How to Spot a Bad Employee Before Hiring

Here’s the thing, I’ve been hiring and managing people since I was 21. Yes, I was given that burden from a young age in most of the companies I worked in, up until I opened my own, then I was forced to deal with the entire hefty ordeal.

I’m a great judge of character when it comes to my personal life, I can sniff out a fake, douchey human being from a mile away, but ask me to gauge an employee before they start working – I could never see past face value.

You can imagine the hardships and the amount of people who have come and gone, especially since I have an aversion to firing people. After almost five long years of testing out different theories, I have come up with these realizations.

Here are four ways to spot a bad employee before they start working:

1. They show up late for the interview

Yes, I know that Egypt’s  streets are ridiculously crowded, but if you are OK with your first impression being that you were fine with being late and couldn’t make the effort to go down a little earlier, then NO THANK YOU, DON’T COME WORK FOR US!

2. They complain about their last employer endlessly

You obviously left that job for a reason, but all your ex-employers couldn’t have been the devil and you an angel! This makes me worry, it makes me think you will never able to own up to your own mistakes, so then NO THANK YOU, DON’T COME TO WORK FOR US!

3. They have no references or they are mostly fabricated

Boy, have I gotten several phone calls from employers who are hiring people who have claimed to work for us at Nineteen84 Management. The sad thing is that if you are going to lie about your previous job history, at least have that “fake employer” aligned with you. If not, don’t lie because most likely we will call and ask and if you don’t have job references at all, we’ll be even more wary. So then NO THANK YOU, DON’T COME TO WORK FOR US!

4. They can’t answer on-the-spot questions about the position they are applying to fill

Anything you ask about the position they are supposedly pro at are met with “umms”, “well” and buying time. This is a clear sign that a.) you have no idea about the position you’re potentially filling or b.) you’re way too nervous to present yourself, thus how can I trust you with clients? So then NO THANK YOU DON’T COME TO WORK FOR US!

WE SAID THIS: It definitely is not an easy feat to fill positions, especially when expectations are high, but follow these surefire ways and I guarantee you won’t waste as much time as you usually would.