It’s important for a leader to commit to choosing the right fit for candidates as they work to design the correct team. Let’s look at five specific methods to use to accomplish this goal:
Make strategic hires
Highly qualified marketing candidates are extremely popular.
In fact, numerous recruiters report back that they’re struggling to find enough candidates that are well qualified to fill open marketing positions.
It’s vital that you take time to interview for the position before there is a need, but also after the position has been filled.
This will help you keep your finger on the pulse of the current job market, so that you are always aware of what talent is available in case you need it.
Insist that each candidate that you’re interviewing meet with at least three employees, at several different levels throughout the business.
Check to see if the candidate behaves differently with employees who have more authority, or if they treat some employees better than they do others.
Does the individual seem to get along well with everyone? If your employees seem to have concerns about the person as a cultural fit with the company, they may not work out well.
Hiring the right marketing person is hard for a number of reasons – you can see them here on the EMR blog.
Ask for soft and hard skills
Ask about both hard and soft skill sets during the interview process.
Both types of skills are vitally important as you build a team.
They allow employees to work together as a team, build relationships with their colleagues, and dramatically improve their communication skills.
Focusing on only hiring candidates with hard skills will result in having a team made up of multiple high performers that work well alone. Hiring for soft skills as well will mean that you’re also acquiring excellent teammates and leaders.
This makes it vitally important to ask questions about more than what is on an individual’s resume or career history while having a conversation about them.
Take the time to learn about their colleagues from older jobs, or how they handle conflict or failure.
Consider asking questions that are out of the norm, like: What is the most difficult part of being your manager? What do you consider the worst company culture you’ve ever been a part of? How did you handle that job and the stress that went with it? What type of working environment do you feel you thrive in?
The method that a candidate uses to cope with these types of questions will tell you a lot about their soft skills and the way that they think.
Find the motivators
Know what you need to help your company succeed, and only hire employees who have values that line up with these goals.
Each person has something that’s enough to make them want to change jobs: daily flexibility, a shorter commute, a bigger salary, or growth potential.
If the job that you’re offering will never match up for what the potential employee is seeking then it’s only a matter of time before they leave your agency and are off for the next.
Consider a short test or task. Give candidates something to complete during the interview.
Give them a company press release with errors to edit, create a webpage, or ask them to come up with a short marketing presentation about the agency. This allows you to see how creative, and how dedicated, they are.
If they’re not willing to take care of the task, they may be demonstrating that they either are not interested in the job or that they don’t have the correct skills for the task.
Examine all references completely
Take the time to contact all references that the individual gives you. Ask detailed questions about the person, their overall attitude and their skills, and how they’ll fit in at the agency.
Explain the job that they’re interviewing for, and ask the reference if they have an opinion about the individual’s ability to complete the tasks associated with the job.
Ask business references what they might bring to a team. Many hiring managers skip the reference check as it can be time-consuming, but it can be a great way to get useful information about a candidate.