Great hiring is a key component for all business who wants to thrive and grow. I recently went through the process of hiring two interns to work with us at Skolehuset.no. One week after publishing the vacancy, we had received more than hundred applications. I was very pleased with the response as well as the outcome. In this post, I summarize some takeaways.
Planning and proper tools - Hiring requires your full attention. The task of hiring is related to feelings, your brand, and people that deserve comprehensive respect. Do not underestimate the assignment of treating all applicants professionally and fairly. Notice that a good hiring process is one of the best ways you can do marketing for your business. Applicants are involved and invested in your name throughout the process. To make sure the process of hiring is handled properly, use great software. I’ve gained experience with both Indeed and Teamtailor. Both of them are highly recommended.
Practice patience - When the first applications roll in, you’re likely affected by persuasive confirmation bias. You look so hard for what you want, that you’ll find it everywhere. I would wait until I’ve got 20-30 applicants before even starting to think about the outcome.
Do not deviate from the charter - When hiring, it’s likely that there are other areas of your business that also needs more manpower. Don’t get distracted by ‘interesting’ applications and the thought of ‘we need this as well’ mentality. The charter should be strict and concerned about this one position only.
Culture fit - Make sure you only add people that fit with the company culture. It’s an obvious remark, but so important that it needs to be mentioned.
Interview process - Set clear roles of the interview. Who’s the listener? Who’s running the questions? Make sure the questions presented do not have leading answers. You’re not looking for “yes” or “no” responses, but rather the candidate’s ability to reason and reflect.
Don’t leave anyone hanging - When a candidate is checked out of the process, make sure it’s handled quickly. No one likes waiting and deserves to get handled quickly.
Call and notify ‘winners’ first - If you start notifying runners up first, you might end up with a problem. The selected top picks might have already changed their mind or accepted another offer.
Hiring raises the bar - In a hiring process, one stumbles upon core values and what attributes you are looking for in future colleagues. This raises the self-awareness and functions as a checkpoint to review yourself. If it does not affect your daily work ethics directly, it’s at least a great recap of what’s needed of you to be your best.