By: Sophia Beirne
You can’t wait forever for a seat to get filled – especially if the position you need to fill is of vital importance. You need to find a perfect candidate who will want to stay for the long haul, and you need to find this person in a timely manner. It might feel at times that you’d have better odds winning the lottery, but it doesn’t need to be that difficult. Asking the right questions and presenting your business with the right foot forward can go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.
Start With The Perfect Job Description
Reducing the length of your hiring process starts with drawing in the right candidates from the get go. If your job description is very specific, people won’t apply for the job only to discover that it isn’t the kind of position they had assumed it was. Make sure your job description is as detailed as possible. If you can include pictures or videos relevant to the job, that’s even better. Potential candidates will be able to envision themselves working for you, and they’ll know whether or not they feel as though they’ll thrive.
Mass Post Your Ad in the Right Places
It never hurts to put your ad out in places where it will get a lot of exposure. You should always make a general job posting on Gumtree, but you shouldn’t stop there. Look for specialty job boards or niche blogs that cater to your specific industry. You can also privately invite eligible candidates via professional social networks if you’d like to narrow down your search. There’s nothing wrong with hand delivering the position to people you already know might see great success in it.
Interview Flexibly
Scheduling conflicts often make it a hassle to interview potential candidates. If you’re trying to set aside an interview day to get through as many candidates as possible, you might be looking at a logistical nightmare. Rather than doing that, interview when you have time. If you can fit in one or two interviews after lunch on a certain day, do it when you can do it. Just prioritize the most promising candidates first. There may not be a need to clear an entire day.
Find Great Cultural Fits
Cultural fit should come first. Even if you believe a candidate might need a little more training than the average candidate, they’re worth the investment if they’re a cultural fit. These are the kind of people who will genuinely enjoy their working environment. They’ll fit in quickly, and they’ll like their jobs. You’re less likely to experience turnover with cultural fits, so you won’t find yourself looking to fill the same position again in a few months.
Offer The Position Immediately
When you’ve only interviewed a few people and you believe you’d found a stellar candidate, chances are slim to none that you’re going to find another candidate you feel so strongly about. Don’t wait around to offer the position. A cultural fit with experience who clearly understands the job description is exactly what you want from the get go, so don’t wait around to make up your mind. If you do, that highly promising candidate just might wind up accepting a job offer from your competitor.
Remember not to speed things up just for the sake of speeding things up. It can get to be tedious trying to fill a position, but quality counts for a lot. If you really need to spend time making considerations, don’t cut them off abruptly just for the sake of ending the process –make sure you’re happy with your potential hire first and foremost.
Sophia Beirne is passionate about providing helpful content and sharing her tips. She’s been featured in a number of online publications. With a background in business administration, she’s most interested in entrepreneurship & job market trends.
