5 Things to Consider When You’re Hiring A New Employee

When it’s time to fill a much-needed position at your company, it can be difficult to find that perfect-fit candidate to take on the role. All applicants have varying skill sets, different experiences, and certain strengths and weaknesses. Out of this diverse group of applicants, it is your job to find a person whose overall background and traits will not only benefit the company, but also their own growth as a new hire.

Often, we will screen candidates and find many who may be qualified and who may have a lot to bring to the team. Still, these candidates may not be the right choices: If a new hire isn’t likely to end up happy at the organization in the long run, then it doesn’t matter what skills they have.

Finding a happy medium – one that meets the needs of both the company and the applicant – is crucial to hiring success.

To find that medium, you should keep the following things in mind when conducting interviews or screening applicants:

1. Why the Candidate Is Leaving Their Current Job

Make sure that you have a fairly good understanding of why this applicant is leaving their current job. Diving in and finding out why a candidate wants to leave their current role can tell you a lot about what the candidate is looking for in their next role – and what the candidate wants from your company.

If you are unable to offer solutions for the problems that are driving the employee away from their current role – whether that’s salary, culture, responsibilities, or something else – then this candidate probably isn’t going to be a great fit for your organization.

2. How the Candidate Speaks of Their Current Company

When a candidate is talking about their current job and/or employer, pay attention to the subtle signs. These may be more telling about the candidate than the organization.

The manner in which someone speaks about their place of employment can say a lot about their personality. If they are incredibly pessimistic and have a lot of negative things to say about their coworkers or bosses, they may not fit the criteria for the type of people you want working at your company. On the other hand, someone who is very positive about all they have learned and their mentors at the company likely has a fairly upbeat and optimistic personality.

3. Compensation

A lot of candidates will be reluctant to share information about their current salary, but this is important information. You have to really understand what the applicant is willing to accept, monetarily speaking – otherwise, the candidate may be a waste of time. People get paychecks for the work that they do, and if they feel those paychecks are not enough, they’re going to leave. You don’t want to hire someone who doesn’t work out because the company can’t meet their salary expectations.

Encourage open communication about the subject of compensation simply so you can understand where the candidate stands and whether or not the candidate’s salary expectations align with the company’s.

4. Skill Sets

Every job is going to be different and require different skill sets. Some may have technical requirements, others may have less formal “checklists” of skills that new hires should possess.

Create a list of what you believe to be the most important skills a candidate should have in this role. Throughout the interview and screening processes, keep a close eye on how well the candidate’s skills line up with this list – or don’t.

5. What the Hiring Manager Needs

Make sure that you have a close relationship with your hiring managers. That way, you’ll be able to fully grasp what they need for this position.

If you’re working on the recruitment team, you won’t know as much about the position as the hiring manager will. Schedule a meeting with the hiring manager so that you can do a real deep dive into their needs and expectations. Learn how their department operates and the strengths and weaknesses their current team has. Focus on gathering as much information as possible so that you are better informed as you go through the recruitment process. 

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As you search for a best-fit candidate, you need to keep focused on a few crucial things. Once you’ve gone through the screening process, review the candidate profiles you’ve collected and think about the needs of the role and the company. If a candidate brings a value that will fulfill those needs, you can make a more informed decision about whether or not you should make a job offer.