Move your recruitment process up to the next level and avoid making a bad hire by following these simple steps.
Making a bad hire can prove hugely costly to your business. Not only will you have to go through the whole recruitment process all over again, but a bad hire can severely dent team morale.
Protect yourself from making a hiring misjudgement by following these simple rules and ensuring your next hire is a good one.
Read the CV thoroughly
Sometimes a CV will tell you everything you need to know about whether a candidate will be a good hire or not. Check their experience and work history. If it reads like a shopping list with little detail or depth, then the chances are they don’t have all that much experience. Similarly, if a candidate seems to jump from job to job every six months, that could well be a sign that they’re not going to stick around for long.
Check their suitability
In today’s digital-ready world, it’s all too easy for applicants to simply fire off job applications with the click of a button and without putting much thought into it. That means that you’ll get a lot of candidates who simply aren’t suitable for the vacant role. Save yourself some time later on by filtering out the unsuitable applicants straight away, whether they’re over- or underqualified.
Watch out for interview danger signs
If applicants get to the face-to-face stage, there are certain things that should be an immediate red flag to interviewers. If a candidate turns up late, poorly put together, or worse for wear from the previous night these should be an automatic “no”. Similarly, a candidate who seems indifferent in the role or is more interested in complaining about their previous boss should set off alarm bells.
Ask the right things
During the interview process, you’ll get the chance to ask the candidates questions that will let you know whether they’re right for the job — so make the most of it! Think outside the usual “Name a time when you’ve shown leadership” and really get them thinking. Just be sure to ask every candidate the same questions to make sure you’re comparing them on a level playing field.
Get them asking questions
You should also give the interviewee the opportunity to ask you some questions as it will a great insight into what they’re looking for from the job. If their questions centre around what they can get out of the job — think “is there free gym membership?” and “how much annual leave do I get?” — then the chances are that they aren’t the right hire for you.
Images courtesy of Press Association
