MBA2308 Red Flags To Watch Out For When Hiring + Free Ride Friday

0:09Heyo! Welcome to the$100 MBA show, helping make your business better with 10 minute business lessons for the real world. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar Zinhome. I'm also the co-founder of Webinar Ninja, an independent software company I started by co-founder back in 2014. Just a quick announcement before we start today's episode. Starting Monday, this coming Monday, the$100 Reaction will be publishing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, three days a week. A big reason why we're moving from daily to three days a week is what we learned from you, the listener. Based on feedback and analytics, we think we can serve you best by offering three solid lessons a week so you can consume every single lesson throughout the week.

0:48Of course, if you want more, there's over 2 ,300 episodes in our back catalog. Just make sure you follow or subscribe so you have access to that. This show will keep on serving you, keep going strong, so keep on listening. Also, today is Free Ride Friday, so don't forget to leave us an Apple Podcast rating and review to enter our weekly random draw to win a free ride to one of our programs. We announce this week winner a little bit later in the episode. In today's episode, you will learn what are the red flags to watch out for when hiring new team members. Listen, hiring is kind of scary. You're bringing in a total stranger and entrusting them to do right by your business.

1:26Many people are going to have a lot of control and make a lot of decisions that can affect the trajectory and the success of your business. So how do you make sure you're finding the right people? What are some things you need to look out for so you know that people are just not the right fit? Saving you time, money, and effort and avoiding hiring them when they're no good for your business. I've been building businesses for 20 years. I've done countless interviews and I'm going to tell you what are my top red flags. These are the things that when I see, I know it's not a good fit. It's not a good hire.

1:58And I know I'm going to regret it if I do decide to hire them. I know because I've done that, made that mistake. And I want to share with you these red flags so you don't make the mistake as well. Let's get into it. Let's get down to business. Hiring the right people on your team is probably one of the most important things you're going to do in your business because you need to scale your efforts. You need the right people, the right talent to build the right product and service for your customers. It's the differentiator. It's what makes you better or worse than your competitors. It's your team.

2:28So getting the best talent is important. So how do you know if somebody is just not great, is not as good as what they say on their CV or LinkedIn or just a good interviewer or a good talker, but they're a dud when it comes to the actual work. Well, I'm gonna show you how to find out. I'm gonna share with you my red flags. When I see these during the interview, during a conversation, during a phone call, I know it's a no. And let me start with the first one. This one is a dead giveaway of somebody who actually can't do the job. They might've had experiences, they might have good references, Their track record looks pretty solid on paper.

3:06They've worked at great companies. They've had high ranking positions. It sounds like they could do the job really well until you have a conversation with you and they can't give you a real example. This is red flag number one. If I ask a question where I say, hey, give me an example of a time when you had a conflict with a fellow employee and how you resolved it. This is a very basic question in any interview. And if they answer in a way that is not an actual example, meaning they say, well, usually what I do and I have to stop them. I don't want to hear about what you usually do. I don't want to hear a hypothetical situation or what we would do in the future.

3:40I want to hear a story, an actual factual story that happened in the past. Give me a real example of when you had a conflict with an employee and how you resolved it. I will drill back into it. And if they can't provide an example, I can't remember one right now. I don't think I had a conflict before with an employee. These kinds of answers, the likelihood that's true is actually quite low. Let me tell you why. You're going to have some level of conflict working with people. It's human beings who are crying out loud. If you have any experience in any workplace, you're going to have disagreements.

4:13You're going to have difference of opinion. You're going to have to be able to negotiate your way through that. So it's very hard for me to believe that that never happened. Two, you're going to remember conflict. You're going to remember that it happened. It's not like you're going to forget something like that. And most of us can reference a handful of times if we're being honest with ourselves when we had a conflict, even just in the past week. Because with conflict, there's heightened emotion. And when there's heightened emotion, you remember it. It's significant. Your brain saves it. What's likely happening here is they're not good at solving conflict.

4:40And they're embarrassed to share a story. The funny thing is that I've had an interview before where somebody actually shared that. They said, actually, I had a conflict with my colleague who's actually their boss. And I wasn't happy with the way I dealt with it. This is what happened. They told me the whole story. And they said, I should have done X, Y, Z. And that answer was brilliant in my book because, one, they didn't try to get away from the question. Two, they had an experience of conflict, and maybe they're not happy with the way they dealt with it, but they learned something, and they shared what they learned and what they will do differently in the future.

5:14Three, it shows me they're not afraid to be vulnerable and to put themselves out there. That means they care. It means they actually want the job. So, red flag number one, can't give me real examples. Red flag number two, low energy, low vibe. Low energy, low vibe to me, it doesn't mean somebody who's introverted because introverts can have a positive vibe. They can smile. They can have a positive demeanor about themselves. Just because they're not bouncing off the walls doesn't mean they're low energy. What I'm talking about is that when I leave the conversation, when I end the interview, do I feel good?

5:43Do I feel motivated? Do I feel like this person has a spark? If not, that's a huge red flag. Why? Because if they're not going to be motivated or have positive vibes on the actual interview when they're trying to be their best self, right? This is the best version of them right now on the interview, okay? Because they're trying to get the job. If they can't be positive and have good energy on the interview, they're not going to be doing that in the day-to-day grind of the work. Think about it. Let's say you had to perform your favorite song on stage in two weeks' time. You may not be a performer or a singer of any kind, but when you get on stage and you sing that song, it's probably going to be the best version of that song you ever sung before.

6:25It's going to be your best performance because you're preparing for it, you're thinking about it, you're practicing, you're on stage, you know the spotlight's on you. It's going to be way better than the performance you give in the shower or what you hum as you drive to the office. So it's important to me to have positive people with good vibes that are motivated on my team because I know that there's going to be challenges ahead. Things are going to be hard. They're going to be hard work and they're going to need to keep their chin up. And if they can't do it on the interview, they're sure is not going to be able to do it every day, day after day, week after week, month after month.

6:58And I just don't want to hang out with somebody every day that doesn't make me feel good, that doesn't make me feel positive. And I wouldn't want that on my team members either. So to me, that's a red flag. That's a personal thing. I want a good cultural fit. Now, this red flag might surprise you, but I have a hard time believing when somebody asks a question they can answer very quickly. If they're answering every single question immediately, no matter what I ask, it sounds to me they just have some scripted answers that they say to everybody in every interview. This is why I like to try to ask original kinds of questions that maybe somebody wouldn't be ready for.

7:34I like somebody who likes to think before they speak because it means they're considering the question. They're not just taking it lightly. They're trying to form an opinion before they start voicing their opinion. And these types of people are a good fit for your company because it means they listen. That means they're gonna listen to your colleagues, they're gonna listen to other people, they're gonna listen to you before they start talking. And that's why if somebody's taking some time to think, I actually reassure them and say, hey, take your time. Thinking is a good thing. My next red flag, showing up late.

8:03Now, you might think this is harsh. You might think this is not fair. But in my experience, somebody who can't show up on time for an interview that's scheduled way in advance, it's high stakes. They know that they have to do well here and show up on time so they can be able to get the job and be prepared. There's a very low likelihood that they're going to be able to show up on time for your regular meetings, for work, for whatever you expect them to do. It shows a lack of respect. It shows a lack of professionalism. And really, I care about the professionalism part. I need people that are professional.

8:36They're going to care about doing the right thing all the time. Again, if they're not doing the interview, there's a very, very small chance they're going to do it every day. Now, I understand that circumstances happen. There can be some emergencies that can cause them to be late. I understand that that is a possibility. But I will take my chances with this rule. because the chances of something weird happening and somebody being late and that person being the perfect candidate as well and they don't like win me over otherwise are pretty slim. I'll take those chances and apply this rule to everybody because the alternative is, is that I'm letting this slide.

9:12I'm teaching them from day one that it's okay to be late because you got the job and you were late. So it may be a little bit of a hard and fast rule and kind of harsh, but I'll live with the consequences because I know how important being professional is to me and my company. So there you have it. Those are my red flags when it comes to hiring, but I got one more for you. When it comes to references, after the interview, or maybe even before the interview, you are checking references. You're asking their ex-colleagues or ex-bosses, hey, would you recommend this person? If it takes too long to get a reply from a reference, and when I say took too long for me, it's more than a week.

9:45If I have to wait more than a week to get an answer from one of your references, that's a red flag for me. Because in my experience, great people that you should hire immediately, their references are more than happy to endorse them. They are running for the chance to give you some praise. They almost feel like they owe it to you. The best people we hired in our company, their references rushed. I'm talking about like within 24 hours, replied to our emails and said, you have to hire this person. They're fantastic. Or at the very least, they say, I wish I can have them back. If you don't hire them, or at the very least, they get back quickly with something positive to say.

10:20I've had once somebody say, hey, if you don't decide to hire them, can you let me know? Because I'd love to hire them back. What a reference. If you're good and a solid worker, people remember. OK, and those kind of people are really good to hire. So if they're not rushing to give you a reference. Now, of course, I know if there were a wave on vacation, you'll get an autoresponder or something like that. But if there's nothing happening there that causes the delay other than, hey, just put on the back burner, not really in a rush to give this person a reference. To me, that's a red flag. Let's move on.

10:49let's find somebody else. Thanks so much for listening to the$100 NBA show. Today is free on Friday, so let's see who won this week's free ride to the$100 NBA program. And the winner is Tom Ross. One of our extended interview guests actually left a review. This is a weekly random draw. So Tom, you are our winner. Tom writes in his review, Omar is a great interviewer, five stars. Oh, thanks, Tom. I had the pleasure of being interviewed on Omar's podcast recently and was impressed with his style of interview. I love the show and Omar's curiosity shines through. Thanks, Tom, for that amazing review.

11:20Your mission is to email me. Go ahead and email me at omar at 100mba.net so we can hook you up with a lifetime membership to the$100 MBA program, the program that guarantees, or your money back, that you'll become a better entrepreneur through the lessons we teach you in the program. If you're a listener to the show and you want to support us, share the show on social. Your favorite platform, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, let the world know you listen to the$100 MBA show. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. You might notice that a lot of my red flags have to do with history? You know, have they done something before?

11:51Real examples, references. And the reason for that is because I'm a big believer in evidence, okay? History is one of the most solid pieces of evidence that you can use to prove if somebody can do the job or not, if they're the right person or not. Now, I'm not saying that people can't change or drastically improve, but I'm betting my business here. So I'm going to go with evidence. That's just me. And of course, you're free to disagree. That's the beauty of business. You can do what you want in your business. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll check you in Monday's episode. I'll see you then.

12:21Take care.