From the beginning to the end the hiring process is no joke. It’s exhausting, time consuming and really very stressful. The most relieving moment of the process is when you finally find, “the one.” But sometimes, in heartbreaking situations the one may actually be two. It’s more common than you may think.
Just as those looking for a job may go month without hearing anything and then get two interviews in the same week companies may look for months and then find two excellent candidates in the same week. This sort of makes the decision a little more stressful. This is especially true when you’re the owner or manager of a small business. Decisions like choosing the perfect candidate can be really tough when you know how directly its affecting the business you’re working with.
The most important thing you can keep in mind during a time like this is what exactly each candidate can bring to the table. First, start with a pros and cons chart. This may sound very cheesy, but it could definitely help you make your decision, and make the right one. For instance if one candidate is leaving a job of 9 years and one is leaving a job of 1 year you may see that the candidate with 9 years experience is loyal (depending on their reason for leaving).
And the true deal breaker is future potential versus the current need.
If you need someone with great customer service skills and one of your candidates has excellent customer service skills while the other may not have customer skills but DOES have drive and leadership, both of which will be needed down the road it’s a tough call. But think really hard, quickly, about which will help you best. Do you need someone with customer service NOW or do you have someone with great drive and leadership to help in the future of the company?
It may seem like a tough question at first but always remember this: without your company growing and doing better NOW it will never have a chance for the future. As a business owner you should know that by hiring the candidate with great customer service skills he/she will help your company grow and expand so that one day in the future when you’re ready to hire managers you can look for a candidate that hold excellent leadership skills.
