How to Hire A+ Talent

How do you make sure that you are hiring the best candidate that will bring the most ROI to your organization?

These days job seekers are becoming better interviewers. Candidate selection can be more difficult than ever before. It has become more of a challenge to distinguish the A+ candidates from the B candidates. Think how much more profitable your team would be if every single time you hired, you were able to hire the A+ candidate - the one that is in the top 10% of their field.

So how do you distinguish? First, you must carefully determine the competencies that you need for a particular position AND you must determine the differences between an A+ candidate and a B candidate in these specific competencies. As you are interviewing candidates, you should be grading them by the competencies that you have established. An A+ candidate will meet 90% of the competencies. Don't settle. LISTEN to what they are telling you. I highly recommend that your first conversation be on the telephone. This way the candidate's image and body language are removed from the equation. A telephone interview forces you to listen more carefully and will help you asses this individual more fairly.

Next, look carefully at their accomplishments in EACH and EVERY position. This takes time and deep probing, however, more time spent up front in this process saves you massive amounts of time and money if the wrong person were hired. It is critical to understand how this person either made money for their employer, saved their employer money, or increased efficiencies.

Finally, ask your candidate for references from former managers. That's right, former managers only. Not all candidates can supply this information easily, but believe me, your A+ candidates can!

It is paramount that you become a master at differentiating between A+, A, & B candidates. Even though it takes more time up front, it will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run. Not to mention, A+ candidates are more fun to have on the team!