Why are you The BEST ONE For Us to Hire?

Our Goal is always a Great Hire who fits the roles and responsibilities we need them to fill. You’ve been diligent to do the groundwork – the 3 steps of Advanced Preparation (https://idealpersonidealplace.com/2021/03/16/how-advanced-preparation-steps-are-key-in-the-hiring-process/ ), Designing the Ad (https://idealpersonidealplace.com/2021/03/30/how-to-design-an-ideal-hiring-notice-to-draw-the-ideal-person/ ) and now it is Crunch Time… Conducting the Interviews.

I can still vividly recall sitting on the floor in our bedroom many years ago, surrounded by piles of letters that we received in response to our ad for a Front Desk Receptionist. By this time in our practice, we knew exactly what type of person we needed to hire and exactly what their responsibilities would be.

As I scanned letter after letter, it was easy to do the first sorting. Into the Reject Pile went the notes scribbled on notebook paper and any letters with glaring misspellings or poor grammar. It was always a shock to me how many of these we received.

But that still left us with many excellent letters – so it was time to invite them to interview.

The Interview Process:

1. Set up a Chart for the First Interviews:  We knew it was crucial for this person to represent us well. So they needed to dress neatly and present a professional manner. We reviewed the responsibilities and discussed their experience. Then we had a little “test” for each area of the office – catch the misspelled words and improper grammar in our written sample, or do a “dexterity test” by screwing pins in and out of a board, or work  a sheet of math problems. We also noted – do they have a pleasant voice – since that would contribute to a pleasant office atmosphere. We always asked them to “tell us about yourself” and “is there anything else we haven’t touched on that you would like to share about yourself?” Then we promised each candidate that we would get back to them in just a couple days and thanked them for their time.
2. Invite the top 3 – 4 candidates back for a Second Interview:  This is when we applied our DISC learning. We again discussed the roles and responsibilities involved and paid close attention to how they responded to these, as well as such factors as how fast they talked and walked (a good indicator of DISC Style), how positive, warm and friendly they were. Them we gave each of our top candidates a DISC Assessment – which required just a few minutes to take and get the results. Again, we promised each candidate that we would get back to them in just a couple days and thanked them for their time. NOTE: depending on the number of applicants, it is possible to combine Step 1 and Step 2 into one interview visit.
3. Compare the applicants’ DISC Assessment results with our Best DISC Style Combination graph and CALL REFERENCES:   Too often, people skip both parts of this step. But we learned that this was when all the prior efforts truly paid off. By comparing our notes and each candidate’s DISC Assessment with the Best DISC Combination for the role, it was clear in black and white where that person would have to make the most adjustments to fit that role. Then it was essential to call their references, have a short chat, then ask if they would hire them again.

After working our way through each of these steps, it was almost always obvious who was the best person for us to hire. The real benefit of doing this much due diligence was putting together a team who loved to come to work because they fit the roles they were asked to do… so they wanted to stay with us for the long haul. You can’t beat an office full of Ideal People in their Ideal Places!

QUESTION:. Does this sound like a long, arduous process to go through to accomplish a successful hire? Do you think the end result is worth the required effort? I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations. Please share in the comment section below.