You have a position to fill. It’s a gaping hole in your overall talent picture. You know the importance of hiring the right candidate. You’ve been interviewing and there’s an individual who seems like a frontrunner. But you haven’t had that “aha!” moment where you know you’ve made the perfect match.
Do you settle for less than the best? The potential hire you have in mind is pretty close … Or can you afford to wait for Superman or Wonder Woman to materialize?
Assess the Organizational Fit
Whether you fill that opening today, tomorrow or six weeks from now, be sure you make the right cultural fit. Hard professional skills can be learned and developed over time, but if a candidate’s goals, aspirations, mission and vision don’t match those of your organization, you’re setting yourself up for a hiring fiasco.
Ideally, you should have started this process before the interview process began. But even if that ship has sailed, it’s not too late to take another look.
- Conduct a cultural assessment. It doesn’t have to be long or time consuming. But at the very least, sit down and reflect on your preferred candidate from a “fit” perspective. If required criteria are not met, think long and hard about whether the individual offers sufficient trade-off strengths to compensate.
- Remind yourself what you’re looking for, beyond the job description. A candidate’s work style and approach to communications can significantly influence how well a job is executed.
Call Them Back
Maximize interactions with your prospective hire until you’re sure that making an offer is the right move. Don’t hesitate to schedule another interview – or take a different route to get to know them better.
- Invite your candidate to a brown-bag lunch, staff meeting or company event. Watch how they participate and gauge their attention and interest levels. Take this opportunity to ask them what they think about company culture or if they have any recommendations for making it better. Note whether they are critical or constructive with their suggestions.
- Take the airport test. Could you imagine yourself and/or your team members being stuck for several hours in an airport with the candidate? It may seem silly, but it’s a proven method for determining the likelihood of a strong cultural mesh.
Don’t Cut Corners
Even though time is of the essence, never skip key steps in the hiring process such as thorough resume review, candidate vetting or reference checks. This may be a temptation as you’re initially bombarded with applications.
Partner with a Pro
The dilemma of whether to hire the “candidate in the hand” or hold out for someone who seems born for the job is grounds for lost sleep and torn-out hair. Because no one is perfect. And what if?
There’s no better time to partner with a professional recruiter whose experience, assistance and resources can steer you through this upheaval and straight to a successful hire. To learn more, read our related posts or contact the team at PrideStaff Fresno today.