Technical skills can be taught; attitude, on the other hand, is not something easily changed. And when you hire a new employee with an attitude that doesn’t mesh with your company culture or their role, either they wind up quitting after a few months, or you end up having to let them go.

As one of the leading recruiting agencies in Houston, TX, Murray Resources can tell you that the good news is both scenarios are avoidable when you screen for attitude during the hiring process. To help you, here are a few tips to follow:

Lesson #1: Identify the Types of People Who Thrive at Your Company

There’s not going to be one certain kind of personality that fits in well at your organization or even in any one department. However, there will definitely be certain types of people who seem to thrive there. So ask yourself:

• What kinds of personalities and work styles currently exist in the organization?

• What adjectives best describe the people who have been successful?

• What makes them tick and how are they different from the average employee?

• What types of personalities work well with other stakeholders in the organization that the new hire will interact with?

Lesson #2: Ask the Right Questions

Rather than the typical “what are your weaknesses?” type questions, ask behavior-based questions that can elicit more telling information, not canned answers. For example “tell me about a time you failed on the job.” When you ask these kinds of questions, candidates are forced to give real-world examples, offering you genuine information and experiences you can base your hiring decision on.

When you ask these questions, resist the urge to lead candidates – e.g. “tell me about a time you failed on the job…and what you learned from it.” If you don’t, you’re tipping your hand and signaling to candidates the kind of information you want.

Lesson #3: Inquire About Work Environment

You know what your company’s work environment is like; most candidates will not. So one way to identify those that will fit is to inquire about what their ideal work environment looks like. Some examples of questions you can ask include:

• How do you get your work done most productively? Collaboratively? Independently? A combination?

• How do you prefer to communicate? Verbally or in written form? In person or via email?

• What type of office space do you prefer? Open? Private?

Lesson #4: Dig for More

Many candidates will prepare ahead of time for the interview, which typically involves rehearsing answers to commonly asked interview questions. That’s why it’s important to prod candidates a bit. Don’t let them get away with artificial answers like “my biggest weakness is that I’m a workaholic.” The best way to do that is to ask follow up questions:

• Why?

• How?

• Tell me more?

• What happened next?

Hiring for attitude can be challenging. It demands that you spend more time evaluating your company’s culture and the people who work there. However, by doing so, you can gain greater confidence that you’ll hire a candidate that’s the right person for the job and for your company.

If you’d like more help from the hiring experts, let Murray Resources know. As one of the leading recruiting agencies in Houston, TX, companies all over the city rely on our expertise to source and retain top talent for hard-to-fill, key positions across a broad range of business disciplines. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more.