Hiring Wisdom: Insights Into Hiring First-Time Employees

Earlier this year, the Houston Chronicle ran an interview with a teen-ager on the subject of her first “real job.” Here are the highlights (a link to the full article can be found here):

Sometimes all it takes to get a job is to be on time (or early), look good, and have a nice smile. (These are all important, but are not the basis of a sound hiring decision.)
People who have not done a lot of interviewing will be nervous; don’t hold it against them. It is your job to help them relax.
Even though it is what she called her first “real job,” she has been babysitting for a long time and knew the value of hard work
Before the manager found out what the applicant was looking for in a job, she told the applicant what she was looking for. (This is a common mistake that causes hiring managers to hire the best applicant rather than the best employee.

This was originally published on Mel Kleiman’s Humetrics blog.

Mel Kleiman, CSP, is an internationally-known authority on recruiting, selecting, and hiring hourly employees. He has been the president of Humetrics since 1976 and has over 30 years of practical experience, research, consulting and professional speaking work to his credit. Contact him at mkleiman@humetrics.com.

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These are all great tips on hiring first time employees. Just because an employee is young, for instance, doesn’t mean they don’t have experience in other walks of life. As your babysitting example shows, this applicant had learned to be responsible and to work hard. Whether the interview is in person or through online video, it’s important to assess the candidate’s personality and ambition to see if they can grown in the company.