5 Unique Hiring Tips for Hiring Your Next Employee

By: Elijah Mendonca Wednesday May 24, 2017 comments Tags: hiring, job interview, business management , hr

One of the greatest successes for a small business owner also leads way to one of the greatest challenges: Hiring the right people to manage your additional business. Hiring the wrong person can have catastrophic effects on your business, while hiring right can lead to tremendous additional growth. But how do you make sure you are hiring the right person for the job? Here are 5 unique hiring tips that will help you turn your employee search into a successful employee acquisition.

1. Hire from fields of study unrelated to the job position

"If I need a marketer, shouldn't I just hire a marketer?" 

Well, yes... and no. First you have to determine whether or not the position you are looking to fill requires a senior-level employee or someone entry-level. If it's an entry to mid-level opening, it may benefit you to hire applicants from a field that's slightly unrelated to the position. For example, I graduated with a degree in Video Game Design and had specialized in Creative Writing, Production and Marketing. I applied for an entry-level marketing position here at AllProWebTools and was able to gain a lot of new knowledge while actually teaching them new things simultaneously. Apart from that, I had significant knowledge in User Experience/User Interface design for mobile applications. This was a skill I could readily translate to AllProWebTools (the product) and shed new light on features and design elements that they probably wouldn't have been able to get from someone only in the marketing field.

Another example could be hiring a psychology major with a flair for writing if you need a dedicated content writer - think about the possibilities for connection with your target audience! These kinds of workarounds are always available to you, all you have to do is think outside of the box and not close yourself off to applicants you weren't expecting!

If you do choose to hire an applicant from a different field of study than the job opening, make sure they have the necessary skills you require and gauge their capacity to offer you skills you didn't know you needed. This is a safe way of ensuring that you're still hiring the right person for the job.

2. Look to hire an Ambivert for a sales position

While it can be tough to find true ambiverts, their mix of introversion and extroversion harmoniously collide to make them very effective at their job. While no person actually falls 100% on either side of the scale, most have introverted or extroverted tendencies. Both of which have distinct benefits and downsides:

Introverts are usually better listeners and can connect much deeper with a prospect, but lack the capacity for small talk and the ability to ask for business.

Extroverts excel at doing the talking and people are naturally drawn to them, but a prospect could feel like they aren't being heard and are just another lead to the salesperson.

I highly recommend reading this blog post from Hubspot, that gives you a larger overview of the entire topic. 

3. Hire someone you already admire

Is there a blogger who's work you absolutely love? Is there a friend who's known for her product or service recommendations? Resources are all around you, you don't necessarily have to start the hiring process from the beginning. Your network may already include the perfect person for your open position. Working with someone you already know and trust can ease a lot of stress, while also creating a better work environment. Just make sure not to hire a friend or family member because they "need a job", but rather because they would be the best person for it. Clearly stating the expectations before they start to keep a clear line between friendship and work is also recommended.

4. Hire based on attitude

If you hire someone solely based on their scholastic achievements or the writing on their degree, you might be in for a rude awakening. Always hire someone based on their personality and how you feel they'll fit with your company culture. It doesn't matter if their technical skills are lacking in some departments (to some degree, this might affect their chances, but it should not be the sole defining factor if you can avoid it). Technical skills can always be taught, while a negative personality or poor work ethic is almost impossible to change. Keep that in mind the next time you go through the interview process.

5. Stop hosting the same boring interviews

If you ask the same boring questions a candidate has been asked a hundred times over, you're going to get the same, refined, canned response they've saved just for you. Have some fun with your interviews, play games with them, keep them on their toes - you'll truly see the good and bad sides of their personalities this way. If you choose to interview them in a noisy area with a lot of distractions, you'll be able to gauge how good they are at concentrating. If you interview them in groups, you'll notice which of them have tendencies to interrupt their colleagues.  We have some great tips for conducting unorthodox interviews in our previous blog post. Serious, try them out. Not only is it fun but it's also very enlightening.

If you are hiring your very first employee - congratulations! This is a big first step! But whether you are hiring for the first time or looking to fill a vacancy among many positions, following these tips will help you find the right person. 

Looking to hire a remote employee but wondering how to manage them? AllProWebTools has fantastic tools for managing and keeping an eye on employees that are out of the office. Try out our free demo to see for yourself!