Have you ever looked at your recent hire and immediately wanted to face plant into your desk?
Yes, sometimes, that promising hire turns out to be a complete dud. They seemingly refuse to communicate properly, reflect on the company poorly in public, and write LOL in their emails to clients.
Whatever the case might be, you’re disappointed. This is the best time to use hindsight to determine where you misjudged and recalculate what you look for moving forward.
Keep an eye out for people who fit these roles.
Big fish in a little pond.
This individual is used to accomplishing everything in stride in their confined professional scope. If it doesn’t look like they challenged themselves often enough, they might turn out to be burn outs when they find that they’re now the small fish in a very vast ocean.
Mr/Ms. Earnest.
This candidate is looking for a job and they want this job S.T.A.S.A.P (Sooner than as soon as possible.) This doesn’t really bode well for how this person is going to mesh in the established company culture. Their eagerness can seem like it holds some quality, but first you really need to get past this. Wanting to do something isn’t the same as needing to do something. Passion over eagerness.
The calm before the storm.
This is the applicant who seems calm and collected during the interview and then all of a sudden, bam! Ultra competitive and a horror to work with.
How do you spot these folks before it’s too late?
Pay attention to minor details in their answers.
Are they ultra competitive? Too quick to respond, almost rehearsed sounding? Over-confident in the job at hand, even if there are elements they haven’t encountered before?
Ask them point blank, why do you want this job?
You can get a sense for what a candidate is looking for in their career based on their answers.
Start researching personality questions.
There are tons of compatibility tests that can be done during interviews that better zero in on desired candidates.
For more information on how to staff your company with the kind of employees you need, check out the Springborn Staffing website.
