- I wanted to talk a little bit about hiring today. When you look at your business your #1 asset should be viewed as your people. As odd as it sounds, our #1 job as an interviewer is to not hire the wrong person. It is a lot easier at the end of the day to spend more time hiring the right person as opposed to spending all of your time and energy managing the wrong one. How involved are you in the hiring process? The hiring process shapes the direction of the store and ultimately your future. Who is in charge of this key profit center?
- I read that Steve Jobs personally interviewed 5,000 people while he was at Apple. Talk about feeling that the future path of his company was driven by hiring the right people.
- There are many people that believe hiring the right people is even more important than the direction your company is going. It doesn’t matter where you want to go if you have the wrong people you will never get there. One common pitfall we face is that we often times have to hire under pressure. This almost always leads to a poor hiring decision just to fill the position with a body. We need to stay ahead of the game and always be hiring for the future. This lets us be more selective in the type of person we think will fill the position.
- One of the biggest mistakes that most of us make during an interview is that we are looking for reasons to hire the candidate so subconsciously we ignore some not so great answers. Our brain hears what it wants to justify the hire. We should go into every interview with the mindset of why I shouldn’t hire this candidate. If we have this thought on our mind those questionable responses will stand out. Most people think that if they grant someone an interview they have to hire the person. Great hiring decisions are all about eliminating the wrong candidate.
- If it isn’t a hell yes, it should be a no. I heard this on a podcast once and it has stuck in my brain ever since. Think about the person and decide if they are a “Hell Yes” applicant. Remember by saying yes to a mediocre applicant may prevent you from even meeting a “Hell Yes” applicant.
- Some common phrases by an applicant to watch out for during the interview: I need a job, I need money, My parents want me to get a job, I left my last job because they didn’t appreciate me. Be cautious if they are negative about past employers, or if they are unable to answer your questions. I am amazed how many people will simply not answer an interview question.
- Here are a few interview questions to ask potential job seekers to open up a bit:
- 1. Tell me what you feel is your biggest accomplishment to date. (This works well even for teenagers with no prior job experience) Ask them to walk you through the whole process from planning to executing to measuring results to final accomplishment.
- 2. Describe yourself as a brand. Give me a 30 second commercial about yourself that would make me go out and hire you. What sets your brand apart? What do you stand for?
- 3. If you had $1 Million and you could start your own business, what would it be? Why? (This can give you a great insight into what really drives this person)
- 4. How would you describe hard work?
- 5. What do you expect from this job or working at this company? In other words, what does this applicant feel entitled to by working here…
- 6. Keep asking why. Some interviews can go 30 minutes on 1 question. After the initial answer ask a deeper question on the initial question. Ask why this or why that? Ask how this or how that? Ask them to explain something in further detail.
- Hopefully these few tips and questions can help us all build an amazing team!
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