How to Hire the Perfect Candidate
Hiring candidates is easy. Hiring the perfect candidate is not. With new job boards popping up almost every day, IT user groups dedicated to sharing job posts, and social media platforms now accepting resumes, it would seem that the process of finding the best candidate would be simpler than ever.
That, however, couldn’t be further from the truth.
Those are all great resources to increase the quantity of resumes at your disposal, but what about quality? Fake, proxy interviews were already a concern. Unqualified candidates continue to apply. The recent growth in video interviews, although necessary at the moment, isn’t always the best way to gauge potential candidates. The list of obstacles is long.
It’s estimated that,
for technical positions, the cost of turnover is equal to 100%-150% of that employee’s salary.
To avoid that financial burden, and ensure we only accept the top 5% of potential IT hires, here are five things my company and I do ourselves, and recommend for you, to ensure that we all hire the best candidates.
1. Keep culture fit top of mind
In today’s collaborative, DevOps-focused, Agile-driven IT landscape, the importance of hiring to fit your unique company culture can’t be overstated. Candidates must do more than just not disrupt the positive attitudes of those around them. They must add to it.
During the interview, ask questions that may uncover underlying issues they’ve had in the past.
Everyone has experienced conflict in the workplace.
How did they handle it?
Did they make it a point to understand, and prioritize, the needs of the employer?
Did they listen, compromise, successfully resolve the issue in the best interest of the company, and make a point to rebuild the relationship after?
Be extra thorough on those reference checks if you decide to move forward.
2. Test the candidates
Technical challenges are a luxury in IT hiring that not many other industries have. Testing potential candidates with coding tests and other assessments are a great way to “try before you buy.”
Resumes, portfolios, and even sample projects can easily skew your perception about a given candidate. There is no time limit, friends and peers can review it before it’s published, and quality code is readily available to copy/paste from GitHub.
No matter how confident the candidate seems, or how advanced their resume appears, use technical challenges to learn how knowledgeable and resourceful they will be in real life with deadlines.
3. Look for someone who’s career-driven
Not everyone is destined to become a CIO, but that doesn’t mean they can’t aspire to grow their career and develop as a person. A person who’s jumped from job to job, or possibly juggled multiple careers, may not be that focused on their role or devoted to the company.
Keep in mind, most career paths are not straight-forward. Life events happen, circumstances change, interests evolve. There are many perfectly understandable reasons a potential hire may have switched companies or careers. Just make sure it hasn’t been too common and that any big changes are accompanied by a justified reason.
