Congratulations—you’re growing your team! After all the hard work of searching for and hiring those qualified candidates, it’s time to infuse new life into your business! New hires come with the perfect opportunity to bring fresh ideas and experiences that can help shape and strengthen your company’s culture.
Whether it be approaching problems differently or starting new traditions and initiatives, these individuals will add a unique perspective that is an essential part of keeping your culture thriving.
What I Look for When I Hire New Employees
I stepped into our new hire training today, and I thought it would be nice to introduce myself and explain where I came from. The chance to network with the fresh faces who will shape our company’s future was invaluable, while also allowing them to ask me questions and receive direct responses.
Many of us fail to see the need of having open lines of communication with all levels of management, including the CEO. I would be failing in my duty if I didn’t encourage my staff to give me their honest opinions, suggestions, and critiques. In the course of our discussion, one of my recent hires inquired as to the qualities I seek out in potential employees.
They sought insights as to what I hope might be preserved in the company culture. My response was straightforward, and I’ve discussed this topic in numerous articles. Personality is a big factor for me, I try to surround myself with like-minded people. I prioritize finding individuals who are excellent communicators.
Hire for Skill, Not Just One Talent
In a potential employee, I try to spot a customer-service mentality. It’s important to assess needs based on certain skill sets, but it’s risky to hire solely on the basis of one talent because you can miss out on someone with excellent interpersonal, managerial, and leadership skills.
Someone can do their job really well, but if they aren’t able to communicate that to a client, they may not be the right fit for a position. I’ve seen too many times where resumes are reviewed for skill sets only, and people don’t even get an opportunity to get their foot in the door.
At 1SEO we most certainly take a different approach to this.
My head of recruitment knows my philosophy on reviewing potential candidates. Almost every resume that comes in our door receives a phone interview. I didn’t say every one, so go easy on me here—I said almost every resume.
Reviewing a portfolio, we look for certain telltale signs that can help us determine whether or not the applicant possesses the necessary communication, customer service, and even managerial abilities. However, the CV is not the only thing we consider. For instance, does this person have experience with or the ability to carry out such a task?
In the context of a job search, the “cover” is the candidate’s resume, hence it’s vital not to judge a book by its cover. I believe in implementing a three-stage interview process, beginning with a simple phone interview.
The Three Stages of Interviewing Candidates
The phone interview serves a crucial purpose in ensuring that the candidate and the company are on the same page regarding the position being sought. In addition to asking the candidate basic questions about themselves and their experience, the phone screening is a wonderful time to tell the candidate about the company and the role.
The second round of interviews is always conducted in person, and it is customarily performed by a senior member of our team, preferably the manager or supervisor of the candidate. Here we can talk in greater detail about their qualifications and how they relate to the position.
Again, this conversation isn’t only about their technical knowledge; it’s also an opportunity to gauge their communication skills and hear about their experiences working with clients and leading teams.
It is common practice for us to conduct a third and final interview session known as a shadow interview. At this point in the hiring process, the candidate is brought back into the office and given the opportunity to observe a current employee performing the tasks and following the policies of the position they are interviewing for, or, if it is a completely new position, an employee whose responsibilities are most similar to those of the vacant one.
Why Shadowing Is Crucial for Your Business
For me personally, this is a crucial part of the interview process because it’s helped our company retain personnel more effectively and thrive since we began using it. In addition, this allows the candidate to ask any questions that they may have been too hesitant to bring up in an interview or during a conversation with a higher-up.
They can ask, “What are some of the hurdles that you experience on a daily basis that I might be able to help alleviate if I were to be recruited here?” or “What are some of the attributes that you look for in a coworker?”
During this time, the prospective employee gets to decide what it would feel like to actually work in our company. They have a greater understanding of what the day-to-day looks like, and a much stronger understanding of what our true culture actually is inside of our company.
Either the individual will realize that 1SEO isn’t the right place for them, or their need and desire to work for our company will be satisfied. The vast majority of the candidates we are seriously evaluating go through all three stages of the interview process.
We’re Finding the Right People to Join Our Team
Listening to the questions raised by the new hires and learning about the resources made available to them today in training made me reflect on how far we’ve come since we first opened our doors.
Recruiting is all about flexibility and being ready to seize the right opportunity. Even if the market is changing or the talent pool isn’t quite what you were expecting, as long as you stay open to new ideas and remain ready, there’s no limit to the people every business can bring in.
Doing what’s best for your company in the long run is the key to your success.
Hire strategically and hire smart, because when it comes to putting together the perfect team, spending the time to find what works best is what matters–-I think you can handle it!
Last modified: December 19, 2022
