The Top 3 Places to Find Elite Employees
I remember what it was like to work through the process of honing my interview skills. I’ve always been a people person some would say. Developing conversation, asking questions, listening have never been an issue for me. I come by it naturally I suppose.
But there is an art to listening.
An art to asking questions.
An art to leading a conversation through curiosity so you can identify the characteristics of another within a five minute window.
Yes, a five minute window.
I once worked for a company who had an unwritten policy that every person who completes an application with us deserved an interview. This was back in the day when you handed someone a paper application, clipboard and pen. I honestly miss those days. Although technology is wonderful and has given us the opportunity to work smarter and carry a wider footprint of impact, it has also taken away some of the humanity that comes with life. Interviewing is one of those areas where we’ve robbed ourselves of the humanity we really need to find great people.
It is impossible to know who you are interviewing though their Indeed profile. You cannot look someone in the eye via email. Scoping someone’s social media only tells you what they want you to know. I want flesh and blood. I want eye contact and body language.
With those interactions I can know within 2-4 minutes if I want to hire you.
Yes. It’s that simple.
Three questions in I know if you will fit our culture.
Five questions in I know what kind of leadership skills you carry with you.
Eight to ten questions in I can match your skill set with exactly what I feel will help you be successful within our culture.
Again, it’s that simple. But you have to know the right questions to ask. You have to know the signals to watch and the small subtleties to listen to. You have to pay attention to the small details that most miss. And it only takes a few minutes and a few right questions. But that is all very difficult to do via your computer.
You’re playing the lottery.
If you’ve never taken the time to learn how to interview properly, if you’ve never studied the art of question asking, if you’ve never dabbled even a little in psychology and human behavior, if you have no clear cut description of what you want this new hire to do, if you’re depending on apps and social media and hiring companies to find people then you’re playing the lottery. My guess is as a successful business person you don’t spend too much time at the slot machine or in line at your local gas station spending your hard earned money on powerball numbers. Most successful people don’t make or spend their money that way. Yet when it comes to hiring and finding great people even the most successful among us lose their ever loving mind!
The most high performing CEO’s in the world would never hand their business over to someone they don’t know and trust. Yet when it comes time to hire, the first thing so many do is turn to someone they don’t know and most likely don’t trust. You’re allowing a machine and algorithm to sift through candidates and you’re left with the rest.
Why?
Because you say you don’t have time?
What you don’t have time for is the cycle of hiring and firing and seeing people quit.
What you don’t have time for is spending thousands of dollars on training another employee.
Maybe you don’t trust yourself. Then either find someone you trust who knows your culture inside and out and have them learn how to become a master at interviewing. Honestly, it’s your business. Become a master of interviewing first, find some great people that actually stay with you THEN entrust someone to help you recruit, interview and hire. There is absolutely not excuse you can give me that I will not crush when it comes to recruiting and hiring great people. It’s your business. It’s your money. It’s your dream. It’s your culture. You hold the key.
Stop making excuses.
I want you to have a plan for recruiting and hiring. There is so much information to cover here but for today I want to make it simple. I want so badly for you to stop playing the lottery and actually have confidence that the people you hire are going to work.
Will you miss sometimes? Yes. But you will find success far more often than miss once you learn the art of interviewing. This skill is for another day. For today? I want to give you three easy to access places to begin finding great people. Think of it as searching for the best athletes. You can be a mediocre coach but if you have elite athletes and let them do what they do you will be a very successful coach. Conversely, you can be the most ingenious coach in the history of coaching. If you have subpar athletes you will be a mediocre coach at best. All of that knowledge and idealism will be lost with players who cannot perform. So you must know where to find those elite athletes you’re seeking. The people who have the intangibles needed to take your business next level. Here are the top three places to seek out elite team members:
1- Colleges or Universities
Campuses are some of the most underrated locations for seeking prospective employees. I’ve never understood this because college campuses are sprawling with eager, hard working, idealistic, youthful, energetic and determined people. These are people looking for a career. They are exploring the world and themselves and are ready to take part in the world around them. They desire empowerment and advancement and a culture that gives them space and room to use their talents and abilities. You are absolutely crazy if you are not recruiting college campuses. Not sure how? I will give you the how.
- Contact the department that is most closely related to your type business and market place and ask to present to a class. Do this a few times a semester. College professors are constantly seeking community engagement and guest speakers. Become their go to contact every semester and you will suddenly have an influx of viable candidates for your business.
- Walk the campus and find every single location job boards are located. Place a simple flyer on every job board stating that you are looking for great teammates for your business. Someone will contact you.
3- Create awesome social media posts that state exactly what your company is about and why it would be a great place to work. Post these on your social media platform and tag every department within the college you are prospecting as well as the college itself. If the institution has active clubs, study groups, etc, tag these as well.
Taking these three steps at your nearby college or university will drastically change the prospects walking through your door. And notice, you don’t have to depend on vague technology to find them. You took control.
2- Job Fairs
Every single city of any size in America hold jobs fairs. Many of them host multiple job fair’s a year. Colleges and Universities hold job fair’s each semester to help graduates network and find opportunity. You want to be a face at these job fair’s. This is your opportunity to prospect, recruit and hone your skill of the two minute interview. Again, once you know the right questions and how to listen, a two minute interview is all you need to know if moving forward is worth your time. Call your local chamber of commerce, local educational institutions, local high schools, etc and ask if they hold job fair’s during the year. With ten minutes of phone calls you might just have the opportunity to find a few people that could change the outlook of your company and eradicate most of the frustration you’ve had when it comes to finding great people.
3- Anywhere you are shopping, eating, purchasing, visiting
Believe it or not, there are great people all around you. Every place you shop or visit or eat have great people. It may be the chef in the back or the janitor or the cashier or the car salesman. You never know who you are going to meet so your radar must always be on when engaging with others. Listen to how they speak to you and others. Pay attention to their work ethic. Notice how they interact with others. The greatest mistake most business owners make is they recruit and hire based on tangibles rather than intangibles. 80% of what you are hiring someone to do can be taught. They don’t need to know that 80% of information before you hire them. Computing programs, training programs, sales tactics, job information, cultural relevancies can all be taught. I don’t care if someone has never heard of Excel or the next great software you’re using. I can teach them all of that. I want the intangibles. I want to hire someone because they have the characteristics I cannot teach. They know how to engage others.
They have strong work ethic.
They have a great smile and a positive presence.
They have idealism and good energy.
You cannot teach these things. Anywhere you meet someone who has these intangible characteristics, take note. Visit them again. Find out more about them. Get to know them. Because if the data holds true they are most likely not 100% excited about the future of their job and will, one day, be looking for an opportunity. When that day comes you want them to remember you, your company and the culture they know exist at your place of business.
Stop playing the lottery when it comes to finding great people. These three steps are an easy start to that mission. You are in control. It is your company. Each time someone leaves you are provided another opportunity to look in the mirror, reflect and make a change.
The world is full of amazing, great, positive people.
You’re just looking in the wrong places.