In an ideal world, you’d find the perfect candidate every time. In practice, that’s easier said than done. While no hiring process guarantees success, there are measures you can take to give yourself the best possible chance of finding excellent employees…
When you’re competing against large established businesses, hiring can be difficult. Getting the wrong people can waste precious time and resources you can’t afford to lose.
Get the right ones and they’ll help your business run smoothly and grow to the next level. Follow our tips to find great people.
Write clear job descriptions
Keep job descriptions short and to the point while still making sure they contain all the relevant information. This should include job title, number of hours to be worked (i.e. full or part-time), job location, a brief summary of the role, list of duties and key skills or qualifications required. Using bullet points can help simplify the layout so it’s more digestible.
It’s a good idea to ask someone already working in the role to check the draft copy before the advert goes out to make sure the description is accurate.
Advertise on your own website
If it doesn’t already, make sure your website has a careers page – people who already actively search your website and love what you do may be keen to work for you too.
Use analytics tools to monitor how many views your adverts get so you can rethink your job descriptions if they’re not being seen by the right people.
Consider posting videos and testimonials from people who already work for you to show the type of company culture and values that future employees can expect.
Make the most of social media
Most job searching is done online these days, often with smartphones and tablets.
Social media can help you reach a wider audience. It’s a particularly good way to target graduates and young people looking for work.
Whether you use Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, social networks are valuable recruitment tools. Your followers may share posts with their friends, which can significantly broaden your reach to potential candidates without you having to do very much.
Use alternative interview methods
Interviews are a vital aspect of the hiring process as they allow you to get to know a candidate on a personal level. However, the traditional one-to-one interview where an employer sits behind a desk and asks a nervous candidate where they think they’ll be in five years’ time doesn’t always produce the best results.
Alternative interview techniques can often give a better indication of who will fit in best with your existing employees and company culture.
Ideas include behavioural interviews where you ask potential employees how they’ve dealt with specific situations in the past, such as “how did you handle the most stressful situation you have ever found yourself in at work?”.
Check references thoroughly
References often get overlooked in the haste to hire new recruits, but they’re an important part of the hiring process because a candidate’s CV may be incomplete or even contain misrepresentations.
Don’t ask former employers for personal information about the candidate – stick to asking about how they carried out their duties and if there are any reasons why they shouldn’t be hired.
It’s policy for some organisations to only give references that contain basic information, but if possible always try to speak to the person named on the CV.
