5 Quick n' Dirty Tips To Hire Better Right Now

Do you have 1 minute? I have 5 fool-proof tips to help you hire better immediately:

1. Target your job ads - Are you looking for entry level workers (cheaper, but require significant training, support, and oversight), intermediate workers (should come with most of the base-knowledge and skills and are hungry for growth), or seasoned workers (near the end of of their careers and looking to pass on knowledge and skills)? Your bait will depend on the type of fish you're trying to land so be sure focus on what's important to them, not to you.

2. Make it about them - Most traditional job ads talk about the company and about what experience/education/traits/skills they are looking for in an employee. Back when there were few jobs and many seekers, this made sense, but now, it's a sellers market, and the true all-stars have their pick of where to go and who to work for. Only briefly identify why your business is a great place to work and then lead with what's in it for them.

3. Identify your 'deal breakers' - Depending on the opportunity, a single job post can easily attract more than 200 applicants in a few weeks. Even assigning 2 minutes to review each resume, means that screening those applicants would take almost 7 hours to complete...no thank you. Instead, pick 2 or 3 'must have deal-breakers' (eg. 5 years experience in carpentry, a Associate Degree in Computer Programming, a Chartered Professional in Human Resources designation, a demonstrated ability to multitask, longevity in roles with other companies, etc.) and go through each application with a checklist of only those 3 things; this will help you cut 200 down to 20, almost immediately.

4. Keep it brief - Both your job ad and your initial screening call should be brief. Target a job ad of less than 500 words and a screening call of no more than 20 minutes. This means you need to be clear and concise in both areas. Job seekers care about 2 things: what is the total compensation, and what are the minimum requirements of the job; answer both of these questions in your job ad. In your screening call, avoid general questions, like: "what are your main strengths/weaknesses?", instead, ask what you actually want to know, "what do you think your greatest challenge will be in your first few weeks in this role, and how can we support you to overcome it?"

5. References, U-Pick - Usually we ask a final candidate to provide us with 2 or 3 references. Of course, this means they will cherry pick the best possible ones. Once they have provided these to, look back in their recent work experience (7 years back, max) and ask who their supervisor was at the most relevant jobs, then ask their permission to contact that supervisor. A truly good candidate should have made a positive impression in all of their previous roles, and if they didn't, you'll get a more accurate picture of who you are really investing in.

Employing any or all of these tools and tricks of the trade will immediately yield better candidates and will cut down on the number of hours you need to invest in your hiring campaigns. Happy hunting!

#recruiting #hiring #humanresources #labourgains #jobads #interviews #smallbusiness