In the last post, I went through the first three steps in finding the right employee. In case you missed it you can always read it by clicking HERE. The three steps were:
Now that you have written the job ad and job description, decided if you are going to hire a staffing company or signed up for Indeed.com, and your in-box is filling up with resumes – what do you do? Below is a three step plan that explains how to interview and hire the best of the best.
This is where the magic and fun begins – the interviews. This is where many business owners or managers spend way to much time. I suggest doing just three easy things that will keep you from investing all your precious time, or rushing it and hiring the wrong person.
The first is a phone call to the top six to ten resumes. The aim of this process is to confirm a few things on the resume (make sure that they are being honest), ask just how much they need to make and the most important is to get a feeling as to whether they will fit into your “work” family. The question about money is supposed to be quick at this point in the interview process. Just make sure that you and the applicant are close enough so you both can meet in the middle. If this goes well then set up your first-to-face interview. Before you end the phone call ask the applicant to bring a copy of their resume and a list of six references (three personal and three professional) to the face-to-face interview.
The second step in this process is the first face-to-face interview. What you are looking for initially is: did they bring a copy of their resume, a list of references, did they show up on time and were they dressed appropriately. If all of these are a “yes” then proceed, if not then end the interview. The purpose of this interview is to again go over the resume, see if they will fit your work family and then pose some very challenging job specific questions to them. This will vary greatly from company to company, industry to industry, and job to job. The main thing here is don’t be easy on them. If they are applying for a marketing position then ask them to (on the spot) give you a marketing plan for your company or a new product you are rolling out.
You may want to ask them to pointed questions, such as:
– What are your goals in life, and what are you doing to reach them?
– Are you involved in the community? How?
– Do you want a career or just an income?
– What books have you read lately?
Before this interview is over you will want to give them some type of personality test – I have one that I and my clients have been using for years. Shoot an email to info@PurposePlanProfit.com and I will send it to you – no charge. Lastly, if the position is somewhat high level then you and your spouse should take the person and their spouse out to dinner. You will learn a great deal about this person while they eat and chat.
The third and last step is to narrow down the applicants to two or three people. Make a phone call to your number one choice and ask if they have any questions and are they still interested in working for your company. If they are then call them in for a quick face-to-face interview and this time you go over in detail the salary and benefits. If all goes well at this point in the interview process I suggest you hire them. If you get a check in your gut or something does not go right you simply move on to your number two choice. Be sure and call the other one or two applicants and let them know of your decision.
What this process does is slow you down. It makes you hire slow – which will pay big dividends to you in the long run.