Hire right the first time and save money!
A prospective client once called me. He told me that he hired his last employee on his own. He said he was desperate for a new assistant so he quickly posted the job on Craigslist. He had a few responses within a few minutes of his posting. One of the applicants looked good to him. He called her up and told her about his business. She said she was very interested. That excited him. So he asked her when she was available. She said immediately. He asked her if she would come in that day and she did. She signed her 1-9 and w-2 and started to answer his phones! Within two weeks he discovered that she had been stealing from his cash box. He fired her.
How many red flags can you count in this scenario? I will discuss three of them.
1. I can guarantee that he didn’t have a clear job description for his position and when he started reviewing resumes he went into the process not completely sure of what he needed. How difficult is it to write a job description? Not very. But it takes time.
2. My client did not interview the candidate. He only asked her if she was available. He should have interviewed her on the phone to see if she had the basic skills and experience he was looking for. And, he should have asked her for her references before inviting her in for an interview. He should have prepared for the interview by formulating questions in advance that he could ask in the interview so he would not have had to think about questions while he was listening to her responses. The questions he created should have been developed specifically to determine if the candidate had the ability and the experience to perform the specific tasks of the position. (Ask me if you want to know how to develop the perfect questions to know if your candidate has the skills and experience you are looking for.)
3. And finally, he hires this candidate on the spot! No interview; no second interview; no opportunity to meet others who work in his organization. I agree it is rare for someone to have hired someone without even 1 interview. BUT, often I have had clients who have invited me in for a proper interview that we have scheduled after interviewing the candidate on the phone AND speaking with references. I have led the interview with questions to help us to decide the fit of the candidate. We both like the candidate. And my client will be ready to hire the candidate. I ALWAYS urge my client to invite them candidate back for a 2nd interview. Come on, did you ask your spouse to marry you the first time you met them?
For a very reasonable fee (my fees are very competitive compared to most recruiters), I could have gone through the entire process with my client, and he would have the money that was stolen and, given my retention rate) he would have a good assistant who was helping him be more productive.