Hiring Manager Handbook: Finding the Right Person the First Time

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Hiring the right person for the job can seem like it is going to take forever. You keep trying to find the right person, but they keep falling through.

It can be disheartening when you're trying to fill a role that is critical to your company's operation. We are here to help you so you can be successful in your role as a hiring manager. Continue reading this article to learn how to make a good hire.


Clearly Define the Job Before Trying to Hire

It is easy to get excited to look for a new hire and try to put the cart before the horse. If you want to be one of the best talent magnets around, you first need to know who you're trying to attract.

When you're defining the person that is going to work in the role you want to hire for, try to imagine them sitting right in front of you. What is their personality like? What type of energy do they have about them?

The more you can see the person you want to attract and construct what skills they need to have and how they should interact with their coworkers, you can move on to the next step.


Write a Job Description

Now that you know what you want out of the person you're going to bring on the team, it's time to put together the job description. When you're trying to get someone to join your team, you shouldn't fabricate anything about the position or your company.

If you sugar coat it before the person comes to work with you, you're going to have a hard time getting them to do anything once they are there. Be honest about the responsibilities of the job. Make sure they understand exactly what is expected of them from the beginning, so there is no misunderstanding.


Plan Your Strategy for Recruiting

Don't just hope that people show up and apply for your job. Having a recruiting strategy in place before you get started will help you through those days that are extra rough.

If you aren't getting the responses that you want and it feels like there is no ideal candidate that wants the job, that's when you'll fall back on your recruiting strategy and keep going.

Before you can make a job offer, there are many other things you have to do, so make sure you are very clear about what those things are, so you can stay on track.


Tap Into Your Pipeline

A truly brilliant hiring manager knows to create relationships with great people in their field. They know they shouldn't just make connections when they are hiring because that is going to slow the process down.

Since you've been building relationships with people throughout the industry, it's time to tap into some of those possibilities. You might have people in your contacts that are currently working in the exact position you're looking to hire for, but fo someone else. Or you might know of someone that is due a promotion at another company, but they aren't happy because they haven't been able to land it yet.

When you talk to these people, you already have a relationship with them, so that is going to make it a lot easier for you to get the ball rolling with the recruitment process.


Take Plenty of Time to Review Applications 

It can be easy to feel like applications are all a blur. Who said what? Which of these candidates is going to be the perfect fit for the company?

While reviewing applications isn't going to give you all the information you need, it is going to allow you to see who can make it to the next step. Before moving people to the next step, make sure they have the right credentials for the position.


Prescreen Potential Candidates

If you have a good feeling about someone, this is where you want to set up a prescreening call to see if everyone is on the same page. You might find out that a candidate who looked like the perfect fit on their resume did not cut it when you spoke with them on the phone.

You don't want your waste your interviewing and selection committee's time. Prescreening is the perfect way to weed out the people that aren't going to work.


Ask Important Questions

You don't have to get too creative when you're asking hiring questions. You want to make sure they understand the role as well as the compensation and other important parts of the job.

If you want to make your interview unique, you can look up different interview questions online to see if you can throw them a curveball. Sometimes it is good to throw them off their game and see how they deal with something they didn't expect.


Do a Background Check

Doing a background check will help you get an idea of who you might be hiring. It's important to know if there is anything questionable. Depending on the industry you're hiring for, you might not be able to have people with certain criminal records working for you.


Becoming More Effective As a Hiring Manager

Now you know more about how to become more effective as a hiring manager. You don't have to be frustrated in your searching anymore because you have the knowledge you need to make the wisest decisions.

Do you want to learn more about how to hire top talent and other important topics in human resources? Continue reading our blog to get the information you need. Visit the HR section of the Frugal Finance Blog right now!

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