Hire Slow, fire fast… We’ve all heard that phrase, but come on, have you ever had to fire someone? It sucks. It just does. So, what if instead, you could avoid hiring the bad apples and in turn, avoid having to let people go who just frankly, were never a good fit?
There are some clues during the interview process that can help you minimize the chance that you’ll hire a bad employee. Here are our top 5 warning signs of bad employees.
You Have a Bad Gut Feeling
As you are interviewing a candidate, if you get that gut feeling that something seems off, don’t ignore that feeling! Some things that might give you that “rock in the pit of your stomach” feel can be their stories not matching their resume, or they seem hesitant to say things or stop themselves mid-sentence. Maybe their body language seems off to you or doesn’t match what they are saying (for example, they say they like working with people but they sit in the chair farthest away from you). Or even worse, they talk about the importance of time but show up late to the interview!
Basically Basic
Alarm bells should be going off in your head if your interviewee is giving you vague or basic answers to your questions. You know those canned generic answers about being a “team player” or “detail-oriented.” These people aren’t willing to share their authentic selves and instead are giving you the basic answers they think you want to hear. And if you can’t get to know the real type of employee someone is going to be, why take the risk and hire them?
Mr. or Ms. Perfect
Along that same vein of people not being their authentic selves during an interview is the candidate that seems too good to be true. If you are having a hard time finding a flaw in a candidate because they say all the right things, their answers might be overly rehearsed. This can be hard to catch with some of the more basic interview questions, so ask something that’s a bit off-the-wall, and it doesn’t even have to be about the job itself, but should help you to get to know the person in front of you. These questions get a job candidate to drop their guard and give you a clearer picture of who they really are.
Chatty Cathy
We aren’t saying that someone who is a little verbose will inherently be a bad employee. What we mean with this warning sign is that they say too much in some bad ways. For example, if you ask a question about why they want to leave their current employer and they start talking about all the skeletons in the closet, run away screaming–really, we mean it! Someone who bad-mouths an employer or plays the victim is going to be super unprofessional.
No, No, No!
Boundaries are good and it’s great if someone knows what they are capable or willing to do. But if you hear a lot of “No, I don’t do that,” or “I won’t do this,” then consider putting them on the no list. Remember, this is if they say no to a lot of reasonable things. Telling you that they won’t answer emails after the work day is over is completely reasonable.
Using Tech to Help Find the Perfect Fit
A resume will only tell you so much about a job candidate. And sometimes we could all use a little assistance, even after an interview! What if you could use the power of technology to help you find the perfect fit for a job opening? You can! The Workzinga Culture Fit Assessment is an innovative personality tool for companies, helping you find the right person not only for the job but also fits your company’s personality and culture.
