“I know we didn’t follow the process, but trust me, this person is perfect for the role.” Unfortunately, over the last 16 years, I’ve heard this phrase many times from clients. Most of the time, it ends in disaster.
You may know what I’m talking about. A few hours after you post a job opening on LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter or Glassdoor, your inbox is flooded with resumes — most of which aren't even close to being a good fit for the role you need to fill. (I once had an executive with a Harvard MBA apply for an entry-level marketing position.)
You narrow the list down to a handful of candidates to interview. Out of this group, you really connect with one person and fall in love with their personality and qualifications. Despite the fact that they don't look perfect on paper, you offer them the job, certain that they’ve got the raw materials to be a perfect fit for your small business.
A few weeks after they start, your gut says maybe this wasn’t the right decision. Six months later, you’re 90% certain that this person is a bad fit, but you hold out hope that they’ll turn it around. A year later, they make a mistake so egregious that you’re forced to escort them from the building.
When you consider their salary, benefits and the amount of energy you spent worrying about them, you may recognize that “disaster” is an understatement.
Hire Slow
Hiring the perfect person isn’t magic. No matter what you do, you will probably make mistakes. (I once hired an executive assistant who didn’t know how to open an attachment to an email.)
However, you can significantly improve your chances of finding a person who's a great fit by following a disciplined process. I’ve used these eight simple tactics for more than a decade with hundreds of small businesses.
1. Begin with the end.
Resist the urge to tell even your spouse that you need to hire someone until you’ve laid out the individual’s job duties and the characteristics of the ideal candidate. When doing this, keep in mind that 80% of what you need them for can likely be described in three or fewer bullet points, and there’s a handful of key qualities that they must have to be a good fit.
2. Fill the pipeline.
Just like finding new clients, start this process with qualified leads — the more the better. I recommend that you begin by tapping your professional network (suppliers, clients, employees), and then move on from there by exploring the limitless web-based tools (LinkedIn, Indeed, SimplyHired, etc.) available. If it's a high-level role that you recognize will be difficult to fill, I would consider working with a recruiter.
3. Eliminate the nonsense.
Depending on the amount of effort you put into generating leads, you may drown in resumes. If this is the case, put together a simple set of criteria to get rid of the candidates who apply for everything so that your search is manageable. These criteria could include location, college education, years of experience, etc.
4. Email candidates first.
Once you’ve found a handful of qualified resumes, it’s tempting to start scheduling interviews. Before you commit any time to meet a candidate, I suggest that you send them an email with one question: "Fast-forward three years, and imagine that your career has gone perfectly — what does it look like?" You’ll learn a ton from this short request including: Do they respond quickly? Can they communicate effectively? And is your position the next logical step in their career?
5. Call them second.
If you like their email response, it’s time to get them on the phone for a quick call. Unless the role requires thinking quickly on their feet, I recommend that you send them no more than two questions in advance of the call (e.g., "Can you describe your best/worst manager?"). This phone call will tell you a lot about the individual's ability to carry on a conversation.
6. Conduct a face-to-face interview third.
I've found that only after the previous two steps is it appropriate to schedule an interview in your office, because your time is extremely valuable. This interview should be carefully scripted to ensure that they're the best candidate for the role. The questions you ask will be influenced by what you’ve learned about them through their resume, their email response and the phone call. Your goal in this process is not to make a new friend — it’s to see whether this person can help your business grow.
7. Have them take a personality assessment.
I’ve discovered over the years that my gut is often wrong — I tend to trust and like people too easily. And you may be a lot like me. That’s why, before making an offer to anyone, have them take a third-party personality assessment (DiSC profile, CliftonStrengths assessment, etc.) that will provide you with an objective analysis.
8. Check their references.
There are two types of references — the ones the candidate provides and those that you find on your own (LinkedIn contacts from their previous employer, etc.). For the first type, start by asking them a simple question: “Would you hire this person?” If there’s a pause for longer than a second, you don't need to ask anything else. If they say “Yes,” ask them, “Why?” For the second type of reference, you can be very open-ended: “I’m thinking of adding this person to my team. Can you tell me about them?”
Finally, before making an offer, it's important that you find at least two people who are both qualified to do the job. This allows you to compare their strengths and weaknesses.
I know what you’re probably thinking: “This seems like a lot of work.” You’re right — it is. But the alternative (truckloads of stress, wasted opportunities, lost revenue, etc.) is worse.
Slow down and take time to upgrade your team with the best fit — not just a warm body.
