of the best ways to showcase the advantages of your workplace is to engage on social media. If your social media pages show that your workplace offers a happy and up-and-coming environment, you’ll be better suited to attract top help.
Improving the hiring process allows companies to work smarter but not harder. You can recruit better people with fewer errors this year if you implement smart hiring practices.