Three Ways to Get to Know A Potential Hire 

You have combed through the stack of resumes. You are now ready to start interviewing potential hires. Resume, cover letter and references go a long way, but in the interview it is imperative that you get to know your potential hire as much as possible. In order to nab the perfect candidate make sure you focus on these three things during the interview.

1. Does Your Candidate Know What the Job Entails?

Your potential hire may come with a glowing recommendation and track record of success. They were an excellent digital marketer at their last job, but you must still determine whether or not they can get the job done the way you want it to get done. Make sure they are fully aware of not just the outcomes you want, but the processes you expect to see them use.

2. Do Their Future Plans Coincide with Your Needs?

Their cover letter says they are looking to move into an office environment. You would love to have them bring their experience to your company, and you understand their desire to move from outside sales to an inside sales role. Why are they making this switch? Are they saying they want to do inside sales because they believe they can do better in that environment, or are they just wanting something different until they can find a job outside of sales?

3. Do They Have A Life Outside of Work?

It is not politically correct to dive too much into a person's personal life, when doing an interview. You must respect the work/life balance, and you must be careful not to discriminate based on someone's personal interest. However, you must know if their lifestyle choices would impact their ability to perform or weaken you company image. If you are a banker hiring a graphic designer, you may want to refrain from hiring the animal rights organizer that the protested and cursed your client's use of veal at the restaurant. You must be aware of anything that could lead to a rocky working relationship.

Those three simple questions will go a long way in making sure that you hire the right person for the job. You must make any and all efforts to know exactly who you are interviewing and everything they will bring to the position.