On Hiring:  I’ve done my fair share of hiring over the years, and a recent bout with helping a company do some team building (including hiring (& firing)) brings about this post on hiring.

I’ve used a lot of resources in the past; a corporate Monster Account for searching resumes, Ads on various sites such as The Ladders, Monster, Indeed, Craigslist, Linked In; project bidding sites; google searches for Consultants; use of head-hunters and temp agencies; referred-by-a-friend.

My all-time favorite for entry-mid-level jobs, even technical or project-based consultants, hands-down, is craigslist.  Why?  2 reasons:

1)      Responders are looking for work RIGHT NOW.   This is one of my main complaints with resume sites – many times the resumes posted are from people who are desultory about a job search or actually already took a job.  Waste of time.

2)      Responders want YOUR JOB.  They’ve read your detailed post and made a decision, that yes, they would be interested in your job and at that salary range.  Great!  The first hurdle is over.  With head-hunters, temp agencies, resume searches, and referrals by friends – you have to have this discussion about the job, salary range, and more times than not you don’t have a fit.

So I’m a fan of detailed Job Postings.  It’s my recommendation if you do an ad, you should list in a salary range.  Also, think about education, skills, and job experience levels as requirements – and stick with them.  It will make screening quicker.   Once you have resumes…

Resume Screening

1)      Do they live close enough to come to work every day, really? If not – do they make some comment about their current location in their cover letter?  Or show that they’ve handled a long/crazy commute in the past?  I have learned the hard way that someone living 1.5 hours away generally never works.  They may be desperate for work, or maybe they haven’t realized you’re 1.5 hrs away.

2)      Do they have the education level, skills, and job experience you required?

3)      Do they have mistakes in grammar, punctuation, or basic formatting in their resume or cover letter?

4)      Did they include a cover letter?  (FYI, I’ve given up on this mostly since about 50% of entry/mid level people do not submit one.  I have found good people who neglected to submit a cover letter even though one was requested).

5)      If it’s a technical or graphic position, or other skilled position, did they provide samples (if you requested?)

Interviewing

1)      Have them fill out an application with references and salary history and reasons they left their past jobs.  Did they omit this information?  Usually it indicates there’s a problem or they can’t follow directions or they are the type that will skip steps.

2)      Do the basic interview questions – people should be prepared for these.  They can really only eliminate themselves on these questions.

1. ‘Why did you leave your last job?’ – At least you will always get some interesting responses..
2. ‘Tell me about your last job’ –  Though it’s probably clear on their resume, it’s good to hear how they prioritize what they did.  And if it doesn’t match the resume, red flag.
3. ‘What is your strength/weakness?’ –  I continue to be amazed that people ‘fail’ this question, by coming up with the lamest strength ever, or giving a weakness that is some certifiable / fire-able offense.
4. ‘Since you graduated from college with xx degree, tell me about your career path and where you want to go next?’ –  Their answer will illustrate if your company fits in with their vision for themselves or not.  I find that people get caught up in their own story arc and occasionally they will end up revealing some truths that make you realize they’re never going to work out because their heart is set completely elsewhere.

3)      Ask open-ended questions to see their personality emerge.

4)      Give them some kind of administrative test (analytical skills, checking, filing, basic math, proofreading) – again, they can only knock themselves out of the running by failing to read directions or answer correctly.  I like doing this because it either confirms someone’s got basic intelligence, or shows that someone puts on a good impression but is really not quite bright at all (if they ‘fail’).

5)      Ask the receptionist his/her impressions.

The unspoken rule for working with friends or friends of friends is: DON’T.  But there can be magnificent benefits to it – it’s easier to hire them, you don’t have to worry that they’re a serial murderer… and they hopefully carry some loyalty and dedication to performing their work in order to maintain a good relationship with you.  But, there is undoubtedly going to be some pressure on the relationship between you and the referrer in question.

I will offer, upfront, one negative example of hiring a friend of a friend, from my own files:  in a mad rush to find an ASP programmer, I tapped a co-worker’s nephew to help us out with some programming.  He was not responsive as I would have liked, so I ended up going to her too often to ‘bother him’ to finish my job.  This definitely strained my relationship with my co-worker and her relationship with the nephew.  It would have been better for him to simply decline to help (and for me to have given up on him sooner!)

But, I have many positive examples of working with networked individuals.  The key is to keep business as purely business.  Be upfront that you will be honest if the relationship doesn’t seem to be a fit, and you expect them to be equally honest with you.  They should know that they can walk away and should walk away if necessary.    Some tips:

1)      Do not start with the assumption that you will be working together.   Approach an initial discussion as a talk to learn about each other – your project, their skills and interest.

2)      Give them an honest assessment of what you need – do you need them to bring creativity or and autonomy, or are you just hiring them to dispatch  your vision?

3)      Talk about what you can pay, and what your measurements for success will be.    Do they seem amenable or unsure about anything you said?

4)      Let them know your timeline.   Listen to their response – are they emphatic that they can do it within your timeframe?

5)      Let them know your personality and work methodology – do you need constant updates?   Are you hands-off or hands-on?

6)      You should take the time to learn as much about the acquaintance as possible, a ‘soft interview’ if you will.  Learn about their past projects, special skills, past clients, current workload, favorite accomplishments.

If trouble comes up at any point in the relationship, handle it immediately; know when to cut your losses, and keep your shared friend in the loop.  Never speak ill of anyone but be honest.

Example, Instead of saying “That friend you recommended was terrible. They never returned my calls” – you might rather say “Thanks for the referral by the way.  I reached out to your friend but haven’t heard back – timing might not be good for them right now.”  – this lets the friend know honestly what occurred, but you are not passing judgment, in fact you are showing that you are giving the benefit of doubt.

Good referrals are to be cherished.  Thank your referring friends copiously, and remember the hourly rate rules — how much of your time and money would you have spent finding a perfect fit?  Probably less than a nice thank-you dinner..