21 Feb Hire, Don’t Fire

When you hire the best person for the job, you are much less likely to have to fire them. Making a good hiring decision in the first place is the key to employee retention.

The trick to hiring the right person for the job is to create a filtering system to bypass the practiced answers that you will receive from someone who has been hunting for a job for some time and knows exactly what to write in their resume and what to say during the interview.

How, then, does a small business owner or a human resources executive improve the screening process to improve the quality of selected candidates?

Here are two unorthodox ways to get a true glimpse of a prospect’s potential.

1. Go beyond the resume when making an evaluation.

An expertly written resume can be deceptive. For as little as $200, someone can hire a seasoned resume writer to portray their career in the best possible light. These professional writers know exactly what to say and how to say it in a way that an employer finds enormously appealing.

In some cases, outright lies can be ferreted out by calling all references and doing some background checks, but in most cases, subtle exaggeration is used, and it may be hard to detect. For instance, someone may have worked as an unimaginative graphic designer who loved to boss her colleagues around at work, but the resume may describe this person as someone with an artistic flair, a keen eye for detail, and a natural leader.

2. Ask unique questions to get genuine answers.

Most people who have been interviewed often have developed skill at handling typical interview questions. Over time, they have heard one variation or another of the most common questions. Consequently, when asked these questions, they will automatically offer some well-practiced answers. So, as an interviewer, the only way to get honest answers is to ask unique questions.

Summary

These two steps will go a long way toward hiring the right person for the job, someone who will not disappoint you.
*