Just a few years ago, I was hiring for an opening at my company. As a small company, we didn't have a huge budget to help us find people, so we had to get creative. We ran some ads with monster.com, and utilized Craigslist very heavily. I noticed some things, in general: a.) There was a startling lack of professionalism amongst the people I interviewed for the position. b.) People seemed very apathetic and unmotivated.
Here are just a few of the insane things I noticed:
- Rampant bad spelling in resumes. (shameless!)
- Interviewee showing up 10-15 minutes late for the interview
- One lady I interviewed showed up looking like she had just rolled out of bed
- It's like people don't write cover letters anymore!
You'll hear me say it again and again, in the words of my friends at
CharacterFirst! -- hire for character, train for skill. Hire for character, train for skill.
You're not just looking for someone with ability to do the job. You're looking for someone motivated, effective, hard working, personable, honest, punctual, and willing to follow directions.
All those things are character driven, and have nothing to do with skill level.
More than anything else, consider this: The interviewing process is the honeymoon. That's when you're going to see people at their best. If someone is showing up late to an interview, or acts unprofessionally on the honeymoon, you can bet that they are ten times worse in real life.
Look for those diamonds in the rough who exhibit real grit and dedication. Pursue the ones who are willing to pursue you.
