Spot That Perfect Employee From A Million Miles Away
Running a business and building a company is our journey to the perfect career and financial stability. Even with a vision and plan in place, it still takes time to reach our goals.
A stable dependable team of employees and partners is necessary to carry us into the future and we know that. But sometimes we let financial, time or resource constraints dictate who we hire.
We may think we have to hire the web guy who will work for free because that will save us money for print ads or something else.
But, my friends, free help is never free and experienced help won’t always lead you to perfection.
If you need help and are concerned about how to pick the right people for the job, try some of my tricks and see if they help:
#1 – look for Passion
Passion is the number one attribute you should seek in a potential employee or team member. Someone who loves what you do as much or more than you is more likely to stick with you for the long haul. Hiring desperate dudes who are just hungry for money or exposure could cause you frustration. They will put your gig second or third on their list when higher paying work comes along.
Passion can be spotted in someone’s cover letter. In fact – we all reveal so much about ourselves in our writing. You want to hear excitement in their voice – and that should come through in a good cover letter. I like it when people actually say that they are excited or would “love” to work with me.
Beware of people who load you with lists of their experience. If someone can sum up their experience in one or two sentences, and use the rest of the letter to explain what they can do for you –- that’s great.
A cover letter or initial phone call should also reveal what you can offer him/her. Maybe they want to sell tee shirts for you because they are also an artist – and really love your designs. Or maybe they want to market your product because they take great pride in marketing to a young generation of entrepreneurs.
In other words – something other than money needs to reel them in – if you’re going to be a good match
And their statements need to feel real and true to you – or don’t even call them back
#2 Chemistry
Does this person give you the heebie jeebies? Kick him to the curb — you don’t have time. And I cannot tell you how to determine if someone gives you the creeps. But, if you avoid their calls or e-mails chances are the relationship will not work out. Don’t feel bad either.
#3 Look for Reliability
Once you’ve established that Joe Smith is gung-ho about your biz, you need to make sure he can live up to your standards.
Give him a simple deadline right away. Ask him if he can e-mail you, meet you or call you at a certain time (within reason). There is really no good excuse for someone not to meet your simple phone or e-mail request right away. If he declines to meet you, he should come up with an alternative that is as close to your request as possible.
Another sign of reliability is when he drops a few personal details about himself, like: “oh my wife’s a writer too and she loves your magazine.” He’s letting you in on the fact that he’s married. It’s a way that we humans have of forming personal connections. If someone’s willing to tell you a tid-bit of their life then they trust you and want your trust.
Make conversation with him and make sure that both of you are comfortable and on the same page.
#4 Honesty
I can’t stand working with bullshitters and the literary world is full of them. Check a few of their resume sources and be sure that they’re being truthful with you. Or if don’t want to do that – simply refer to an aspect of their resume to them in conversation and see how they handle it.
#5 Variables
I think it’s really important to scope out people who can afford to work for you. I mean, do they have the time and resources available to successfully do the job you need them to do?
Writers work for anything from $3-200/hour. And that depends on the job and the person hiring them. Many writers are so hungry for work that they try to tackle too many things at once. You need to find out what else is going on in your employees life that will affect their work for you.
You get what you pay for. And you never want to ask people to do more than what they can afford to do. So, if you’re working on a very tight budget, be honest with your team and let them know how payment works.
Offer them a compromise in pay or workload if they need it. That way you ensure that you are getting their best work without running them dry.
And if they fail to come though for you after contracts and agreements have been made – you will feel secure in letting them go.
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