Make Smart Hiring Decisions

Less Gut, More Data

Author

Ashley S
June 04, 2024

What wakes you up in the morning?

How about your team? 

Notice how each person on your team is driven by different things. 

According to Gallup, McKinsey, SHRM and APA, employees are most motivated by:

  1. Recognition and Praise

  2. Job Security

  3. Opportunities for Advancement

  4. Work-Life Balance

  5. Purpose and Meaning

We are all motivated by different things, and we all fear different things. 

One person will be driven by the leaderboard, another will be driven by direct feedback from leadership. 

DID YOU KNOW…

We all spend 46.9% of our waking hours thinking about something other than what we are doing???
 (Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). Harvard Study on Mind-Wandering).

What are your employees thinking about 46.9% of the time? 

Sunday Scaries? (Layoff fears)

How to ask for a raise? 

How to talk to their boss (you) because they don’t feel heard? 

The beauty of diversity of thought (DOT) and hiring a diverse team is the elevated ideas, creativity and innovation that is brought to your organization.

A product of DOT is also the diversity of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.

So how can you suss this out?


Here are the TOP 5 things you should be doing to understand your candidates in the interview process:

  1. Behavioral Interviews: map candidates to your company and team values and culture (if you didn’t do one when you hired the person, do one now in your 1:1)

    1. Download my guide here to learn how

  2. Conduct Multiple (but not too many) Interviews: Different interviewers offer varying perspectives - perspectives that you may not see

  3. Social Media Check: THIS. IS. MASSIVE. Prevent your horror-story hires. If an ex-employee is going to blast you on social media, they’ve DONE IT BEFORE. We use WeCheck.ai - check it out and use code HelpingHands for 15% off. 

  4. DISC assessments - run playbooks to determine how a candidate will add value and interact with your existing team. You can learn more than just what wakes someone up in the morning…for instance, who would be the best person to help onboard a specific new hire? 

  5. Toss the Beer Test: Not everyone is going to interview well, not everyone is going to scream “I’m really fun to hang out with” AND it shouldn’t matter. Are they smart, do they align with what you need for the role, will they add value to the team, will they fill gaps that you currently have on your team? 

Bottom Line: Diversity of thought is a beautiful thing. Hiring people that look, talk, and act the same is boring and will NOT elevate your team or company. 

Interview strategically to attract diverse thinkers. 

Next week’s newsletter will cover more about the wandering mind and how you can foster a strong culture so that your employees are thinking about how they can land their next big deal rather than the Sunday Scaries 46.9% of the time. 

Thanks for reading, see you next week! 

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How to work with me:

Recruiting: contract or per-placement hiring. Reach me here.

Writing: Freelance writing for blogs and publications. Reach me  here.
Recruiting and Interviewing guides are available here. 

Are you seeking a new role? Binge my courses or work with me 1:1 to help you land your next role here.