When it comes to finding your dream team, the first thing you need to do is define what your dream team look like – as so many people go into business, hoping to attract great talent, without the clarity required to recruit the right people into their business.
Often, small business owners will team up with a labor hire company, and whilst this can get much more efficient results the labour hire company need you to be crystal clear on what you are looking for in order to provide the best candidates for the job.
When you’re looking for creative talent, of course, things become much more subjective as a tick list of qualities you’re looking for in your team will often lead to unfulfilling results – as creativity and style is so subjective that it brings in a much less objective criteria to mark against, which is why, when you’re looking to expand your creative team it makes sense to meet as many candidates in person as possible.
Of course, you still want to filter people, via their portfolio and personal style, as you don’t want to be wasting your time – but when looking to hire a creative, you might want to consider giving them a micro task to see how they respond, rather than rely on a more traditional formal interview.
Get Clear On Who You Are Looking For
As stated above, the first step in the process is to get absolutely clear on what it is you are looking for in your dream team; for instance, what skills gaps do you need to fill, what attitude and atmosphere do you want within your company, and what specific skills and proficiencies do you require?
Then, when it comes to advertising for a job and trying to fill a role within your team, the most important ingredient you require is clarity – as you can write a wonderfully articulate advert but unless you know exactly what you are looking for the process might be a bit of a mess.
The need for getting clarity in all aspects of your business is high, but it becomes even more important when looking for the right candidates; so spend some time drafting your candidate criteria and really think about it.
Interview in a Variety of Ways
You want to interview people in a variety of ways, as people have different strengths and will shine in different aspects of the interview process – for instance, someone faced with a panel interview where they have to give a presentation might make them freeze and lose their composure, but that’s not to say this isn’t an ideal candidate – just that they are nervous and intimidated by the process.
This is why task based interviews offer a more holistic insight into the person, as you can watch them interact with others and see how they manage tasks – this is especially true when it comes to creative or problem solving skills.
Thoroughly Check Them Out
Last but not least is that you want to thoroughly check out a small number of shortlisted candidates, as it’s very easy to lie on a CV and you need to make sure that your candidate is authentic in their achievements.