Does the Perfect Hire Exist?

As a hiring manager or decision maker, there is a responsibility to build the best team that will promote productivity and engagement. However, for many managers, that textbook hire has been elusive. So the question arises, the top-talent, game-changing employee that every company is looking for – that perfect hire – does it exist? Engagement, retention, and innovation have been hot topics as of late, and each issue boils down to having not just qualified workers, but the right workers.

There is No Such Thing as Perfection
This is a truth that every one of us realizes at one point in our lives. There is no such thing as the perfect – fill in the blank. Whether with relationships, friendships, teachers, students, etc., our species is not perfect, so why would we expect to find perfection in our hiring process? This is a myth that has gripped our subconscious and diverged our thinking as leaders. The correct thought isn’t about the perfect employee, but more so about which group of people will work best together and create the ideal atmosphere in your workplace.

Determine What You’re Looking For
Once the illusion of the magical worker who will make everything seem like precision clockwork is gone, it’s time to get your hands dirty and delve into what you really need from an employee and how best to screen for those traits. This step is one of the most important aspects of hiring. Brainstorm with all the individuals who will be involved in the interview process as well as a couple of trusted team members who will be working with the new hire. This is a great way to determine what kind of employee you are looking for. Some workers look great on paper, but once they are incorporated into your team, they fizzle out and become more of a problem than a solution. Ask your brainstorming group what you want and what you don’t want the new hire to be. If you are looking for a go-getter and independent worker, weed out apathetic applicants. If you are looking for someone who is a team player and will do exactly what you feel is best for the organization, maybe creative and inspired minds won’t work for that particular position.

Be Clear to the Candidate and Yourself
This goes along with knowing what’s best for you and the potential employee. If you want to keep engagement high and retention solid, it is important to be clear to the candidate as well as your self as to what you want and what you expect from the worker. This is paramount. If a candidate is overqualified and you aren’t clear with the qualification level of the position, the worker may get bored and disengaged, which could lead to low productivity and fast turnover. And just the same, if the position is out of the employee’s qualification level, he or she may get burned-out, overworked, or stressed and produce subpar work.

Imperfections Aside, People are Teachable
Now that you don’t believe there is a perfect hire, you can get past someone’s imperfections and focus on strengths. Employees’ downfalls can be corralled and managers can focus on developing promising careers to meet companies’ requirements and needs. If you hire a person who is eager to learn and grow, then added time needed to train can lend itself to high yield returns. Create that perfect employee instead of blindly searching for an inexistent one.

Create Perfection
Every company’s culture is different. It takes a while for a person to get accustomed to it. Legwork, persistence, and patience are all needed to create a highly engaged and productive workforce. When hiring a new employee, if you take the time to figure out the core values you want and understand that there is always a learning curve, you might just create a workforce full of those elusive, perfect hires.

One Response to Does the Perfect Hire Exist?

  1. Corina Carroll October 2, 2012 at 9:26 am #

    This is especially helpful, as this is a situation we were just dealing with this morning. A good fit is really the most important part of hiring. We can teach company-specific skills.

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