How to Hire Great People
LW, a friend and colleague, is a master of good hiring. His first hire — an entry-level marketing assistant — bloomed into a world-class marketing pro who is already running his company for him. The two of them hired another superb employee who helped them double their sales in one year. Now, the staff consists of four people, and they are doing as much business as it would normally take eight people to do.
It takes time and effort to hire good people, but it’s well worth it. Here are the four most important things I’ve learned:
1. Make the commitment. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. You can’t expect to hire great people if you spend just a few hours working on it. I don’t like interviewing, so I have to resist the impulse to hire the first decent person who comes along.
2. Look for the right things. Intelligence is important. But I’d put it third on my list. The two most important things to look for are attitude and aptitude.
3. Flee flaws. Generally speaking, a job candidate is at his best during the interview. If something about him seems “wrong,” don’t ignore it — especially if it concerns qualities that are important for the job. I’ve found that the personal quirks that surface during an interview are like the tip of an iceberg. What you see is a very small part of what you will have to deal with later.
4. Don’t worry too much about specific experience. Yes, it’s good to know that the person you hire can do the technical work from day one. But on day seven or day 14, you’ll wish you had opted for the better, though perhaps untried and unproven, prospect.
———————————Highly Recommended ————————————-
Are You Your Only Employee? – The need to hire superstar employees to help you run your business may seem far off if you’re just starting out. But Michael Masterson can help you get to that stage sooner than you think. In his Wall Street Journal bestseller, Ready, Fire, Aim, he’ll teach you how to make your business profitable within two years. At the same time, you’ll be building a strong foundation to keep your business growing year after year.
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