Top 3 Things to Look at When Hiring Employees
You’ve enjoyed some business success, and now it’s time to slowly expand your company. You’re not doing anything crazy, but you do need to hire one or two new employees.
It’s quite a scary prospect – especially if this is your first time doing it. In the current job climate, expect to see loads of applications coming through for your post.
So, how do you differentiate the talent from the not-so-talented? You can spend ages looking at loads of different things, but these three aspects are the main ones to consider:
1. Relevant experience
You often see a debate raging between experience or education in job interviews. Unfortunately for some, experience wins out almost all the time.
It makes sense to hire inexperienced people sometimes, purely because they need to be given a chance.
However, it’s always better to look for candidates that possess a good amount of relevant experience.
Imagine you have two candidates, and one has worked in the exact role you’re advertising for ten years. They’re working for a company in your industry, but they fancy a change.
The other candidate doesn’t have any experience in this field, but they’re highly qualified. The first candidate is obviously the safer bet as you know they can do this job and perform it well enough to hold down a position for ten years.
2. Background check
It’s amazing how many business owners forget about the background check. This tends to happen when you’re a small business owner and you do all the hiring yourself. If this is the case, use a service like eKnowID to run background checks on your candidates. It tells you if they have any criminal records or a shady past they’ve kept hidden.
Clearly, you want to hire people who have a clean background and haven’t been up to no good. It’s especially bad when they don’t mention anything about their past and you find that they have a criminal record. It looks awful as they’ve clearly just lied to your face.
3. Cultural fit
Lastly, you need to hire people that fit your company culture. This doesn’t mean you only hire people of one specific culture! No, it’s more to do with how their beliefs and goals align with the brand. Basically, are they on the same page as you?
The best example is a candidate applying for a job at a sustainable fashion company. Your business is all about being eco-friendly and looking after the environment. The candidate claims they don’t care about recycling and doesn’t take any steps to be more sustainable.
Does it make sense to employ someone with that line of thinking? It’s good to hire people that offer new ideas or ways of thinking, but they need to be a good fit for the company.
Here’s my advice for anyone that’s hiring new employees – or planning to do so in the future. Focus on these three factors when making your decisions. Look for people with the most relevant experience, run background checks, and ensure they fit the company culture.
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