Many of you are new entrepreneurs that are just breaking their first business out on the market. There is no “one size fits all” method for hiring employees, but there are some basic guidelines to help grow your company’s success. Over time, these tips can be implemented into your hiring practices and will benefit both your company and employees in the long run.
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Identify Your Business Needs
You can’t hire the right people without first understanding what your business needs are. To do that, you have to identify what positions need to be filled in your organization and what kinds of employees you want to fill these vacancies.
Create a clear job description and a list of qualifications the potential employee should have, then set out to find candidates who can meet those requirements.
Your job requirements will vary based on your business. For example, you may need someone who has specific technical skills in software development or graphic design. Or perhaps you need someone with management skills. If so, look for people with experience leading other people in similar positions of responsibility.
Look at the experience of candidates against your job requirements. If they don’t meet what you need, continue looking for more qualified applicants. Give candidates with no or little experience a chance. Remember that a diamond in the rough only needs to be polished, and it will shine spectacularly.
Look Beyond the Resume
You should always check candidates’ resumes, but don’t rely on them entirely. Instead, do some research about the candidates’ experiences and qualities.
For example, you can check candidates’ resumes for their education levels and years of employment to find out how long they’ve been in the workforce. You can also assess their degree of experience by looking at job descriptions to determine what they’ve done in their positions.
You can also ask about candidates’ accomplishments to determine how they’ve contributed to their previous workplace. You can find out facts about candidates by checking their references as well.
Plan Your Interview Strategy and Questions
Knowing your business needs and your job requirements will help you plan your hiring strategy. But you’ll need to go beyond that to conduct the best interviews.
Using the questions below can help you get more out of your interviews:
- What are the candidate’s interests outside of work? This question allows candidates to speak more freely about what they like, so it’s an excellent way to assess their personalities and work ethics. The answers will also give you a sense of whether or not they will add value to your company.
- What are the candidate’s strongest skills? This question will give you insight into how candidates think. You’ll see how they discuss their abilities and how good they are at doing their jobs. If they can’t discuss their strengths, then they’re probably not confident in those areas. This may be a warning sign that they’re not fully committed to their work.
However, give them the benefit of the doubt. Many highly talented people do not like to brag about their skills and accomplishments. Moreover, some jobs do not require employees to have superb communication skills. Hence, they may be remarkable at their jobs, but they just can’t talk well.
- How would you describe your performance? Some people are hesitant to talk about their work, so this question helps them to tell you what they did well or areas in which they excelled. It also allows them to describe how their recent accomplishments have impacted other people’s lives.
- Why do you want to work for us? This question helps candidates to connect with you based on who you are as a company. It’s an opportunity for them to put a human face to your company and see what you stand for as a business. It also helps them think about their personal goals since it will help them understand if they’d fit within your company culture.
Hire a Background Checker
Employees are entrusted with access to your company’s most sensitive information. Everyone has something of value to steal from personal data, financial records, and confidential corporate secrets. Investing in the right background checker can help you make better hiring decisions and keep your company safe from security breaches.
Conduct a Social Media Screening
According to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 57 percent of employers have found something on social media that led them not to hire a candidate. Social media is a part of life, and many people use these platforms to express their ideologies and beliefs, communicate with other people, get information, and do transactions. Companies may look through candidates’ social media accounts to determine whether the applicant will be an excellent fit for the organization’s culture.
Employers want people who align with their mission, vision, core values, goals, and advocacies. Social media is one of the ways to learn more about a candidate and determine if they’re a perfect match.
The Bottom Line
Even though finding the right person for a job is a complex and time-consuming process, many employers have done it and aced the process. It just takes some effort. Strive to find the right candidate who not only has the skills you need but also meets your other requirements. Then follow up with background checks to ensure that you have hired the best and most reliable people for your business.
