It’s no secret finding staff members to fit your exact needs can be difficult, but when your business is booming and you need to hire someone, it’s a task you have to face. The question is: Where do you start? Hiring the wrong person can cost you time, money and hurt your business, so it’s important to take the hiring process seriously.
Take it from me, hiring can be a long process. The majority of my successful hires have taken anywhere between 60 and 90 days. So, remember to be patient. Hold out for the right fit in your office, so you don’t end up spending time and resources to rehire for the same position within 12 months. Your time is precious, so make it count.
As Vice President of Human Resources and Administration at CreativeOne, I’ve developed a specific hiring process that works. Follow my tips to develop your own hiring system to find your next superstar.
- Profile the Position. Start off the process by figuring out what need you have. Do you need a sales person or a marketing assistant? Do you need someone full-time or part-time? Determine what your needs are and then create a detailed job description from those needs.
- Target Your Prospect Market. Posting available jobs can get expensive quick, so determine your target market before paying to post your open position. Depending on the position you’re hiring for, consider which mediums will best reach potential candidates. Are you hiring for an entry-level position or a senior- level position? Does the position require a certain skill set? Different mediums are more effective with different age groups; carefully consider who you’re aiming to hire.
- Post the Job. Carefully consider the right medium to post the job. While LinkedIn is an effective medium to reach millennials, it is less effective with older age groups. If certain skills are required, consider contacting local associations and posting on their job boards. You’ll save money by targeting the right demographic. Then, give your prospective candidates a week or two to respond to your posting. Generally, if you don’t have a lot of traffic from your job posting within a week, you probably need to reword your posting or reconsider your medium.
- Screen. Remember not all resumes and cover letters are created equal. Look for resumes that match the job experience and skill set you listed on your job description and cover letters that clearly explain their experience applicable to the job. Watch for errors on the resume and cover letter, as they may be signs your candidate is not detail-oriented. Use their documents to narrow down your candidate pool, and contact at least 10 candidates for interviews.
- Interview. You’ve gotten them to your door, now what? Conduct first-round interviews over the phone or in person. Both are indicators to help you decipher if the candidate is a good fit. The most important part of this process on your end is to be consistent. Ask the same questions to each candidate during interviews and make sure each person fills out a job application. This ensures you have the same core information on candidates and it allows you to compare them on an even playing field.
- Test. Between your first- and second-round interview is a good time to test and assess your candidate’s knowledge and skill set.It is to your benefit, and theirs, you give them a chance to work on something that they could be doing once hired. This step gives you the chance to see if they are capable of doing what you’ve assigned them, and chance to evaluate whether the job will be a good fit for them, too.
- Background Check. Educate yourself on your prospective client’s past. To do this, run a background check and check your candidates’ references. While we would all like to believe no one lies about their past, it’s not uncommon. Make sure your future employees are not convicted of any crimes that will hurt your business and check in with their past employers to get feedback on their attitude and work ethic.
- Trust Your Gut. Most importantly, always trust your gut. It’s usually right. (Unless it’s telling you to eat a piece of cake at midnight!)
- Offer. You get what you pay for. Just like you try to make your prospective clients feel valued, try to make your prospective candidates feel valued by offering them desirable pay and benefits. Search for current job postings in your area to see what your competition is offering and make sure your offer aligns with or is better than theirs. Offering value will bring you high-quality candidates and in turn, a higher retention rate.
Not sure how to make a LinkedIn job posting or how to properly screen a resume? Need help running a background check or researching the job market? Contact your CreativeOne sales team at 800.992.2642 for HR consulting. We have the resources to help you grow your workforce and improve your company culture. Good luck!