In an interview setting, everyone is on their best behavior. Looking at the candidate sitting across from you, what factors should determine whether you end up hiring them or not? It can be a struggle to truly weed out the competent and experienced from those less so, but learning how to do so will greatly improve your business. Follow these three tips before starting the hiring process!
Improve Your Interview Process
There are lots of great interview questions that help you get to know a person, but not the level of experience they’ve actually had. Improve your interviews by focusing on competency-based questions that require a candidate to provide you specific examples of their work ethic and ability—and then follow up on those assertions when you call their references later. If you’re still not sure, it may be a good idea to organize a test of competency that candidates also must complete as part of the interview process.
Make Sure They’re Licensed
Before their interest in the position, candidates are basically strangers. Making sure that you’re hiring employees who are licensed in the state you do business is essential. This will help you to not waste your time on candidates that are not qualified. A suspended professional license can result from a crime such as a DUI. Checking on their license also can help you know you’re taking on an employee who is responsible and can be trusted.
Create a Talent Pool
Oftentimes when a position goes vacant, employers have to scramble to get a replacement lined up to fulfill needed duties. This is when an error of judgement is more likely to occur, so preparing yourself in advance for the hiring process is essential. When filling a position, you may come across many applicants that are competent and experienced—but the ones you don’t ultimately choose don’t have to be entirely discarded. Keeping their information and offering to let them know of future openings will help you gather a pool of competent candidates, who you can also reach out to when in need instead of relying solely on internet posts.
You can’t know everything about a person after one meeting with them. There are ways, however, to narrow down your pool of candidates to get the best of the bunch. When you end up with a highly competent and experienced addition to your team, it will have been worth the effort!
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