"Are They a Frog or Prince?"

Hiring the Right People is Imperative to Reaching Your Goals!

Over the years I have had the opportunity to be a part of many interviews. As an outside consultant I have found it interesting to watch managers focus on many important attributes yet completely ignore the search for character and substance. Whenever we are hiring a customer relations representative we all look for the obvious:

Did they dress professionally for the interview?
Did they come prepared with a pen, resume and references?
Do they make and keep good eye contact?
Do they keep a pleasant facial expression, even in uncomfortable moments?
Do they appear confident?
Are they good communicators?

While all of these qualities are important, we must make sure we do not hire someone based on appearance and emotion. A well rehearsed actor could fool you in all of these areas but they couldn't do the job.

How many times have you met someone that knocked you off your feet until the true frog appeared?

We have all been fooled! We are mentally programmed to form a first impression based on physical appearance and body language as are our clients, but when you are in the position to put together a top performing team you must dig much deeper. Here are just a few points and questions to get you started.

Don't focus on bonding with this person and making small talk. Keep it professional as you have a discussion about experience, credentials and talents.
Ask them about their strengths and weaknesses. (If they cannot admit to an area of weakness, I would not hire them.)
Ask questions about their most recent job responsibilities. It is important that they can recite a list of duties. It shows that they take job descriptions and responsibilities seriously.
Ask probing questions about accomplishments, challenges and growth. The deeper you dive into their stories the more their true qualities will shine through.

For example:

What has been your greatest professional achievement? (Is it in your industry?)
How did you achieve this goal?
How did you learn from this experience?
What would you do differently now?
How were you rewarded for your achievements?
Was the reward fair for your accomplishments? (The response to this question can be very revealing.)

Finally, make sure that no matter how much you like this candidate your interview does not turn into a sales pitch as you explain all of the benefits of working for your organization.

A prince/princess will want a job because they have taken the time to research your company.

A prince/princess will know and agree with your values, goals and mission statements.

A prince/princess will look forward to training and learning your processes.

A frog will be most concerned with paid time off!

Let Us Lead You to Royalty!

We can help you create your winning team! We now have the capability to create the most effective ads and strategically place them on dozens of websites and job boards. Each applicant will go through a screening process and a telephone interview. Once we feel they are a suitable candidate, they will be passed on to you for a face to face interview. We can even take the next step and put them through our basic training before they approach any of your valued clients.

Let us save you time by weeding out the Frogs!

Call or email today to discuss your options.

sally@swservicesolutions.com

317-509-5615

Come see Sally present "What Drives Women?" at this years Autocon convention in Las Vegas. September 4th-6th. Go to www.autocon2013.com to register today.

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Comment by Pat Kirley on October 19, 2013 at 3:18pm: Thanks Sally for taking the time to reply.

Comment by Sally Whitesell on October 18, 2013 at 7:40pm: Pat, all of our blogs are a reposting of our Newsletter so the promotions are there. If I was afraid to ask for business; I would be out of business. Please just enjoy our content and ignore the rest if our services do not fit your needs. We are working on a new website so that we can link our blogs and you will not see every part of our newsletter unless you want to. I do think it is important that everyone know what the people who are supplying information to this wonderful site have to offer. Thank you for your valuable feedback.

Comment by Pat Kirley on August 14, 2013 at 6:43pm: I enjoyed it, but to promotion at the end?Let Us Lead You to Royalty!
We can help you create your winning team! We now have the capability to create the most effective ads and strategically place them on dozens of websites and job boards. Each applicant will go through a screening process and a telephone interview. Once we feel they are a suitable candidate, they will be passed on to you for a face to face interview. We can even take the next step and put them through our basic training before they approach any of your valued clients.
Let us save you time by weeding out the Frogs!
Call or email today to discuss your options.
sally@swservicesolutions.com
317-509-5615
Come see Sally present "What Drives Women?" at this years Autocon convention in Las Vegas. September 4th-6th. Go to www.autocon2013.com to register today.

Comment by Anne Fleming on August 14, 2013 at 2:24pm: Sally, well written and spot on. The devil, or the Prince shall I say, is always in the details!

Comment by Sally Whitesell on August 11, 2013 at 5:28pm: Thank you both! I forgot one of my first and favorite questions, "What do you think of our website?". If they haven't bothered to look, then you can make it a short interview. Marsh will I see you at Autocon?

Comment by Marsh Buice on August 11, 2013 at 2:39am: Great content and pointers Sally-this will now be a must on my interview list. Congrats on speaking at AutoCon, you are first class my friend. I love your passion for our profession. THANK YOU!

Comment by Amy Kern-Smith on August 8, 2013 at 9:23am: So true, Sally! I love the summary statements in the end of this post.

"A prince/princess will want a job because they have taken the time to research your company.

A prince/princess will know and agree with your values, goals and mission statements.

A prince/princess will look forward to training and learning your processes.

A frog will be most concerned with paid time off! "

An ideal candidate for employment does his or her homework before the initial interview for sure.