First time conducting interviews

[seeking_brilliance]

This post is mostly a pat on my back and a bit of encouragement... I have owned this salon for five years and have never had to hire someone through a formal interview before. All of my hires have been people with job related skills and I was nearly desperate for them. 

Now I finally have a chance to add a member to my team who is of my own choosing. I have about five interviews scheduled for the next week and am so nervous! I just wrote out my questions, and I'm not really nervous about how the interviews will go--- but what if I really like more than one applicant, like to the point where I don't want to choose between them?

 

Has anyone ever dealt with this stuff before?  I know I'll be looking for a matching energy and level of sharpness, but theres that bit of worry that I'll either make the wrong choice, or not find a good fit at all!  But that's just me being dramatic, as I do. 

[susanyzm]

What's so bad with making the "wrong choice"? How do you know if the choice is good or bad?

The most likely result is that no matter who you choose, they'll have qualities that you like and dislike. So you'll always end up wondering "What if I chose the other one?" Sounds like marriage haha!

So instead of running into this losing game, try some of Louise Hay style affirmations: "The person I choose will be perfect for my business. He or she will be a perfect match to my strength and weaknesses. The Universe knows the best for me. " Good luck!

[seeking_brilliance]

Thank you!!! 

[seeking_brilliance]

Lol, just my luck, both interviews didn't show today. Oh well, I have three scheduled for tomorrow. 

[UDT]

@seeking_brilliance  Let them both cut hair and look whose better, who was on time etc. That matters as much as energy alignment 

[seeking_brilliance]

@UDT thank you ? so far two out of five applicants have showed, making my decision so much easier ?

[UKPete]

My suggestions:

1) don't rely just on an interview (they are notoriously poor predictors). Get them to do a bit of the job.  Better still, get them to work in the Salon for a day - you'll know a lot more about them by the end of that.  The fancy HR term for this is 'Assessment Centre', by the way

2) Make it clear that there is a probationary (trial) period of, say, one month.  At the end of this you review whether you want the person to continue.

3) Keep an eye on your gut feelings during the process.  On the one hand, they might be telling you something useful (our adaptive unconscious has been developed over 10,000+ years) but they can make mistakes (eg, you take a strong like or dislike to someone not realising it's simply because something about them reminds you of someone you liked/disliked in the past).

[seeking_brilliance]

An update :  I am so happy with my decision!! 

The first few days were like 'uh-oh', because she was real quiet, but then she opened up and it's been great. I know she was just quiet because she was nervous and absorbing everything.  She's very smart and was great work ethic. I'm very happy ?

Edited November 7, 2020 by seeking_brilliance