Attract a Good Fit for the Position
Have you hired an employee that matches the job posting perfectly, but they turn out to be the wrong fit 90 days later?
When hiring, it’s common for managers to use the top job description they come across. They post it, attract candidates, and make a hiring decision as soon as a likely candidate walks through the door.
However, these candidates will more than likely end up as turn-over. Why?
I believe that over 50% of turn-over can be avoided by better defining responsibilities, required skills, and ideal behaviors in the job posting itself.
If you didn’t take the time to think through the average day this person goes through, then you probably didn’t hold a stake holder meeting with the employees who will interface with this person. This should all be considered when writing the job description.
We also need to consider the changes our company/industry/environment have undergone, which entails that our “next receptionist” be different from the previous one.
Find the Right Fit for the Company
We have to use the right bait for the fish we want! We only want certain types of fishes to be attracted to our job posting instead of simply casting a wide net.
If you’re looking to hire a receptionist for example, then you want someone who is naturally friendly, flexible, and comfortable with being the “face” of your company. They should be able to instinctively follow up on emails and phone calls while being helpful to the rest of the team.
After thinking through their daily responsibilities, it’s important to pull together the stakeholders for each role. Together, you should discuss the role in-depth and look critically at how specific in the job posting needs to be.
Post the agreed upon job description and interview candidates that respond. I recommend you ask about 2-3 questions to identify candidates that are attracted to the role. Here are two examples:
- Do you enjoy an environment that keeps you guessing?
- Are you the go-to-person that your friends come to, to organize a party?
This allows you to attract certain fish and repel the others. I hope this helps, and I would love to hear of creative ways that you write a job description and posting to eliminate candidates that aren’t a good fit. Let’s talk!
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