8 tips on how to hire the right candidate

Finding and hiring the right candidate is a challenging process that every business has to face. Filling a vacancy can be complicated and costly, especially if you don’t get it right the first time. Not only do you have to hire a worker, but you also have to find the best fit for the job position you are offering so that you can benefit from increased productivity, an enhanced work culture, a good employment relationship and synergy in your team. 

The person you hire should reach a good level of productivity in a short time, adapt to the team and the company’s way of working and shorten the learning curve so that you don’t have to bet on someone else and start the whole process all over again after a couple of months. The objective is that the person you incorporate adds value to your team.

The biggest issue in the hiring process is that a traditional approach based on resume review is generally not very effective because there are a number of things that a document can’t tell you about a candidate. For example, a couple of words won’t tell you if the candidate is compatible with your company culture. You have to dig a little deeper to figure this out. This is why we’ve prepared some expert tips to help you pick the best candidate for your business:

1.Clearly define the job position

A job analysis is an important step before any opening or hiring process. Through job analysis, you can collect information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, interpersonal skills, and the work environment required by a particular job. Having and defining a clear job description helps you attract the right candidates. It’s a fundamental part of the hiring process and recruitment strategy.

2. Develop a solid recruiting strategy

With a complete and clear job definition in hand, it’s time for you to come up an adequate recruiting strategy for this opening. Whether you’re hiring for a big organization or a start-up, you have to focus on the hiring strategy in order to attract and retain the best talent. Here are some useful tips to develop your strategy: 

Use the right platform

This step is crucial and should be adapted to the job opening. If you want to find qualified candidates, you must choose the right platform to advertise your job offer and advertise it properly. Depending on your target, you can advertise in newspapers, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Another important thing when you advertise job openings for your business is to make sure to include all the relevant information regarding duties, responsibilities, required education, experience, skills…so that you can attract the potential employees that fulfill all of your requirements.

Pay attention to the application

This step includes everything that has to do with the application, from screening candidates to resumes and cover letters to reviewing credentials and background checks…

Pre-screening candidates

When you’re in the middle of a hiring process, pre-screening candidates is a big time saver for you and the human resources team. The most common way to do this is through a phone interview process.

Although a candidate may look ideal on paper, the pre-screening interview helps you find out whether their qualifications are really suitable for the job offer. You can also determine their salary expectations and see if they align with the job’s available budget and your company culture.

Resumes and cover letters

A job description generally contains a bulleted list of the most relevant characteristics wanted in a candidate, and if a candidate meets all of those, that is good. However, the most efficient way to go about resumes and cover letters is to check for candidates that have crafted a personalized application for the job.

Look for candidates who have made a personalized, interesting cover letter. This shows that the applicant took the time to leave a memorable impression on you and is eager to get the job. By doing this, you’ll be choosing the candidates that are the most qualified and motivated to work in your business. 

Background checks

It is very important in every hiring process to run background checks. You need to verify that the educational certificates, work experiences, job references and skills are actually possessed by the candidate. When conducting a reference check, make sure to ask about the candidate’s work performance but also about any relevant interpersonal skills such as team management, communication skills, etc.

Define an interview guideline

The face-to-face interview is a decisive step in a hiring process so it’s important to define a guideline and the main points to address during the interview. Besides standard questions about academic achievements and professional experience, an interview is the occasion to focus on the capabilities, knowledge, confidence, attitude and potential of the candidate.

Use a checklist

Keeping a checklist for your hiring process is a great idea to track your progress and systematize your strategy. This could help you share your progress with fellow employees or hiring managers but also evaluate your recruiting strategy and improve it. Including more people in the recruitment process can be a great opportunity, since more opinions can lead to a better judgment.

3. Test for learning and analytical skills

If the job position you’re listing requires specific learning or analytical skills, it is better to conduct tests or use multiple assessment methods to evaluate the learning and analytical skills of your candidates in order to avoid any bad surprises.Testing candidates may be tricky, but it is an effective to detect any lies on their resumes and pick the job candidate with the right skills and educational requirements.

4. Check compatibility

You could find a perfect candidate with all the necessary skills, but that doesn’t mean that this person will fit with the company culture. That’s why it’s important to check whether the candidate has the social skills needed to fit with the team, deal with certain situations and clients or any other relevant aspect of the job. The candidate should show a certain willingness to learn and adapt to your culture.

Why use a headhunter agency? 

5. Ask the right interview questions

The job interview is a powerful tool in hiring the right candidate. Relevant and well-formulated questions help you separate desirable candidates from average ones. During a job interview, it’s good to remember that it’s a dialogue between two people and while the hiring manager or the human resources manager is generally in charge of asking questions, this doesn’t mean that the candidate should not ask questions or express his/her opinion on certain topics. Make sure to keep the conversation double sided and allow the candidates to express his/her ideas freely.

You also need to go beyond skills and experience during a job interview to make sure the candidate fits well with your company culture. This could include social situations where for example the employee has to attend non-formal meetings or special gatherings to see if he/she can adapt easily to different situations.

6. Get social with the candidates

This does not mean asking candidates personal questions but instead, getting a glimpse of what their social media presence is like. Nowadays, social media is booming and is becoming more and more popular even in the professional world and in recruitment procedures. More and more employers and Human Resources managers and specialists admit to regularly checking social media platforms of candidates that apply for job offers.

By researching a candidate’s social media presence, you can unravel many pieces of information that can be very critical in certain situations. It could either help you dodge a bullet or confirm that he/she is the right candidate for this position. Today, more than 90% of businesses prefer to recruit through social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook… and most of them use them as their main listing tool.

7. Hire interns

One of the best ways to hire the right candidate for your business is to hire interns. You already know their skills, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, work ethic and you actually have live evidence of their work. So if it’s a match with the current opening and the candidate shows a desire to move to a permanent position, this could be your best bet on hiring the right candidate.

Plus, there are many advantages to hiring an intern. First of all, hiring an intern helps you save time and money, since you don’t need to pay for a job posting or a recruiter’s service. Secondly, an intern has already been familiarized and acquainted with the company culture, other employees and even clients. And lastly, when you’re hiring an intern, you have full access to their performance history.

8. Use trial periods

Trial periods may not be for everyone, but if you can offer it, they are a great way to take your future employee for a test drive before hiring him/her full-time. Trial periods can last for a few weeks to a few months and allow you to have a clear idea of whether the person is the right fit for your business.

A trial period also allows your employee to get a sense of the company’s culture so that if he/she is not compatible with it, this could be a big money saver for you. Make sure to clearly state that the trial period is for a number of weeks/months and includes certain responsibilities. 

Looking for the perfect candidate?

Talinko specializes in the recruitment of senior executives and professionals in different fields. We take care of the recruitment process from beginning to end and help our clients in salary negotiations, training and coaching, business diagnostics, background checks, follow-up and much more. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. 

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