Potential-Based Hiring: How to Know if a Candidate is a Good Fit

When the time comes to add new employees to the payroll, you need to find a method that determines if a candidate is a good fit within your organization and its culture. Too many times companies will hire solely on potential and it can lead to bad hires. Avoid bad hires by analyzing each candidate who comes in for an interview.

Interactions with Employees During Interview Process

Every single job candidate interviewed by your company should be subjected to interactions with employees at your company during the process. It is common for the candidate to come in contact with the office administrator or a handful of employees wandering around the lobby when waiting for their interview.

These interactions are not the only ones that should occur. The candidate should be introduced to employees working in the department in which the job they are interviewing for is located. Observe how they shake hands, how they make eye contact and what questions they ask all of the people they meet during these interactions.

Informal Interactions Work Well

If at all possible, try to get your candidate into an informal interaction. This will help you learn more about the person outside of the formal interview process, which can provide a better insight into how the candidate will work within the company’s culture. Informal settings include a fundraising event held by the company, a brown bag lunch, a staff meeting or even a company outing to a ballgame or barbecue. This will create a more relaxed environment for the candidate and provide him or her with more time to interact with employees.

Check References

It is important that you check the candidate’s references prior to making an offer of employment. A reference will be able to provide you with insight into the candidate’s work ethic at former jobs and how he or she got along with co-workers. Reference checks should not be looked at as interview formalities anymore. Instead, they should be taken seriously and used as a method to learn as much as possible about the candidate.

Trust Your Gut

It is difficult to tell a business person to trust their gut when making hires, but you need to do so when choosing candidates. Analyze everything that was discussed during the interview process and how the candidate answered questions. Also look at how he or she interacted with other employees at the company. Take all of this into consideration and then trust your gut as to whether or not this person is the right fit for your company.

Contact the top Fife recruiting partner today to discuss the best methods for determining if a candidate is the right fit for your company.