3 Tips for Hiring the Right Fit

“How do I know if a candidate is going to be the right long-term fit for our company?”

One of the biggest challenges in recruiting is cutting through the fluff, determining what’s real and what’s not, and figuring out who will be the most successful—long-term—in your organization. In the 15+ years I’ve been in the recruiting space, I’ve learned a few key take-aways that help mitigate the risk of the bad apple.

1.        Know Thyself.

It can be easy to hire for the organization we wish to be, but the reality is that this approach can significantly impair your success rate. I had a client once who was hiring for a role that was extremely manual in nature. While they wanted to automate processes, it was so far in the future that the candidate selected was overwhelmed with the manual minutia they were encountering on a daily basis.  

The more accurately you as a leader can describe and approach your team’s work, the more you’ll have be able to accurately and successfully hire a long-term fit.

2.      Know What You Want.

 Every company culture is different, so there is no “one size fits all.” But take the time to really explore the people that are successful within the organization, and note their specific strengths and weaknesses.

Work to know what frustrates you as a leader and be transparent about that.

For example, I’m a stickler for over-communication. It doesn’t mean the other ways are bad, but I know myself well enough to know that I get frustrated if people on my team don’t follow the same communication parameters. So I am very intentional in the interview process about laying out what I expect from people on the team. Does that mean some people self-select out? Absolutely. But I’d far rather that happen than hire people who will get frustrated in 3 or 6 months.

3.      Hire for Character and Competence.

A fellow leader actually described the hiring method this way to me this week, and I think it’s a good way to capture both prongs of the hiring equation. Without competence, the person will struggle to successfully execute the day-to-day responsibilities of the job. The need for good character should be obvious, but I think one of the biggest pieces of character that flies under the radar is humility.

You can’t learn if you don’t admit you need to. Being willing to take instruction and guidance—and being willing to ask for help—is crucial to any new hire’s success. I’d far rather hire someone who doesn’t know all the things they need to, but who is hungry to learn.

There is an element of hiring that is always a guessing game. We’d never marry someone after 2-3 dates, right? But the more intentionality and clarity you put in on the front end will help create success in the long run. While playing the long game isn’t necessarily the most fun, it does create more success for both you and the new team member.