3 Tips for Hiring your Next Team Member

Hiring a new team member to a highly effective and cohesive team can be a daunting process, especially when you are reviewing a long list of resumes in your inbox. Why are you hiring? Are you growing or filling a new role? Here are 3 factors to consider in order to hire the right candidate:

Skills vs Attitude

What are you hiring for?

Often times, managers who are focusing too much on the skills add members on their team with the wrong attitude and are missing emotional intelligence. We all agree that some basic skills are needed but being able to identify your organizational culture will help you find new team members that align with your values and goals.

All roles require learning and growth, so if a candidate has an a positive attitude and aptitude to learn new skills, they could be a good fit for the role. We can always learn new skills, but getting someone to change their attitude can be more difficult!

Corporate Values

Will the candidate fit with the rest of the team and the overall corporate values?

Corporate values reflect the culture, attitudes and goals of your organization. Do the candidate’s professional ambitions align with that of your organization?

Working collaboratively is key to both success and job satisfaction. It is important to look for a team member who is interested and invested in the work and feels fulfilled when company targets are reached.  

Hiring process

When is the last time you reviewed your hiring process?

If it hasn’t changed in a few years, it might need a bit of an update. Some managers have had great success inviting the potential candidate for coffee on the first interview to make the process more friendly. Others are still done in a boardroom, but with a few team members of diverse background to showcase what the organization’s fabric is made of. Another approach is to start the process by a call or video interview. All are good options as long as they are aligned with the nature of the role you are hiring for, your organization’s corporate values and the type of interview you want to conduct.

The hiring process is a two way exchange—both parties need to approach it with an awareness of their own attitude, values and goals. As the employer, hiring a new team member is an opportunity to get in touch with the organizational culture you want to achieve. Finding a candidate that meets your needs can seem daunting, but investing some time into finding the right fit (and knowing what that fit looks like) will save you much more time and energy in the future!