Are Your New Hires a Match for the Job?
We all know the key to effective recruiting is to make sure you hire the right candidate. The question we’re always asking ourselves is “how can I be sure that this candidate is going to be a perfect match for the job?”
The simple truth is that finding a perfect match for one of your open positions is about a lot more than a well written resume or a feel good interview. While interviews and resumes are important, they are also imperfect. We all have our fair share of horror stories regarding candidates that looked perfect on paper, interviewed amazingly and became nightmares the second they were hired. Any candidate you want to hire should be intelligent enough to give a good interview. Our industry has learned the lesson that we need to look deeper in order to ensure effective job matching. Here are three key strategies you can use to ensure that potential superstar you’re considering can really deliver in the role.
Assign Sample Work
To get an idea of the quality of delivery you can expect from the candidate, give them a fictitious assignment that mirrors the type of work they’d be doing if given the job. You may be surprised by how many candidates deliver work far inferior to what you’d expect given their interview and resume. Be careful to assign work that is fictitious and cannot be construed as you asking the candidate to contribute usable work to your firm at no charge. Your legal team can help you devise sample assignments that are both informative for the hiring process and liability free.
Consider Assessment Testing
Testing has come a long way in the past few years as technology has become more efficient and affordable. If there are specific strengths or skill sets associated with the positions you hire for you might want to meet with a few assessment companies to see what offerings match your hiring demands. Any additional information you can glean about a candidate’s ability to perform in a role can help you avoid costly mis-hiring.
Reassess Job Descriptions
It is not uncommon to hear of situations where a hire was a less than ideal match because the job description of the position was unclear or outdated. Consider running post-hire interviews for each position 3 months after an employees start date and ask the employee to describe where the job met their expectations and where they were surprised. If you can use this information to update and improve your job descriptions, you’ll help your company drive more qualified candidates from the beginning of the process reducing mismatched hires well into the future.
