Some of the most important choices you make as an employer are your hiring decisions. Make poor choices and you risk financial loss and damaging lapses in productivity.
So how can you improve your odds?
The key lies in having a thoughtful and thorough process to follow.
Here are some tips to consider:
- Make sure you create an accurate job description for the position you hope to fill. Be sure to describe essential qualifications for the job as well as the essential functions to be performed.
- Create job applications that capture all of the information you need to better understand each candidate and do not permit applicants to simply submit a resume.
- Be consistent in the personnel who conduct the job interviews, the types of interviews conducted (i.e., phone screen vs. in-person) and the number of interviews conducted.
- Know what questions to ask – and be consistent in asking them of every candidate.
- Always verify qualifications and check references in accordance with applicable law.
- Consider social media checks on all candidates in accordance with applicable law.
- Credit checks and drug tests are also permitted in accordance with applicable law and often revealing.
One of the most important aspects to hiring is the job interview and knowing what questions to ask during the interview process is vital to successful hiring. Here are a number of questions to consider the next time you interview candidates for employment:
- Current/Prior Job
- Describe your major responsibilities in your current/last job?
- Describe the advancement opportunities that existed in your current/last job? Did you achieve them?
- What training did you receive in your last job?
- Did you receive raises? How often? How much? Were the raises based on merit?
- Describe your thought process in deciding to leave your current/last job?
- What are you looking for in this job that you are not obtaining in your present job (or did not obtain in your last job)?
- Job Satisfaction/Motivation
- In your current/last position, how do/did you measure whether you are/were performing successfully?
- What has been your most satisfying work accomplishment?
- What contributed most to any success achieved in your current/last job?
- What specific job elements are important to you and why?
- Are there any job elements you would like to avoid, and why?
- Of all your duties, which presented the most difficulty for you? How did you deal with the duty that presented the most difficulty for you? As you look back, would you change anything about the way you handled that difficulty?
- What is the most effective way to motivate you? Why?
- Leadership
- Describe your supervisory experience.
- How would you describe yourself as a manager?
- What methods do you use to motivate your subordinates?
- Do you consider yourself to be a leader? Why?
- How do employees respond to your management style?
- How do you set priorities?
- What aspects of your management style are the least effective?
- What is the best way to handle employee problems and complaints that arise on the job?
- Attitude
- If you could have changed anything in your current/last company, what would you have changed?
- If you had a complaint or a problem with your supervisor, how would you handle it?
- Education
- What subjects did you prefer at school? Why?
- What subjects did you like the least? Why?
- What did you choose as your major? Why?
- Did you work at an outside job while at school?
- How did you balance your various responsibilities?
- Are you interested in furthering your education? Why? When?
- How does your educational background relate to this job?
- Career Goals
- What are your career objectives and what have you done to enable yourself to achieve your career objectives?
- What goals do you want to attain in this job?
- Do you want to be in this job in five years? Why or why not?
- Fit with Company
- How did you become interested in our company?
- Why do you want to work for our company?
- What is your understanding about the job that you are applying for?
- What do you think you would enjoy most about working for our company?
- How did your last job prepare you for the job we currently have open?
Sadly for employers – not all hiring decisions work out. But if one takes the time to create a thoughtful process for candidate selection – one can greatly increase the odds of building a winning team.
Also – if you are an employer and would like to learn more about best hiring and firing practices, can find more information here: http://info.kemlaw.com/the-employment-relationship/
Hiring and managing employees is a challenge for every employer. The attorneys at Kainen, Escalera & McHale each have over 20 years of experience in employment law matters and would be pleased to help you if you have questions regarding the law. Please contact us if we can help.
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