How to Avoid Hiring the Wrong Person

Employees are a business’s most important resource and the impact of hiring a new employee is felt from company profits to company culture.

Making the wrong hiring decision can be expensive – costing time and money. Hiring the wrong person can also damage employee morale and productivity as well as customer relationships.

While it’s impossible to guarantee every hire will be the perfect fit, there are measures you can take to make the hiring process more effective. This article outlines how you can avoid hiring the wrong people.

Provide Clear Job Descriptions

Many job postings offer information about the company but not enough about the job. Craft a clear job description outlining the following

• Job function – Describe the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities for this job. Candidates want to know what their workday will entail. Explain what the expectations are for the role.
• Qualifications – Define the requirements for the position including education, previous experience, and skills. Include any specific obligations such as frequent travel or working on the weekend.
• Values and corporate culture – Tell the candidate how the open job fits into the rest of the company, what benefits you offer and what type of work environment they should expect.

The more details you provide, the more time you will save in not interviewing unqualified candidates or those who are not a good fit.

Do Your Research

Job seekers usually do research on employers before they apply so it’s important to do your own research on the candidate.

Review their social media profiles to find out more information on the candidate especially their LinkedIn page. See if you have any connections in common and, if so, contact the connection to get their opinion on the candidate.

Pro tip from CEO himself Jeff Arnett, founder of an event security product manufacturer:

“To get a better idea about the candidate, you may want to conduct a phone screen with the candidate to help pull your research together”.

Improve Your Brand Image

Whether it is on social media or your business website, a strong brand image can help attract potential employees. Most job seekers research employers online before they apply. They visit your website and social media channels. You may have a great reputation with those who know your business but there are many candidates who won’t.

Review your company website. Is your brand clearly communicated? Ensure job seekers can find enough information about your business online.  Create a career section to provide resources potential employees may need and send a clear message about what working at your company is about. You should include information about benefits, testimonials from current employees, etc. Benefits are important to any job seeker and including testimonials from employees show what their experience is from working with you. These testimonials can also serve as content you can share to your social media as well, giving off a better company image for your business online.

A marketing expert for an online kitchen and bath renovator; Wesley Ward, claims:

“Take your business social media seriously. Make sure you are consistently posting, and all content is consistent with the brand image you are trying to project. Almost everyone uses social media today so most candidates will check out what you post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.”

Make sure all your social media channels are listed on your website as seen above for your audience to look at.

When posting, create a balance between your business/services, promotions, culture, employee shout-outs, company events, and life at the office. There are also apps available such as Preview for Instagram, which allows you to add images and rearrange them to predict how your feed would look like. Potential employees want to see what working with you is all about.

Interviewing

A person may have a powerful resume but may not be the right fit, making face-to-face interviews a critical piece of the hiring process. When the candidate comes in for an interview, pay attention to how the individual performs.

A good candidate will perform and speak well, leave a good impression on you and the team. Depending on whether you conduct interviews individually or in groups, you should evaluate the candidate on how well they performed both in the individual interview along with the group interview.

During the interview, perhaps ask the candidate what their values are and what company culture they see themselves working in, to make sure they fit with the business. When employees share the same values a company, they are more likely to be happy and succeed within that environment.

Here are some warning signs to watch out for during an interview:

• Not dressed appropriately and professionally – every ideal candidate must know how to dress appropriately for an interview
• Do not arrive on time (unless they have a specific emergency) – punctuality is very important in any business which is why candidates should plan accordingly and arrive on time
• Speak negatively about their previous employers and jobs – Not only is it unprofessional but it is a sign of negativity.
• Vague responses to questions – Candidates with the required skills and experience will speak confidently when responding to questions. If the candidate is very vague or fuzzy about their response, it means they aren’t confident about their answer.

The wrong hiring decision can be a costly mistake, both in time and money. It’s essential to do everything possible to avoid a bad hire. Create a great marketing strategy for your business and for the potential employees you wish to attract. Be very specific about the resumes you look at and make sure they include a cover letter and eliminate those who do not meet your requirements to save you time. To ensure you hire the right people, use the steps you learned in this article next time you have an open position.