By Alan Kearns, courtesy of Workopolis
So, you have decided to hire new employee for your company. It's been awhile since the last time, but you do have the skills. Maybe you've kept the notes from the last interview you did? Well if nothing else, it should be a straightforward search anyway, right? If the answer is "maybe" take a glance at this article to get you started.
Your positive attitude and self-confidence are wonderful in taking on the role of doing a search on behalf of your company. This article suggests some reminders as you approach this wondrous task of finding the right person that fits your organization.
Before you go out there and create your ad and receive hundreds of resumes, there some questions you should ask yourself in order to make that filtering process easier.
Answer the following questions for yourself in writing, before you get started.
Question 1: Why are you hiring this person?
If you can clearly answer this question for yourself, and the answer makes sense then you'll be able to answer the same question your candidate's asking. As well, this can serve as a basis for your ad or before your 90-second elevator speech when you're communicating to someone else the fact that you are looking for someone.
Question 2: What do you want this person to do?
If you can clearly define the roles you would like this person to take on within your company and possibly the deliverables or the things you want them to actually create, then clearly communicating this answer will attract the people you want to satisfy your needs.
Question 3: What do you want them to accomplish?
It's important in your own mind to write down what you want these people to actually do or what impact you want these people to actually have in your organization. When you understand that, look back at what you want this person doing at the detail level and see if these two activities match. If they do, then you're now clearly on your way finding someone.
You're probably getting a little fidgety at this point. You're saying "so let's just get on with it." Good. Be fidgety! A major fault in the hiring process in most corporations starts with the lack of up front planning. The clearer you are in upfront planning and the clearer the role is thought through, the less anguish you will have later on and potentially the higher your retention rate.
Question 4: To whom will this person report? Is it to you?
Understanding the personality traits, attitudes, management styles, and expectations of the hiring manager are a very important part in determining the proper fit between the manager and the new individual and the rest of the team. Many times we hire in our own image and that may or may not be the best for the company. So, think about this!
Question 5: What do you expect to pay this person? Is the whole compensation package realistic?
Understanding this, relative to the marketplace will enable you to best position your offer to potential candidates.
Question 6: How will you measure success of the individual?
Understanding how you measure the performance of the individual relative to the needs of the organization will ensure that all the work you've done in the previous questions makes sense, will ensure that your expectations are clear, and will enable to clearly explain those expectations to your candidates.
Now, you are ready to write your job description, your job ads for Workopolis, and start looking for candidates. Use the answers to the questions as the selection criteria for the individual and as a basis for the kinds of information you need to find out during the interviews including:
- Technical Skills
- Soft Skills
- Attitudes and Personality and
- Why do they want the job
