5 Things We've Learnt About Recruitment from Donald Trump
November 2016 seems like a land long forgotten as we steam ahead in 2018, the latest Trump disaster
being steel tariffs, a foolish endeavour as illustrated by President George W. Bush and President
Obama’s previous attempts to introduce them. A line about history doomed to repeat itself springs to
mind. While the world marvels as the US president tumbles from one scandal to the next, the overturn of
staff in the White House is unrivalled by any previous administration in US history, possibly any
administration. It’s been a few days / weeks (who can remember anymore and we’re not even 2 years in!)
since the Cheeto-in-Charge hired or fired someone but his methods have come under scrutiny again and
again. However, from watching this rapid turnover in the White House, we’ve managed to compile a list
of tips on how not to hire and fire people taking a few tips from the POTUS himself.
When hiring someone, check their references!
The sole point of a reference is to verify that your new hire is who they say they are and that their
work experience and skills aren’t just fiction on their CV. It’s always important to follow up on
this as even a five-minute phone call can give you a new insight into your new hire and potentially
learn whether they are the right fit for the role. Most of the time the reference may be little more
of a confirmation of your hire’s previous work experience but other times you may learn
something about your new hire that they wouldn’t have thought to say themselves – whether this
is good or bad, it’s still beneficial information to you. As well as this, if your candidate is
potentially lying about previous experience, it’s a good chance to learn this early before the new
hire has started and not having to start the hiring process all over again!
Google Employees Before Hiring
We live in an age where the majority of people have at the very least one public social media
account whether it be Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. We all have those cringe status
updates written in the third person and those awful photos from a foam party back in 2013 but
there’s a big difference between these as opposed to actively posting hurtful or abusive content. A
quick google of your new potential hire may unveil something that could affect your business
positively or negatively in the future or expose something left out on a CV. If Donald Trump’s
presidency has taught us anything, people often forget that social media is the 21st-century town
bulletin board, except a bit more permanent.
Don’t Fire Someone on National TV.
Life isn’t an episode of the Apprentice. No one likes to be the bearer of bad news but never ever
fire anyone any other way than face to face, it shows cowardly leadership and poor
communication skills otherwise. James Comey, the former director of the FBI found out about his
firing from a news broadcast rather than from Trump himself and while it created a great opening
chapter for Comey’s book, it did not inspire confidence for the new administration. Earning trust
and respect in employees is a two way street and it’s important communication is clear and direct.
Get a Second Opinion
It’s always good to get a second opinion on most things, why should an employee be any
different? Whether you’re thinking of hiring or letting go of an employee, it’s always great to seek a
different perspective to your own. While you may have a clear idea of the candidate you want in
mind, it might not always be in line with your colleague's ideas. As the employer, you may do the
hiring, but you may not have a great idea of the qualities and skills required for the role if it’s not
someone you interact with on a day-to-day basis. Having two heads is always better than one and
getting a second opinion could open up a whole range of new ideas and qualities that you may
have never thought of yourself. Perhaps if Trump had asked for second, third, fourth, fifth
opinions on his numerous employees, he could have spared himself national embarrassment
multiple times over.
Don’t hire someone with a bad rep!
This one may be pretty obvious but when hiring ensure that your candidate isn’t going to make you unpopular for hiring them. For instance if you’re hiring a freelancer to create content, don’t
hire someone hated in your industry to work for you! While some may say there’s no such thing as
bad publicity and certain people thrive from bad publicity (like a certain President!) remember
these are notable exceptions to the rule, not The rule. Many companies spend a long time and a
small fortune repairing their image and trying to gain back lost business following scandals
