If you’re reading this, you may know how difficult it is to find the right candidate to work with your business. Hiring can be tricky. But to ensure you’re building your dream team, you need to always look out for a few characteristics to best decide which candidates are the right fit for your company.
In this article, we’re going to go through 4 things you must look for when hiring new members for your team.
#1 Asking questions
When interviewing candidates, make a note of how many times they ask questions. More specifically, see what questions they ask about you and your business. Candidates should be actively looking to learn more about you and your business, to see if the job role is a good match for them.
Here are a few examples of questions candidates should be asking you:
- How long have you been in business?
- What made you decide to start this sort of business?
- What are the main things you’d expect from me?
- Are there opportunities to progress within the business if I’m successful in my position?
When candidates ask questions, it shows they have a genuine interest in working for your company, and that they want to learn more about your business so they can provide the best service possible.
#2 Active listening
You need team members who can listen to what you have to say and act accordingly.
Active listening skills are crucial. A few easy ways to see if someone is a good listener include:
- They maintain eye contact with you while you’re talking.
- They continue the conversation by asking related questions to solidify their understanding of what you’re saying.
- They repeat things you’ve said to show they understand what you’re saying.
You can often tell instinctively if someone is present when you’re talking to them or if their mind is elsewhere. Try and spot candidates who are fully present during your interview process.
#3 Social skills
Social skills are crucial, especially if your new employee is working in a team environment.
It’s quite easy to spot someone who has proficient social skills. They’ll feel at ease when speaking to you and also make you feel at ease. They’ll often initiate conversations, but also have excellent listening skills.
Great social skills are a good indicator of individuals confident in their specific skillset and ability to provide the work you expect.
#4 Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is also a key factor in social skills. You need to find out how your employee will react to certain situations or specific people.
A great way to do this is to create a set of hypothetical scenarios and ask your candidates what they would do.
Ideally, you want responses that show the candidate understands de-escalation tactics or can remove the emotion from a situation and create a logical solution to the problem.
Building Your Dream Team
Hiring the right candidates can be tricky. But looking for these 4 qualities in each candidate will dramatically improve your chances of success.
Need more info on how to build the best team for your business? Listen to the latest Intentionally Inspirational podcast on how to hire your dream team.
Written by Lewis James