Newly Hired or Newly Fired. Hire Right the First Time!

Newly Hired or Newly Fired. Hire Right the First Time!

Have you ever hired someone who looked great on paper and seemed to fit the exact job description during the interview that turned out to be a total flop? Many company owners of today’s workforce have had an employee or possibly multiple employees that went from newly hired to newly fired, which is why I want to share some tips that will help you with your candidate selection process and conducting the most effective interview. Follow these simple ideas and you’ll be sure to hire the right person the first time around!

How to pick the right resumes.
First things first. You have to attempt to select the best resumes out of that monstrous file that came through your inbox. Not only can it be overwhelming to sort through all the resumes that potential candidates submit for a job opening, but how are you even going to be able to tell which of these candidates are qualified for the position based on a piece of paper with similar skill sets and education? Not to worry, I can promise you that you are not the only employer who has encountered this dilemma. When sorting through resumes, the best way to get started is by looking at applicants who meet all the job requirements and possess the necessary skills. For now, you can set all the other applications off to the side and review later if needed. It may also be helpful to have other co-workers engage in your screening to process to see how another opinion might see the benefit of a particular trait of an applicant. Once you have selected the resumes from candidates who meet the requirements, you can begin to further sort this list by coming up with a system to select your top candidates. My recommendation would be to reach out to all of these candidates and have them take a personality test (Which we will cover in more detail later in this post) and/or have them take a writing test to better understand their writing and communication skills.

Make sure they have the right personality type.
How do you know that the person you are interviewing isn’t just putting on a front and saying that they have the certain personality traits that fit this job description? It can often be difficult to tell in these situations, but one of the most creative ways you can see if your interviewee has the traits your looking for could be to have them take a personality test. Sounds a little cliche right? But have them answer these questions without thinking too long to exhibit their natural responses to most accurately find out what their personality traits are. Maybe you just happen to be working on a new product line for your company and you need someone who is an extrovert in terms of their personality to help you boost the PR and social interaction of your marketing campaign. Some of the recommended personality tests can be found on Myers-Briggs, Human-Metrics, etc. Remember, you don’t want to hire someone who just performs well in an interview, unless you’re hiring an actor. You want to hire the person who brings unique traits that haven’t yet been fulfilled to take your company’s business to the next level.

Ask the right questions.
When conducting your interview, you want to be sure that you are asking your candidates the right questions. You’re main goal of the interview should be to identify if they can fulfill the requirements and demonstrate the necessary skill sets for this particular position. Many companies simply ask the more basic questions that are quite easy for candidates to expect and prepare for. Where you can really separate the good from the great are by asking them less traditional questions that challenge their experience and intellectual characteristics. This can show you which candidates are actually able to handle the pressure in complex situations and have the confidence to keep their cool under the heat of the responsibilities that the particular position entails. So, how do you go about asking the right questions? Like I said before, you need to come up with less generic questions that identify more with the position you are hiring for and that give the interviewee the ability to show you a greater side of their personality. An interview shouldn’t be a nerve racking experience for you or the person you’re interviewing, so here are some ideas and questions you can ask that can you help keep the process fun and essential for you’re candidate selection process:

1. We’re looking to take this company to the next level now and are looking for someone who can make a noticeable difference in our expansion. What do you envision yourself accomplishing at this company that could impact the progress and growth of our business within a short-term period?

-Asking this question not only lets your interviewee know that you are serious about fulfilling this position, but it also pushes them to share their best skill sets with you to prove to you how nobody else wants to help the company achieve its goals more than them. You’ll really be able to tell who did their research about your company with this question and who was actually able to envision themselves working in the company’s atmosphere.

2. What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment throughout your life and what steps did you take in staying focused and meeting your expected goal?

-The important factors to recognize with your interviewee’s response to this question is their motivation to achieve goals and if that motivation will correlate into the position you are hiring for. This question also allows you to recognize their ability to meet deadlines and also show commitment to tasks that they are performing, not only doing them just to finish them, but putting forth the effort into producing their finest work that will generate more business and customer satisfaction. Chances are that the interviewee will be inclined to familiarize you with their work and how it has enhanced their acquired traits and characteristics.

3. Tell me about a time where you have messed up a project or task and there was nothing you could do to fix your mistake. How were you able to cope with that situation and what did you learn from your experience?

-No matter how perfect we might be, sometimes we are just going to fail, which is why it is important to see how your interviewee is able to react when it doesn’t go their way. Here’s where those personality traits from the personality test can come in handy! You want to find out if they are able to take responsibility for their own actions, while also identifying how they are able to learn from their mistakes.

Don’t just hire them based on credentials. Have them prove them selves.
Let’s pretend that you’re in an interview and you are covering your applicants resume with them to evaluate their skills and experience. You glance at their education and notice that they have a degree from Stanford. Great, they studied hard and passed their classes! Unfortunately this doesn’t always mean that they’re going to excel at the job you are hiring for, so be prepared to ask them “Well, what did you learn in your classes that would give you an advantage with this position?” or “Were there any specific assignments or projects that were able to contribute to any of your professional or working experience”? You want to make sure that you are hiring on what they can do and how they are going to help your company or business succeed. The same idea goes for where they have worked in the past because they may have very well worked at a highly regarded company in the past, but who knows the actual reason they are no longer there and if their skill sets lived up to the expectations of other companies and their employees, which is why it is critical to be confident in the skills that your interviewee claims to possess and be sure that they will be able to demonstrate them on a daily basis.

Now you’re ready to put these newly learned tips to the test and be confident in making the decision to declare the best person for the job. Just remember that it is important to ask the right questions because the interviewee who is actually prepared and qualified will be able to develop responses that tie in directly with your responses, which display their skill sets and intellectual thinking.