The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do to Avoid a Hiring Mistake

If you want to avoid a hiring mistake, this is the single most important thing you can do to hire the right person for the right job, yet it is often overlooked or not done to the degree of detail that is needed. This video helps you narrow in on what will make this hiring decision successful.

The Most Important Thing You Can Do To Make Sure You Put the Right Person in the Right Job

You are ready to hire a new employee and I know you don’t want to make a mistake. In this video, I’m going to share one critical thing that you can do to make sure you put the right person in the right job.

Be Clear on What Is Needed For Success

The single most important thing you can do to avoid a hiring mistake is to be very clear on what is needed for success in the job. That sounds simple, doesn’t it? Because when you’re ready to hire someone, we know the type of function that is needed, such as marketing person, the head of finance, or an admin role. At that high level, the job function is almost always obvious. But I want us to dig deeper into the nuances of your particular situation because having a clear handle on is what you’ll need for success.

An Example of Not Being Clear Enough

Let’s talk through a specific example. I actually saw this posting on Facebook just this morning:

“Looking for an attentive reliable admin person. 25 hours per week. The location is noted. No remote. Instant message me.”

There are some good things to this listing, including the very specific attributes: reliable, how many hours the job would entail, and that the person must work on site. I not quite sure of what ‘attentive’ might mean for the job. Does that mean the person needs to be focused on the work or detail-oriented? I’m not clear. My question for this hiring manager would be this: If you found a person who is reliable, can work 25 hours at your office on-site, would that be enough? I suspect the answer would be ‘no.’ Now we need to hone in on what the specifics, the nuances of what is needed for this person with regards to their approach and desired outcomes.

Get Specific

I would want to know things like: What degree of difficulty for this type of the admin work? How much autonomy, direction, and guidance will be given to this person to complete the duties? Is the office quiet or chaotic? Will the person simply be executing orders or asked to be trouble-shoot and problem-solve in anticipation of upcoming events and activities?

It’s really critical to understand those traits that a person MUST HAVE in order to do the job well so that you can understand whether the person’s natural approach will fit those requirements. As you screen your candidates, it gives you the opportunity to flesh out some of these details that are key to success. Without these guidelines you can lose track of your objective and get caught up in less important factors, such as ‘I really like this person,’ or ‘they presented themselves really well,’ or ‘they have been successful in other similar roles,’ as opposed to whether they are going to be a fit for your needs and how you envision it being done.

To Get What You Want, Be Clear on What You Want

If you don’t want to make a hiring decision, be VERY CLEAR on what you want. Answer the question: What does success look like?” Then you can do a better job evaluating whether the person has the “must-have” traits for success.

Be sure to check out other videos in the Learning Resource Center, available to you as a member. Here’s to your Graceful Leadership!