Hiring the Right People

Hiring the perfect employee can often be a difficult task. It’s tough to find a candidate that meets all the right criteria you’re looking for. I’ve often made the mistake of hiring people because of the potential I saw in them, thinking I can teach this person to sell, or whatever.

Unfortunately, some people aren’t cut out for certain jobs. Here are a few ideas to consider the next time you hire someone.

1. Establish a priority. People who are incredibly intelligent regarding exercise science might not be so good at sales and vice versa. You have to establish what type of person you’d rather have. If the candidate will handle their own sales, you might want to consider someone who’s very sales driven with an outgoing personality. If the sales will be handled by someone else, but the candidate will provide the service, then go after the exercise guy.

2. Make them audition. For our business practice this helps us weed out any weak players. First, clearly lay out the expectations of the job. Then sit back and watch them perform. For us, we look for an outgoing personality that can effectively lead a room of people and an ability to build rapport with members. I don’t care how smart they are — if they cannot show me these two factors, they are simply not a good fit.

3. Social media. If it’s out there, you might as well use it. Someone’s social media presence can say a lot about them. Remember, this candidate will be a representation of your company and the type of people you hire. Do you want this person’s social media presence to be a reflection of you?

4. Finally, don’t discredit someone due to lack of experience or education. Those people might be dying to get into your profession and will do anything to work for you.

For example, probably two of the best people I’ve ever hired lacked experience. In fact, one of them only had a high school education. Both of them went on to become tremendous contributors to my team of trainers.

Don Suarez is the manager of The HitFit Gym. Email him at dons@thehitfitgym.com.