Hiring talent is such a fun event, if you know how to do it correctly. If not, it can be a very daunting experience! How do you identify the employees who genuinely want to work with you, and will add value to your business?

Sometimes we end up hiring the wrong people and it can cause a lot of stress. To help prevent this from happening, let’s go through a few ways that in the interview you can differentiate between the right next hire, and the wrong. 

First thing, as always, is clarity. Absolute, total clarity. You need to get super clear on who you actually need to hire, what kind of person would be the right cultural fit for the team and what skills are needed. 

Once you have absolute clarity over what you want and create a great job description to match it, the hiring process moves to the next stage! To make the interviewing stage smooth, ensure you have your own list of red and green flags to watch out for. Trust me this step is VITAL. You want to identify every red flag and steer clear because the cost of hiring the wrong person is significant. 

So how do we avoid that, and identify the right candidate? Here are my five top tips for navigating that interview and finding your perfect next employee:

1. Definitely ask the “tell me about yourself” question, and then really listen to the answer! Make sure you pay attention to these two specifics in their answer, are they telling you what you want to hear? And have they added personality into this? You want to make sure when a candidate answers this question they are actually telling you something personal and genuine about themselves, not just a made up response. True honesty is one of the most vital qualities for a good employee!

2. Then ask the candidates what they know about your company, and why they want to work here? These questions are great, because they will help you identify who is truly interested in the role: did they do their research? If they are able to truly go into detail around your company that shows they are passionate and have a great attitude. A great attitude can often trump experience, because experience can be gained but an attitude can’t be taught. It is especially important that every hire is excited to work for you in a small business! I would avoid anyone who hasn’t done any research.

3. Another good question to ask is: “How do you like to be supported in a role?” This is a great question because it will also show you have a nurturing culture to the candidate but it allows you to see if you align with what they want from their role. Progression and support is huge for motivation and happy employees so you want to make sure you guys are on the same page and aligned.

4. Another important question to ask is how the interviewee would like to work, if you are in a position to offer remote or hybrid roles. Flexibility can be an important way you can attract the right talent, so be sure to understand how they could see themselves working within your company’s environment. 

5. Lastly, to ensure a good culture fit with your team a good question to ask is: “What culture do you like to work in?” Remember, this candidate is going to be working with you and your team, so it’s important that culturally they fit!

Amie Duignan is a Career Coach, Head-hunter, In-House Recruiter and Founder at A.D Connects.

This information is general in nature and has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness for the information to your own circumstances and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.