Prison Material, Bad Reputation or Perfect Fit?
Three Ways To Uncover The Truth About A New Employee in Less Than 5 Minutes That Could Save You Hours of Wasted Time, Energy and Money!
How often have you hired a staff member only to find out they were a dud?
You might not have discovered it overnight, but it meant wasted time in training, wasted money and plenty of wasted energy… then to top it off, you had to go back to scratch in the employment process… arghhhhh…
We’ve been there too…we’ve fallen prey to employing the wrong person, especially when the applicant presented themselves perfectly! It does surface the question: what could we have done differently to prevent having hired this inappropriate person? What checks could we have done quickly and easily to find the perfect fit?
As technology zooms ahead at the speed of lightning, getting a quick check on your prospective employees has never been easier…. Let me show you exactly what I mean…
Take Social Media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. A great place to start to check out your prospective employees. In a recent CareerBuilder survey, 37 % of employers investigate job candidates’ social media profiles. This can be a window as to whether you are hiring a wild party animal, who could come to work dusty on a Monday morning, or whether they are a perfect fit with your company culture. 65% of employers looking at a prospective employee on social media are looking as to whether or not a candidate presents him or herself professionally online.
With Facebook most profiles are set to ‘private’, sharing only with their inner circle of friends, however you can often see the single profile picture that matches your candidate. This picture is often enough to pass surface judgment – it is where most people express what is ‘most important’ to them. An image of them and their girlfriend, them and their dog, them out on the town with their mates!
That said, it’s amazing at the number of people who do not select ‘private’ for their Facebook page, hence allowing the world to view everything about you.
A second way to search a prospective employee online is through a simple Google search. Type their name/surname into Google and see what surfaces – any red flags?.
You can also search a phone number to see what results it delivers. If anything comes up that doesn’t sit right with you, then you need to assess whether this person is right for your company.
The third way of completing a quick check on prospective employees is calling the references provided on the resumes. If they didn’t provide any this is a MUST to request in an interview. So many people I speak to tell me that they ask for references but NEVER call them. This is one of the most reliable sources of whether the employee is a good fit for your business. You can also gauge whether the previous employer has had issues with the employee by the answers given.
This quick 3 step search will take you less than 5 minutes and is guaranteed to save you time, money and energy. It will prevent you from employing someone that is prison material or has a bad reputation, and put you in good stead to employ someone who is a perfect fit!
Give it a go next time you’re hiring.
What’s next?
- Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
- Book a 15-minute Game Plan Call with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps.
