Tips for recruiting the right people by Neil Debenham
If you’ve been stung by an endless ream of people who aren’t fit for the job, it’s time to find someone who is committed to their career. Don’t waste any more time and effort.
Neil Debenham, a business adviser and corporate consultant, has these words of wisdom for those looking to recruit the best people for their company.
Advertise the vacancy well
A good starting place when recruiting is transparency. Lay everything out there by making sure all the job requirements, experience, knowledge and skills that are essential are clearly advertised. Not only does this save precious time in trawling through candidates who don’t fit the bill, but it will help you evaluate candidates and attract those who fit all your criteria, says Neil Debenham.
If it’s not an urgently needed position, it’s always worth hiring an intern – someone you could mould into the perfect member of staff. They would cost less in the initial years but on the downside, they may also leave the company when they’ve learned their skills.
Look beyond the CV
“CVs can cause all kinds of problems because from time to time, I find that people do lie. They don’t want to say they went travelling for a year because they’re embarrassed for some reason, so instead they spent the year in a call centre, only to be hung out to dry when references are sought,” Neil says.
But a CV isn’t everything. While it may show that someone is very capable of the job you want them to do, it isn’t a great way of testing their learning and analytical skills. After all, you want them to be able to pick up how to use your new system, quickly, right? A confident candidate is fantastic but at the end of the day, their work ethic and ability to learn are vital.
Ask the right questions
The job interview is a powerful factor in hiring an employee but the questions asked are the crux of hiring the right employee.
Interview questions that help you separate desirable candidates from average candidates are fundamental. Don’t ask leading questions or your typical ones that people would have prepared for, such as, ‘what are your weaknesses?’. No one is ever going to say they’re never on time or they don’t brush their teeth before work but everyone will say they’re a perfectionist. Yawn. Try to use examples where your interviewee will be put on the spot or have to think of a really good example, perhaps they may solve a problem.
See how they’d fit in
When it comes to hiring new staff, references are everything. You’ll need the newbie to fit in with your current team as any friction will cause a dip in productivity. Assess their compatibility skills and ask their previous employers how well they engaged and how they got on with clients. If you have any doubt about their ability to collaborate with others, they’re not a good fit for your team.
Neil adds: “Checking out their social media is also a great way to see how they interact with people. Are they witty, sensitive or extroverted? And is the person you see there, the right fit for your company?”
Interviews and feedback
It may be that several of your team sit in on the interviews and this is a fantastic way to get everyone involved in the hiring decision. But getting feedback from others around your building who interacted with the interviewee is vital. Ask the receptionist if they were polite. Did they make conversation? What was their first impression?
Are they a curious candidate?
When Neil Debenham is hiring people, he loves the part where he asks if his potential recruit has any questions. Everyone knows you need to come to a job interview having researched the position but how well did they listen to your information about it in interview?
Neil says; “Hearing their questions tells you a lot about how they process information and respond to a situation in real-time. A super employee needs to be a great learner so being exceptionally curious is the crux behind high productivity and out-of-the-box ideas.”
You can follow Neil Debenham on Instagram , Twitter and Linked In