Hiring is a difficult task. Whether you’re creating a new position or replacing a transitioning team member, finding and onboarding the right candidate takes time, focus, and intentionality. After all of the interviews, assessments, and reference checks, you’ll finally have to make a decision: Which candidate do I hire?
Selecting the right candidate—even with a robust hiring process—still feels a bit risky. There are no guarantees. But if you’ve done your homework, and if you’ve followed a systematic hiring strategy without rushing the process, the following ten questions should help you make your final decision.
1. Are there any red flags in the candidate’s character?
No matter how talented the individual might be, if they have character gaps, it’s only a matter of time before they take themselves out or undermine the organization. None of us are perfect, so we all have some kind of gap in our character. But when I say, “red flags,” I’m talking about significant character problems, patterns of poor behavior, and issues that will undermine the candidate’s credibility. During reference checks, I always ask former employer’s about the candidate’s coachability, humility, and what other teammates found annoying about the candidate. I also ask if they would hire the candidate again.
2. Does the candidate have a track record of results?
A great question to ask candidates is, “What have you grown?” Said another way, “What was the condition of XYZ Program when you arrived, how did it grow under your leadership, and what was the condition of XYZ Program when you left?” The greatest indicator of future success is past behavior. Can the candidate deliver results? Keep in mind, results aren’t goals. Results aren’t ideas. Results aren’t “If I had this, I would have done that.” Results are results…outcomes, growth, and impact.
3. Does the candidate have what we need to go to the next level?
When you hire someone, it presents the opportunity to take your organization up a level. You’re only as good as the people around you. As you reflect on all of the information harvested during your hiring process, how confident are you that this candidate will help you go to the next level? Your organization’s success doesn’t ride solely on their shoulders, but they should definitely add to the growth potential of the organization.
4. Does the team respond well to this candidate?
Nothing will stop you quicker than a bad fit. The candidate may exhibit strong competence and have an amazing track record of results, but if they don’t get along with the team, they will thwart chemistry and disrupt unity. One way to measure how well they jive with the team is to conduct a team interview, and then spend time together outside of the office at lunch or dinner. Following the interview and the lunch gathering, debrief with your team and welcome their honest feedback.
5. Does the candidate exhibit our team values?
Part of our interview process at 7 City Church is built around our team values. We have three team values: servant leader, team player, and hard worker. Not only do I ask questions in these three areas during one-on-one interviews, but our entire team interview is built around our team values. If we don’t see evidence in the candidate that they are a servant leader, team player, and hard worker, the likelihood that we’ll hire them drops significantly.
6. Is the candidate emotionally healthy?
All of us deal with emotional issues at some level. We all have anxieties, fears, worries, and difficult bouts at various seasons of life. I’m a pastor, and my wife is a counselor, and we both see this frequently. Our desire is to help people any way we can. So, when I talk about emotional health, again, I’m not talking about perfection. Rather, does the candidate exhibit emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence is all about self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. If the candidate lacks emotional intelligence, they are much more likely to wear their emotions on their sleeve, be unaware of how they come across, ignore the emotions of others, and disrupt the overall emotional environment. People who are not emotionally intelligent tend to create more drama and more trauma.
7. Is the candidate a mercy hire?
Sometimes you’ll come across a candidate that has had a really tough employment history. Other times they will have just left a bad situation and you feel really sorry for them. Mercy is a great quality. Our world would be a brighter place if more people modeled a greater dose of mercy. But “mercy hires” are rarely a good idea. In other words, hiring somebody just because you feel sorry for them doesn’t usually work out. That doesn’t mean you won’t hire people who have encountered a rough streak in their past, but that’s not why you hire them. Always connect the why to their character, competence, and chemistry.
8. Is the candidate in financial trouble?
If the candidate is in financial trouble, you’ll never be able to pay them enough to satisfy their financial needs (or wants). In our interview process, we ask about financial health and salary requirements. And when the candidate joins our team, our onboarding process includes a financial course to give them a firm foundation for the future.
9. Am I trying to convince myself to hire this candidate? Don’t.
There will be times in the hiring process when you try to convince yourself to hire a certain candidate. You might say things like, “But their such a nice person,” or “I don’t have any other candidates to choose from,” or “I doubt anybody else would work for us considering what we have to offer.” Your train of thought might also go like this: “I know on the surface this person doesn’t appear to bring much to the table. They don’t have the track record of results and they don’t seem to jive with our team values, but I really like them. Plus, I bet with a little bit of training, they’ll get the hang of it and up to speed in no time.” Don’t! Don’t hire them! This is why it’s valuable having others involved in the hiring process. Build a hiring team, conduct team interviews, utilize assessments, and seek perspective from people who have experience in effective hiring.
10. What do I sense God is saying?
In James 1:5, God extends an invitation to all of us: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” Hiring new team members is one of the most important decisions you will ever make for your organization. Ask God for wisdom. Seek Him for clarity about who to hire. He already knows, and He will guide you in the decision-making process.
Maybe you’re in the hiring process now, or perhaps you plan to make a hire later this year. As you get to that point of decision, answer these ten questions before you make your final offer.
