It can be a difficult to find the right talent that fits with your company, it can cost you time and money to hire the wrong candidate. There are several key areas that Human Resource Representatives should focus on during the recruitment process in order to determine whether a candidate is the right fit for your organization. Before determining if a candidate is the right fit for your company, first you need to develop your Talent Strategy.

It Starts with Culture

As we’ve said before, culture is extremely important to your organization. In order to attract the right talent, you must understand what your current culture is like. Is your workplace a desirable place to work? If not, what can be improved?  

Your current employees can be your strongest advocates and help to attract strong talent. Alternatively, they can deter talented candidates from joining your team if you have not set up the systems to make your organization enjoyable to work for.  

Once you’ve identified the core values that drive your organization’s culture, you can begin to find the right talent to help that culture grow.  

"Hiring is the most important people function you have, and most of us aren’t as good at it as we think. Refocusing your resources on hiring better will have a higher return than almost any training program you can develop." — Laszlo Bock

Determine the Right Applicants

To determine who should be recruited, you should begin by laying out your objectives for the role:

1. Determine how many positions you need to fill.

2. The deadline to fill the position.

3. What is the target number of applicants you are looking for?

4. What are the minimum requirements of the candidate?

5. Do you have screening questions to filter out candidates who do not meet these requirements?  

6. What are the job performance goals for your new hires?

7. How do these goals tie into your organization’s objectives?

8. What are the role responsibilities?

9. What are the soft skills required?  

10. What are the attributes you are looking for in a candidate to be the right culture fit?

11. What type of recruiters should be used? Internal or external?  

Reaching the Right Applicants

It is not enough to use generic hiring ads and hope that you find a great candidate from the selection. Developing a tailored job description using the objectives that you have identified for the role will help find the best candidate for the job.  

There are many ways of achieving this and you should consider including the following:  

1. A description of an average workday;  

2. Have the applicants include a portfolio (if applicable);  

3. Summarize how performance is measured;  

4. Why they should choose your company over others;  

5. Next steps of the hiring process;

6. Average timeframe to receive responses.  

Post your ad on multiple platforms - Indeed and LinkedIn are great places to start. Describe what your values, reputation, and company culture are to ensure that the candidate is aligned with them. Properly advertising your job post can help to identify some truly great candidates.

Social media recruiting is growing, and 73% of Millennial job seekers found their last job through social networking. Showing your company culture and brand through social media helps make it easier to find the right candidate.  

Involving your current employees in recruiting may also be beneficial. You can make it a point to build a referral program or ask for input on what they believe should be part of the new job requirements. There could be a need that is not currently being met and asking questions is a great way to find out about it.  

Now that you have a well thought out a strategy, how do you find the right candidate out of the many applicants that you have received?  

Determine What to Focus on During the Interview

Before interviewing any candidates, take the time to review their resume and ask any relevant questions about their work experience. Assessing your candidates’ strengths and weaknesses is important in understanding if their professional expectations match your own assessment of them.  

Pay attention to the questions they ask; it can help you determine what they are looking for in a role and if it matches what you need in a candidate. Be clear about your expectations, it allows for a better retention rate if the candidate steps into the role knowing the full scale of what is expected.  

“Hiring the wrong people is the fastest way to undermine a sustainable business.” — Kevin J. Donaldson

Personal Skills and Goals

Assess how their skills will fit with the job role. Do they align with the requirements you need in an employee? Think about their long-term goals – do they match with the company’s goals and trajectory? Can their goals help you in the long run or fit the path that you would like to see them on?

Culture Fit

Does their personality fit with the company culture? How do you even determine this? Maybe they have a similar education background, or their skills and abilities align with the job requirements.  

If the interview goes well, you could have them spend time with the team they would be working with to see if their interests and values align and if they would be a good personality fit with the group. The right talent would have more than the history, passion, and knowledge you are looking for, but also have the right personality for your organization.

Take Your Time

Take your time attracting the right talent. It can be easy to hire the first person that comes and checks all the boxes. While that is important, it does not necessarily mean they are right for your team. Trust your gut if you think someone isn’t a right fit, it can take time to build an excellent team.

BluePrint CPAs helps early-stage life science firms grow their businesses and ensure that staff are well trained and engaged to maximize the financial value of their business. Book a consultation today.

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