Hiring and Recruiting in 2023: Who is Your Ideal Employee?

What comes to mind as you think about your business goals for 2023? For many, it’s how to grow their team with talented employees with a thorough, effective hiring and recruiting strategy. 

It’s been years since applying for a job entailed completing a paper application, going through an interview, and making a final decision. 

Today, thanks to the vast world of resources we call the internet, we can easily gather up job prospects online, use automated services to weed out those who aren’t qualified, and hone in on a select group of results that are more likely to hit the mark.

One of the most crucial components of the hiring and recruiting process is defining your ideal employee. There are many technical qualifications to consider depending on where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, the industry you’re in, and the role you’re filling. 

However, I want to discuss ten key ingredients in my personal recipe for a successful hire.

Willing to Learn

At some point in your career, there’s a good chance that someone gave you a chance when they were justified in denying you because you were willing to take up the mantle of learning a particular role or position. 

Extend the same grace to your own hires. There are many “under qualified” candidates with the potential to be a future superstar with the right mentorship and training. 

Honest About Their Faults

Every candidate that applies for your job will have faults, and if you find someone who seems flawless, there’s a good chance they’re not being honest about themselves. 

I’d rather work with someone who recognizes their shortcomings and finds ways to conquer them than deny they exist altogether.

Confident About Their Strengths

Encourage your candidates to be bold in telling you what they’re good at. Welcome a little “humble bragging” into your interview. Not only does this help you get a more comprehensive picture of who that person is, but you’ll often see glimpses of what they’re genuinely passionate about in their body language and speech. 

Optimistic

Every day as an entrepreneur or business owner isn’t good, but attitude can turn a terrible situation into something more positive. Your hiring and recruiting guidelines should seek out others who prefer to see the bright side when things look dark. 

Cynics and pessimists tend to get bogged down by mishaps, which in turn slows the growth and brings the entire mood of the business down. 

Protective of Their Time and Health

This may be controversial, but I’m not interested in hiring people willing to let themselves get so wrapped up in work that they forget who they are outside of work. 

While a sense of dedicated loyalty and selfless investment in a job seems positive at first, it leads to burnout, loss of productivity, and employees who feel that their employers don’t care about who they are, only the things they can do for the business. 

Openly Shares What Their Expectations Are

Picture this: Your small brick-and-mortar home goods shop is extremely popular in your small town because you offer free half-hour consultations. You started this service because you genuinely enjoy sitting with clients and helping them pick colors, textures, and motifs to make their homes more beautiful.

Now, imagine you hire someone who despises the customer-facing side of retail and prefers to search trends, order new products, and curate in-store displays. 

Obviously, forcing that person to do the side of the job they hate won’t make them stick around to do the side they love. If you’re willing to ask about their expectations for the role, you can make more informed decisions about whether you’re willing to hire that person for the position they want or if you need someone more flexible. 

Cool Under Pressure

Whether it’s an offline e-commerce website or a lunch rush at a local restaurant, there will be periods in a business when everyday stress escalates into something that feels like a catastrophe. In those situations, you want people by your side who are willing to be solution-oriented, not ones that will panic or shut down at the first sign of an issue.

As Flexible or Rigid as the Role Requires

Before hiring and recruiting, take a frank look at what you expect your new employee to do and how often those duties will change. 

Some people thrive in routine and do an excellent job when they can come in every day with a clearly defined list of things to do. Others love the rush of taking on a new “adventure” and get bored with strictly defined role guidelines. 

Be honest about which of those two extremes your day-to-day leans towards, and welcome your candidates to share how well they can work in those conditions.

Empathetic

Empathy is a crucial emotion that grants us the room to be human in situations that deserve a kinder touch. 

Too often, employers and employees get sucked into a cold, logic-driven sense of dealing with other people because it’s easier and more efficient than evaluating the bigger picture. That sense of pragmatism only works when your employees are robots. 

They have problems, anxiety, and shortcomings that deserve grace, and welcoming empathetic employees into the fold is the best way to promote that culture. 

Asks Questions

It’s tempting to believe someone who asks questions isn’t a problem solver because they rely on other people’s explanations to guide them. I want to push back against that idea, though. 

Sometimes, asking a question is the fastest and most straightforward answer to a problem. That doesn’t make them codependent or lazy. It makes them willing to be humble and admit when they don’t understand. 

Final Thoughts

The decisions you make when hiring and recruiting are going to impact more than just your bottom line- They’ll also determine your workplace culture.

Adding a new personality into the mix has the potential to change the dynamic of your business for better or worse. The best advice that I can give is to ensure you’re bringing people into the fold who will help your business and your other employees blossom. No amount of technical skill can replace a happy, optimistic, and supportive group of cohorts working towards a common goal.