4 Simple Tips to Hire the Best Employees for Your Business
Whether you own a business or you’ve been assigned to manage one, you know that a lot goes into running it smoothly. Hiring great employees is a big part of maintaining order and achieving success for any company. The question is: how do you know which people to hire? While a person’s resume can serve as a helpful guide during the hiring process, someone who looks good on paper may not always be as ideal as he or she appears to be. There are several other factors to consider when you’re adding a member to your team. Here are four simple tips to hire the best employees for your business:
1. Dig deeper
Resumes can be littered with clichés and phrases that potential employees think hiring managers want to hear. It’s best to sort through all the “mumbo jumbo” and determine what the candidate really knows how to do. An excellent way to do this is to ask him or her elaborate on relevant experience and qualifications. This will help you find out what this person really brings to the table. If you aren’t satisfied with the answers you’re given, you may want to continue with your hiring hunt.
2. Test their skills
Once you’re sure potential employees know their stuff, you should see if they understand how to apply it. Ask for samples of related work or even give each applicant a mock project to complete within a few days. With the job market like it is, most people will be more than willing to hand over the appropriate documents and do anything else they need to if it means securing positions within your company. If they don’t seem cooperative, those people aren’t motivated enough to work for you anyway.
3. Pay attention to personality
When it comes to the hiring process, there’s more to a person than just a skill set. An interview provides a great opportunity to talk with a potential employee and determine if his or her personality would be a good fit for your company. If the position that’s up for grabs involves interacting with the general public, this tip is especially important. Anyone you hire will serve as the face of your business. That means you’ll want to weed out the people who are too introverted or don’t have a likeable demeanour. Even if your business model doesn’t involve face-to-face interaction with customers, the candidate will likely be communicating with coworkers and supervisors on a regular basis. Strive to hire someone who has a personality that is well-suited to your staff to ensure overall cohesion among the group.
4. Go with your gut
Sometimes you might have several applicants that could easily fill the position you have open. Still, you’ll most likely find yourself being drawn to a particular candidate for some reason. In that case, you should always trust your instincts. Often, you may like that person because he or she shares your vision or displays excitement about the job. Either of those explanations can be enough to give a particular applicant the edge. If things don’t turn out as anticipated, you can always return to the other candidates you have on file and give someone else a chance. However, you should always go with your gut feeling first. Your inclination will likely be the right one.
No matter what type of business you’re running, it’s important for you to put ample time and consideration into the employees you hire. Having workers that are pleasant and productive is essential for any company’s success. If you’ve been looking for some hiring advice, give these easy and useful tips a try. You just may end up building the perfect team!
Heather Hughes is a freelance writer who graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in telecommunications from Lee University. She has written numerous articles, reviews, blog posts, and essays for various websites and organisations. She also served as a regular contributing Perspective columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel.