5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Hiring a New Team Member

Hiring a freelancer or for a permanent position has relatively high stakes – you’ll dedicate your time & money into onboarding them, you hope the quality of their work will meet (or surpass) your standards & they need to integrate well within your current team dynamic + culture. No pressure!

In order to help you make the best hiring decision, here’s 5 questions I like to ask when reviewing a candidate.

1. Are they professional?

From the get-go, when they reply to your post or fill their application, are they delivering quality? Can you tell that they’ve looked into your brand before the interview? Are they providing clear + complete information? Does their online presence reflect their commitment + investment in their own brand + company?

This 1st taste will speak volumes about the energy & work ethics they’ll bring on your projects.

2. Do you feel more vitality, contribution & connection?

Jonathan Fields identifies these 3 components as essential in his book How to Live a Good Life. Especially during the interview, do you feel an increase in your vitality, more opportunities to make a contribution through your business + mission, & a connection with them?

Tune into yourself & see if they make you feel more alive + motivated / inspired – that would be invaluable & a strong asset to bring on.

3. Do you share a similar work ethic?

Imagine this scenario: it’s the day before your big product reveal & there’s a major problem that comes up. It doesn’t matter if it was something overlooked by your team or a big change / glitch with one of your systems – you’ve got a crisis. Would their response be in line with yours? If you’re the type to pull an all-nighter to meet your deadline, are they too? Will they be able to draw on their years of experience + take the initiative to find solutions, or instead throw the ball back to you & wait for further instructions? How much commitment to their work do you expect from them?

When the heat gets turned up, do you naturally work well together? Do you have similar reflexes & priorities when under pressure?

And when it’s a regular Tuesday, is it easy to communicate with them? Do they understand your needs quickly & are they efficient in their work?

4. Are they providing added value?

The best exchange is when use value is equal or superior to monetary value, meaning they justify their rate by improving your business in tangible ways. Are they extra kind with the customers? Are they more knowledgeable & efficient than you in their field? Do they help you make better decisions by contributing their expertise?

5. What does your intuition tell you?

Do you feel this is a good fit? Are you excited to start collaborating together? You should continue interviewing more candidates if it doesn’t feel like a “Hell yes!”

In terms of opportunity cost, a poor fit will cost you time, money, energy & joy – there’s nothing worse than feeling frustrated about someone’s work.

I hope these questions will help you choose your next dream team member!

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Now I want to know:

What are you looking for when hiring a new team member?
Let me know in the comments below!

Marie xo