5 Keys to Successful Hiring
Tonja Wheatley
Productive employees are a company’s most valuable resource. As a hiring manager, your ability to interview, assess and hire the best person for a position is a crucial skill. A successful hiring manager will boost company productivity and elevate their position within the company. There are several keys to increasing your success rate.
1. Know what you are looking for
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any place will do,” said Alice in Wonderland.
Have a job description for each position to be filled. Job descriptions should be specific, concise and clearly understood. It should clearly describe the job responsibilities, including the skills and traits necessary to best fill the position. If current job descriptions are in a “permanent” file, consider developing a new one or revising the current description. It is only effective if it is being used to define candidates during recruiting and hiring.
2. Do your research
The basis for future performance is a thorough study of what has been done in the past.
Gain a thorough understanding of the position you are hiring for. What has worked in the past and what are opportunities for improvement? If the previous person was promoted, what can they or their manager tell you about necessary skills for the position? If the last person in the position was not a good fit, find out what mistakes NOT to repeat.
Know what the future needs and plans are for the hiring department. Take advantage of the valuable resources available in your department and company. You may want to consider a standard survey that is completed prior to any major hiring effort. The time you spend researching will be worth its weight in gold!
3. Read “between the lines” of resumes and applications
Be aware of the following Red Flags:
Embellished job descriptions/titles
Gaps in employment
Lack of career/job growth
Lack of attention to detail
Lack of accomplishments, track record
Put together a list of “screening” questions to dig beneath the surface of applications and resumes. Screening questions might include; Give me a detailed description of your job duties, How many people did you have reporting to you? What was your “official job title?
4. Hone questioning skills
Anthony Robbins said “Successful people ask better questions and as a result, they get better answers.”
DO:
Ask open-ended/job related questions
Focus on specific skill/trait
Use follow up questions to dig beneath the surface
Control the interview with re-directing questions
DON’T
Ask unnecessary questions
Ask leading questions
Ask personal questions
Use interrogating tone
Differentiate between Skill and Trait related questions. Skill related questions are general questions that help you to understand developed or learned abilities necessary for the job. Skills are measurable and should be the focus of the initial interview. Traits are natural abilities that would help a candidate to succeed in a job. They are measured by a person’s pattern of behavior. Traits should be the focus of the “in-depth” follow-up interview.
Skill questions might center on areas such as knowledge of computer programs, industry, technical or product. Trait related questions would include areas such as organization, initiative, creativity, integrity and decision-making. Hiring a person with the traits to excel in a job can be the difference between a good hire and a great hire.
5. Assess and select candidates based on skill and traits
We all have our own personal biases and preferences. As hiring managers, we must ensure that assessments are based on job related skills and traits. If you just have a “bad feeling” about a candidate, push yourself to label the job related skill or trait that is lacking.
Beware of the common biases:
Gut Feel
Good Guy/Bad Guy
Halo Effect
Race, Sex, Age, Religion, Color, Nationality
Style of Dress
School Attended
Geographic Bias
Market/Previous Company
Common Hobbies
Most importantly, always assess candidates based on the job requirements and not compared to each other. The “best” of the worst, is usually not your best hire. Continue to learn from your mistakes and improve your process. Your efforts will be rewarded with increased productivity and lower turnover.
Articles
Finding Candidates
- 10 Reasons to Hire Vets
- Hire Older Workers
- Improving Candidate Quality
- Sourcing 101
- Sourcing Candidates Well
- Tips for Building Employment-Related Websites
- U.S. Employ of People with Disabilities: Free Workshops
- Virtual College Recruiting
Interviewing Basics
- 10 Commandments of Recruiting
- 5 Keys to Successful Hiring
- 7 Tips for Successful Phone Interviews
- Behavioral Interviewing Basics
- Contrary Evidence Questions
- Interview Questions: Do's and Don'ts
- Interviewing Opening and Closing Remarks
- Interviews: Common Weaknesses
- Mistakes Amateur Interviewers Make
- Phone Screen Interview Mistakes
- Probing Techniques Explained
- Screening Interviewing: Top 10 Red Flags
- Strengthen the Validity of Your Interviews
- Telephone Interviews: Basics
- Ten Bad Listening Habits of Interviewers
- Types of Interviews
- Typical Probes and Follow up Questions
- What Do Interviewers Need to Know to be Effective?
Interviewing Best Practices
- 7 Keys to Effective Selection Interviews
- A Closer Look at Behavior-Based Interviewing
- Advantages / Disadvantages of Interviewing
- Applying Core Competencies to Selection Interviews
- Are You Really a Behavior-Based Interviewer?
- Assessing Speaking and Listening Skills
- Best Practices in Interviewing Candidates
- Deadly Interview Mistakes
- Death by Interview
- Ensure Hiring Success in Every Situation
- Executive Assessment Should Be Mandatory
- Generational Interviewing
- Hiring Interview + Strategic Applicant Management
- Hold Evening and Off-Time Interviews
- How to Interview a Top Performer
- Improve your Interviewing Techniques
- Interview Questions to Assess Soft Skills
- Interviewing for Ethics
- Interviewing Millennials
- Interviewing: Business or Psychology
- Metrics Interview
- Peeling Back the Onion
- The Positives of Panel Interviews
- Time for Candidate Advocacy?
- Tips for Conducting Successful Interviews
- Two Critical Interviewing Questions
Laws & Documentation
- Applicant Reference Release
- At Will Employment Release
- Avoid Negligent Hiring Mistakes
- Employee Referral Program Metrics
- Fair Labor Standards Act Information
- Four Interview Questions Never to Ask
- Giving Employee References
- Hiring Compliance Guidelines
- Hiring for Small Business
- Interviewing People with Disabilities
- Job Denial Letter
- Legal Issues in Interviewing
- Minimize Employment Risks: Document
- SAMPLE Employment Policy
- SAMPLE Letter: Educational Records Check
- SAMPLE Letter: Reference Check
- Ten Safe Hiring Tools
- What is Negligent Hiring
Line Manager / Recruiting Partnership
- Defending Candidates to Hiring Managers
- Interlocking Core Competency Interviews
- Internal Application Process
- Making Internships Work for You
- Making the Case for Behavioral Interviewing
- Non-Traditional Merit Pay Alternatives
- OFCCP Definition of an Internet Applicant
- Why Managers Shouldn't Do Most Hiring
- Workforce Planning: Strategic Staffing Strategy
Post-Interview
Pre-Planning & Retention
- Bonus or Incentive?
- Brand-Building on a Budget
- Build a First-Rate Hiring Process
- Closing the Deal
- Compensation Plans: An Overview
- Conducting an Exit Interview
- Good Hiring Starts with a Good Job Profile
- Improve the Quality of the Employment Function
- Interview Process Problems
- Interview the Job Before the Candidates
- Job Description Template-Link Pay to Performance
- Linking Pay to Company Performance
- Selecting and Using Salary Surveys
- Succession Planning
- Succession Planning: Identifying Top Performers
- Using a Pre-Interviewing Questionnaire
- Winning the War for Talent
- Worker Shortage by 2010: Preparation
Reading the Candidate
- Beware of Those Who Boast
- Blind Man's Bluff
- Decision, Decisions: Choosing the Better Applicant
- Detecting Deceit in Interviews
- Little White Lies on Resumes
- Suspend Judgment Until the Interview is Over
Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Essentials
- Cut Down on Interview No Shows
- Discouraging Low Quality Applicants
- Don't Hold Too Many Interviews
- Job Descriptions: Why are they Important?
- New Strategies for Screening Job Candidates
- Preventing Resume Overload with Questionnaires
- Resume Review Basics
- Test Validation Explained
- The Value of Person-Organization Fit
- Three Companies Cut Turnover with Tests
Recruiting Best Practices
- 25 Telltale Signs of the Wrong Candidate
- 5 Overlooked Ways to Hire Winners
- Asking the Right Recruitment Questions
- Attracting Your Competitor's Employees
- BPR.......for Recruiters!
- Candidate Engagement
- Cloud Recruiting
- Evaluate Your Capture Strategy
- Hiring Best Practices
- How Do You Attract and Retain the Best People?
- How to Attract Applicants to Undesirable Jobs
- How to Attract, Develop and Retain Best People
- How to Find and Keep Valued Employees
- Ignorance and the Human Condition
- Onboarding Success Secrets
- Secrets to Non-Profit Hiring
- Selecting Top Management Talent
- Semi-Active Candidates are Best Bets
- Six Core Selling Principles
- Skills Based Recruiting: When, not How
- Smart Choices: How to Hire the Best
- Strategy for Hiring the Best This Year
- The Uses and Misuses of Personality Tests
- Top 10 Employee Selection Mistakes & Solutions
- Treat Candidates with the Carbon Rule