You’ve realized you need to hire someone else. Now what?
Even if you needed a new hire “like yesterday,” it’s important to take a step back and put thought into a recruiting process. An effective recruiting process provides detail for you and candidates to ensure you both find the right fit. Here are 5 essential steps for an effective recruiting process for the right hire.
Create a thought-driven job description:
Like many of the projects we assist our clients with, we advise managers to use their firm’s mission, vision, and values as guardrails for this process. Include them in your job description so candidates know your cultural must-haves as well as your technical must-haves.
Get the word out:
Managers can pool candidates from recruiting sites like Indeed, Monster, and ZipRecruiter, but some of the best candidates can be mined from your current employees or clients. A referral source can offer insight and a trustworthy opinion of a candidate’s skills and character.
Screen your candidates:
After making top choices, perform a phone screen. This will save you from an interview with a candidate who has poor manners or less-than-professional diction. We also recommend searching the candidate’s social media activity. I once found a candidate who had a perfect resume and lovely phone etiquette, but her Twitter was filled with racy pictures and vulgar language. Needless to say, I pursued other options.
Prepare for your interviews:
Stephanie is a huge fan of behavior-based questions; past behavior is a great indicator of future performance. Instead of asking “Are you a hard worker?” (which, obviously, everyone will answer “yes” to) try “Tell me about a time where the work day ended before you completed your objectives for the day.” A candidate that stuck around after closing time may be a better fit than one who saved the work for the next day. Make sure to also be prepared for questions a candidate may ask you.
Cover your bases:
Stephanie also recommends that you take the time to follow up with your candidates’ references and previous employers. Though they may not be at liberty to discuss the specifics of the candidate’s job responsibilities or why they left, you can always ask “Is this person eligible for re-hire?” It may not be a deal-breaker, but it’s good to know when making a hiring decision. We also recommend performing a background check (with consent) to avoid potential liability and ensure peace of mind.
Does your business have a recruiting process?