You’ve posted your job ads and conducted the first round of interviews. Now all you have to do is choose the best person for the job. While you may think the hard part is over now, the truth is that selecting the ideal person from your candidate pool is easier said than done. Here are some tips for making sure your next hire goes the distance:
Consider Company Culture
It’s not enough that a candidate has the chops for the job; they must also be a good cultural fit for your staff. While it’s great to introduce some new blood into your current team, savvy hiring managers will make sure candidates are both hardworking and collaborative. After all, the last thing you want is a new hire that will spur the rest of your employees to find different jobs.
Contact Employee References
Trying to choose between two candidates who are equally qualified on paper? While most hiring managers will contact references, not everyone knows the right questions to use when evaluating potential employees. For best results, don’t just ask about past performance. Instead, you should inquire about a candidate’s work ethic and even sense of humor. Additionally, you should look for subtle verbal cues and silences that may suggest the reference has reservations about the employee in question. Before you commit to working with someone every day, you want to make sure they are going to be a pleasant colleague in every sense.
Conduct a Test Run
Want to ensure your job candidates are truly up to the task? Think about asking your frontrunners to join you in the office for a test run. Also called a working interview, test runs let you evaluate candidates while they’re in the trenches, so you don’t wind up with a worker who lacks the chops to do the job. As an added bonus, current employees can offer their two cents before you make someone an offer.