Don’t Make Bad Hiring Decisions

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

When it comes to hiring it doesn’t matter if you are recruiting for your large company or just because you are a freelancer need some help in the day to day running of things. Sometimes making the wrong hiring decision can have a massive impact on your business goals and progress.

Although you can ever be 100% sure about the person you have hired until they have been working with you for a while, there are a few tips that you can use to try and be pretty confident you got it right the first time.

Be Clear

Often there can be a miscommunication about what the role really involves. Leading people with about a 70% skills match applying for the position. Whose fault is this? Well, yours actually. When you are writing out the job description, you need to make sure that as well as making it appealing, you are actually writing down the skills in your ideal candidate. Be clear on the following:

  • Objectives
  • Responsibilities
  • Requirements
  • Pay
  • Hours
  • Location

If the role is fluid, then describe an average day in your company so they can get a better idea of what they are applying for. If you are hiring for a very skilled rolled you should think about how to automate employee recruitment for hard-to-find skills.

Spread The Word

Now there is so many websites that people look for work it is worth remembering that you should be aiming to have your listing on as many as possible. The talented person you are looking for might be a night owl living in Australia, or the might be an early bird in Mexico. The more bases you cover, the more likely you are to find the right person for the position.

Are just a few places that you can pin your recruitment notice.

The Extras Count

When it comes to personality, that is what you will be working alongside. The skill, of course, will matter, but if you can get along with someone who doesn’t have all of the skills but is almost there the chances are you will work better together in the long run.

When you are looking over the CVs be sure to read the cover letter to get an idea of who they are in their everyday life. Have they written the typical answer of ‘I like to spend time with friends and family’ for what they do outside of work, or have they written something more interesting?

References

There are rules now as to what a previous employer can and cannot say about an ex-employee, however, if there were any real issues they will be able to identify them and let you know. Make the time to email or call the people that are listed as references. Have a look at what their previous employers do as well, you can begin to build a great profile of this person.

Interviews

Aside from ensuring that they are who they say they are, you should also take this opportunity to talk to them on a level beyond just an employee/employer relationship. If you can have a conversation, and the chemistry is working out, then that is usually a good sign. You won’t gel with everyone, so even if they look great on paper, they might not be who you are looking for.

There is a lot to consider when you are hiring in a smaller company, the wrong person can really shake things up so remember to hire slow, fire fast. If they don’t fit in or the balance isn’t right to protect your current staff and business.