Private companies can sometimes struggle to hire people with both the skills and personalities they need to be successful. Practically every business eventually winds up hiring a bad egg at some point - somebody who actively works against the interests of the company - despite having an interview process. And it can cost them big. If you’ve ever onboarded somebody like this, you’ll know what we mean.
Fortunately, there are several methods you can use to avoid hiring this type of person. Here’s a rundown.
If you’re hiring for a senior position, you can usually identify bad eggs by how they treat more junior members of staff. Ideally, they should view everyone as having a valid role and part to play in the success of the enterprise. But some managers can get into the habit of treating people poorly. And that can seriously harm morale in the company. Just one senior person can wreck the atmosphere for everyone else.
People like talking about the times that they got hired in the interview process, but they rarely want to talk about when they got fired. So, often, they will neglect to list their reasons for leaving former jobs.
Getting fired from a role isn’t necessarily a bad thing - but usually it is. People who have nothing to hide will always say why they got fired and the real reasons for it. But those with a shady past will be a little more reluctant to share all the gruesome details with you. It’s these individuals you want to avoid.
Companies often have to hire private investigators to find out the truth about candidates wanting positions in their firms. Usually, if there’s a gap in their CV, it means that they have a shady history. The vast majority of workers do not take four-year sabbaticals in their mid-thirties, just because they feel like it. More often than not, it’s a sign that they have gone to prison or that their life fell apart in some other way.
Ideally, you want to hire people with leadership potential. That’s because these individuals typically have the traits that indicate that they will work hard and get on with the job of running your company. People who don’t have these, though, are always a risk. You never quite know if they’re going to let you down. And they don’t contribute meaningfully to the team. Yes - they perform their work. But they never stretch themselves beyond that, looking for ways to make the company’s vision come to life. So be sure you have a leadership measure in place in your interview process.
Ideally, you want people who are serious about joining your team and feel that your company is right for them. You shouldn’t just be another firm in a long line. Rather, you want to feel like the candidate believes that you’re a match.
If they keep shifting the interview date, it’s a sure sign that they don’t have faith in your company. It could even be because they have a bunch of other interviews lined up. Use these tips in your interview process to help weed out bad actors.
