Here is Nina's original question:



You are right--no sure-fire way to get the perfect employee. But sounds like you just need a little more confidence in interviewing.

Let's start from the beginning. Do you have job descriptions written up? If not, that's the place to start. You should have a crystal-clear list of what you're looking for, both skill-wise and personality trait-wise. You need to know your bottom lines.

Once you have that, you can create you list of interview questions. Probably among the lists you have there are some good questions, but you do have to make the connection around why you're asking it, otherwise you're not getting out of the interview what you could. I like to start an interview with easier questions--job history, etc. -- so that the candidate can get a little more comfortable. Then you move into questions that look for the personality traits you want. So go through each trait on your list, then look at your lists of questions. What question will help uncover that? I'll also add my list of questions to the forum, and they're based on traits already.

When a candidate says something that makes you wonder how good they'll be long-term, what do you do? Do you let their comment go, or do you ask some other questions around it? This is the time to do a little probing. You can say something as simple as "tell me more about that" and see where it goes. Don't be afraid to just wait for them to add to an answer either. Silence is uncomfortable, and if you just wait, candidates will want to fill that silence. Often with some really interesting comment!

Do you check references? If not, now's the time to start. This is a critical and often overlooked step in the process. Even if a reference doesn't say much at all you can learn volumes! Sometimes it's as much about what they don't or won't say as what they do!

Please feel free to ask me more specifics about this, I know this is just a sketch. Bottom line, it usually isn't easy to find great employees but a methodical, consistent approach with a clear job description is a big help.

And--I think it's far easier to take a relative newbie with the right attitude and help them get more hands-on training than it is to try to teach sales/service skills to someone who doesn't naturally possess them.

Thanks, Lisa!
That was helpful. I, too, am accustomed to filling those awkward gaps (i.e. silence), so now I'll try to reverse the situation and let them fill in the gaps!

Thanks, Sue!
I was planning on doing the "audition" massage first. I feel that a good Swedish massage (firm pressure, but fluid & relaxing) is the basis of any spa. A client should get a great massage each and every time. So, in hiring, the massage itself is "Round 1".

I've been informally interviewing an old friend who is looking forward to finishing school soon. She's a trip because she has no real-world smarts right yet. It's fun to hear her talk based on her teachers' lessons of the "real world". Even then, some instructors don't have much experience, themselves.

My biggest concern is "scaring off" good therapists by talking about sales. In the massage world, we just don't talk about retail. But it's going to be a HUGE part of my business, so I feel like I want to nip it in the bud from the get-go.

Thanks again, y'all, Nina