When hiring someone new, you want to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they’re telling you the truth. However, it is an unfortunate fact that not everyone is as honest or truthful as we’d hope. So, when you find a potential candidate for your company, you may want to jump on, instead slow down and consider hiring them only after some screening. Here are some tips to help you do this efficiently:
Table of Contents
Pay attention to resume details
It’s easy to look at a resume from someone you find on a hiring website and think it’s full of great details and that the person could be an amazing candidate—but look closely. In some cases, there may be a lot of fluff that doesn’t really let you know what they actually did in their previous job. Gaps in jobs may be due to traveling and other interesting reasons, but could also point to some other issues, so pay attention to resumes.
Don’t be afraid of background checks
In your pre-employment screening, as you work with a professional recruiter, it’s wise to include background checks. After all, you need to be sure that the potential candidate has a clean record, especially when it comes to specific kinds of jobs that you may be hiring for.
While you’d hope someone would be honest about anything that you should know about, it’s not always the case. You could be protecting your company from serious issues down the road. By the way, this is a good time to make sure you have business insurance.
Speak to references
Ask new candidates for references. For the most part, most of the top talent you interview will have plenty of references to share with you. Some may have few. Either way, ask for them and make sure to get in touch with the previous employers.
Although you don’t want to believe everything that may sound like gossip, it’s important to pay attention to details that pertain to the candidate’s performance or skill level, so you can make an informed decision.
Take a look at social media
People should have fun on their social media and some things that were once taboo may not be anymore. However, checking out a potential candidate’s social media can help you catch details regarding an individual’s personal views and values. This could impact your decision in hiring them, especially if these are things that you’re trying to avoid fostering in your company culture.
You want to build a happy team, and this means finding the personalities that will mesh well on the job.
Incorporate skills test into interviews
While your candidate more than likely has the skills they’re boasting of on their resume, it could help to include a skills test in your interview process. What a lot of employers do is have an initial interview where they get an idea of the person as a person and their initial impression of them.
A second interview allows interviewers to get an idea of the actual expertise they can bring to the job and helps you get a closer look at whether or not this person will aptly fill the position on your team. If you are working in the retail industry, it is best to search for interview questions for Best Buy or other famous retail stores to help you look for suitable employees.
In Conclusion
As you look for someone to fill a position in your company, know that screening is an important aspect of hiring wisely, whether you’re hiring for your virtual office or in-office employees. While it may take more time to screen new employees, you’ll be saving both time and money down the road, so don’t be afraid to let your potential candidates know that you have a full interviewing process before bringing anyone on board. This can help ensure you build a team of people you can rely on and trust.
