How To Filter Out Hires That Actually Transform Your Business
How To Filter Out Hires That Actually Transform Your Business
Read this before your next freelancer, consultant, or expert hire.
Daniel Faro
Have you had some strikeouts when it comes to hiring worth-the-money, impressive support for your business?
Whether they’re freelancers, consultants, or experts, it can feel frustrating when you drop hope, money, and time into someone and that investment falls short.
No matter how rigorous you interview or check references, a hire can turn out to be a bad fit once they start working for you. Sometimes you just don’t know until you put them to work on your work.
I’ve had my share of unfit hires over the years which has given me a lot of time and experience to reflect on how to hire more effectively and the tools I can use to separate great hires from the rest.
Precision
If I’m looking for someone to help me create financial projections for a startup, I’m going to look for someone with that exact experience.
I’m not going to look for a CPA, bookkeeper, or a “numbers gal” and cross my fingers.
No matter how niche the industry or job is, there will always be a specialist who knows how to deliver what you’re asking for.
I’ve seen CPAs take a stab at creating startup financial projections and completely bomb it.
I’ve seen creative agencies deliver social media plans that were worse than what a college freshman in a Marketing 101 class could whip up.
Precision is out there, and if you don’t look for it, you may be played for a fool and left with an unusable work product as a cherry on top.
Be precise in your search, no matter how long it takes or the amount of effort you need to put into it. There’s a hire-able person out there for every project or need.
Obsession
Is this individual I’m potentially hiring obsessed with their field?
Do they read books, take courses, learn from mentors about the product/service/industry they’re representing, actively?
If they aren’t, I’m probably risking receiving mediocre work.
Experts are experts because they continuously make time to learn more than everybody else. They also have the humility to accept that even if they’ve put their 10,000 hours in, they should remain hungry if they want to stay competitive.
I want to work with someone with that kind of mentality and growth journey rather than someone who finished up a marketing degree in college and haven’t picked up a refresher since.
Those who are stubborn enough to consider themselves an expert but aren’t committed to remaining competitive aren’t going to deliver transformative support. If you want A+ industry-leading work to represent your business, they’re probably not your jam either.
Passion or Profit?
Let’s be real here, in today’s day and age there are plenty of businesses out there wanting to make a quick buck and could care less if you realize that the product you received is crap after you’ve submitted the final deposit.
When I hire someone to do a job, I make sure that they’re people over profit focused rather than the other way around.
I only want to work with people who are selling me their services because they’re passionate about it, not because I’m another invoice.
If you’re passionate about your work, I know that I probably won’t catch you mindlessly billing me even though you didn’t complete the milestones we both agreed on at the beginning of our contract.
If you’re passionate about your work, I know that I don’t ever have to audit your work because you always strive to deliver quality.
To figure out if a potential hire is precise, obsessed, and passion-driven, I ask them specific questions under each umbrella:
What books and podcasts have you been obsessively digesting recently?
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about [insert topic here] recently?
How did you get so well versed in [insert expertise here]?
Do you enjoy doing this work? What do you like most about it?
Do you have a healthy business or does it need a tune-up? Grab my free checklist to find out.