When asked what their biggest frustration was, over 30% of managers surveyed said they wish they were better at hiring.
In the early stages of my career, I remember feeling that way as a manager. I was hiring a lot of people who, in the interview, came across as a good fit., but once they started workingand we got past the honeymoon phase, it became clear they weren’t the right fit. It was super frustrating.
Can you relate?
It’s all too easy to hire the wrong person. You quickly size up the candidate, you think of yourself as a good judge of character, and your busy, so you can’t take all day getting to know someone.
But those mistakes in the hiring process affect your bottom line in lost production and inefficiencies. Also, it costs $25,000 or more on average to turn over a new employee.
I learned from my early mistakes and in the process, I created a hiring and on-boarding process that is proven (by not just me but hundreds of clients) to get much better qualified and long-term employees.
In today’s video (and in the text below) we’ll talk about how you can get more insight into whether a candidate is the right fit, has the right skills, and will succeed in the job for years to come.
My frustration with hiring the wrong people over and over pushed me to learn how to hire better. I learned that one of the key steps was knowing how to ask better questions and listen for the right answers. That’s one of the ways you’ll know with confidence which person is right for the job.
A headhunter told me recently that 4 out of 5 candidates tell her that the perspective employer mostly talked about the company and barely asked them any questions.
What to do differently:
Ask questions gives you the inside scoop into…
- The candidate’s depth of skill, practices, and qualifications to do the job well
- How they think, their strengths, weaknesses, and how they problem solve
- Who the candidate is, not just on paper, but as a person
Once you know what to ask – and what to listen for – you will begin to truly know if this person is a right fit, or not. In the video I go into this in more detail.
Here’s why… When you look at a resume that says Project Manager, you make assumptions about what that means. But sometimes the same job title is completely different at your company compared to the company that person is leaving.
When you know what questions to ask to go beyond the resume, you gain a whole different understanding of who that person is, and if they are really qualified to do the job.
At the bottom of this post, you’ll find a link to the questions to use the next time you’re interviewing, and what to listen for too. That last part – what to listen for – is key to making the right hire because often times, what a person does NOT say is just as important as what they do say.
Knowing how to conduct the interview to gain more insight into a person’s background, their experience, and their motivations will give you confidence that you’re making the right hire.
And it’s a 2-way street. You want to ensure it’s a good fit for them too, so you can keep a good employee for a long time.
So download the free resource below and bring it with you to your next interview. You’ll find that you’ll walk out the interview knowing whether the candidate is the right fit to make a great employee.
I’d love to hear a strategy you use that has helped you hire better. Leavea comment below or out to me on LinkedIn or Facebook.
Warmest,
P.S. Each of the interview questions has tips on what to listen for as people respond. Those tips can help you listen for the right skills, experience, and personality. And you’ll stop feeling uncertain as to whether that person can really do the job.
PPS. I’ve got this great tool called “Contractors Hiring Blueprint” that walks you through how to find, recruit, screen, interview, and onboard new employees. The videos and hand-outs are super easy to follow and use!