Is Perfectionism Destroying Your Hiring Process?

We all want the perfect candidate for a job. Hiring and training someone new can be an expensive proposition and you want to make sure you find just the right person. While this is an important step in the hiring process, perfectionism has its downsides. You may be losing the ideal candidate simply because you are holding to standards that are simply too high to reach.

It’s best to break down your hiring process into simple steps. First, list all of the qualities you want to see in your new employee. This is your first list, so feel free to be as picky as you want. Once you have this list in place, distill it down. Remove items that the average person couldn’t fulfill and rank the key traits you are looking for in order of importance.

This will create a reasonable list that can be used in the real world. Remember, no potential hire is going to be perfect. You are going to have to be willing to give some ground in some areas or you will simply never find the right candidate.

Next, focus on a few key traits that are absolutely essential to your company. Your ideal candidate should display at least three out of five or around 60 to 70% of the traits you are seeking. This keeps your expectations in line and will help you weed out those who honestly are not a good fit.

Triaging potential hires is the next step. Go through your interview notes and see which candidates fulfill your key trait requirement percentage. Make a list and refresh yourself on your impressions of these candidates.

Remember, your first impression is typically right. If you had a candidate that impressed you, but may not necessarily have all of the skills you are looking for, take a step back. Can this hire learn the necessary skills? If the answer is yes, proceed with the hiring. If it’s no, keep looking until you find the most qualified person. A new hire may not be perfect out of the gate, but give them some time to blossom and you may be surprised at just how perfect they become.

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