Hiring the Right Job Candidate
How to Find the Best Applicant and Job Fit for a Position
Hiring a new employee can be a rewarding and interesting experience for a well trained hiring manager. Starting the process with a job description and a salary range is appropriate, as is an understanding of those characteristics and attributes indicative of success for the position in question. Once the interviewer has a frame of reference and a list of applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, interviews can begin.
Interviews and Physical Appearance
Appearances do count. That is not to say that a hiring manager should discriminate against someone who is overweight or not particularly attractive. But everyone who walks through the door looking for a job needs to be neat, clean, well dressed and reasonably well spoken. They should have shiny shoes, clean nails, combed hair and tasteful jewelry.
Applicants with Negative Work Habits
Some negative habits are relatively easy to detect. For example, watch for signs that an applicant talks too much. This could be a real problem, especially in a customer service position, as he may spend more time on each call. Or, if a person is painfully shy and hard to communicate with, it will be a problem if she has frequent customer contact. If the employee will be working closely with other departments but is hard to communicate with in some way, it will affect how he is perceived by others, and ultimately, his effectiveness in the job.
People who present themselves in a matter-of-fact and not boastful way and who have an impressive resume warrant further consideration. Ask specific questions about their knowledge and test this by asking situational questions. The interviewer may ask a customer service applicant how he would handle a disgruntled customer and may even role play an event to simulate what happens on the job. Is the applicant able to come up with a specific plan of action that makes sense? If not, this would indicate a lack of experience, composure or both.
Be wary of a candidate who just wants to get the job, get her point across and does not directly answer questions. In this case, the interviewer should go back to the original question asked and repeat it in a slightly different way, in case the meaning may have been misconstrued. If she still do not answer acceptably, this would be cause for concern.
Be wary of anyone who does something odd in the middle of a job interview. For example, if he answers his cell phone call, unless it is a matter of utmost importance, this is not acceptable behavior. If he chews gum, prattles on aimlessly or exhibits strange facial movements, there may be some underlying problems.
Seeing the Big Picture of a Job Candidate
Generally speaking, if the candidate is unprepared, uncooperative or uncommunicative, the hiring manager needs to keep the job search open. Also, an interviewee who fails to look the interviewer in the eye, may have something to hide. Someone who sweats profusely can also be hiding information. Some people do sweat more than others, but profuse sweating is sometimes a sign of deception.
The individual should be friendly, but not violating the interviewer’s personal space. Use of profanity during an interview is another problem signal. Basically, taking every negative indicator in an interview and multiplying it by ten will be a better representation of characteristics. Swearing in the interview times ten is troubling. Dressing suggestively times ten is a future problem. Talkativeness times ten is a potential performance problem in the future.
Find the Best Candidate by Not Discriminating
A good interviewer never discriminates against anyone for race, color, creed, sexual orientation or any other non-related reason. This does not mean, however, that one must hire a job candidate who is a minority because of her minority status. Base the decision only on legal and potentially job related indicators. These indicators may be job history, work habits and personal characteristics that could positively or negatively affect the type of job she is seeking.
Another more subtle way to avoid discrimination is for the interviewer to ask all the candidates the same questions for each interview. Certainly the topics may expand and contract based on the responses, but comparing candidates is much more meaningful when there is continuity in the process.
Studies suggest that we tend to hire people who are similar to ourselves, because it is easier to identify with them. Keeping this in mind during an interview will help the manager avoid this tendency. If everyone has a fair chance at getting the job, the company is most likely to find the best possible fit.
Hire the Best Candidate
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