Recruitment Red Flags : How to read into candidates in the car business.

Before we look at the biggest hiring red flags in car dealerships, first let's look at a few of the most common symptoms of an employee that isn't fitting right. These may seem obvious but you would be surprised to know that unhappy or misfitting employees often shares most of these symptoms. "Unhappy employees" happen for a number of reasons including feeling underpaid, undervalued or their attitude is simply a byproduct of being hired to the wrong position.

Sometimes unhappy employees are a result of an business phenomenon known as the "Peter Principle" where the normal hierarchy of management chains promote employees internally until they reach a "level of incompetence".

For example, often dealerships internally promote rockstar sales people into the business office only to find out later on that the employee did not have the organization or time management skills to handle the paperwork. Very often this type of employee would be "happier" back in sales but due to the status perceived in "moving backwards" down the hierarchy chain, the employee continues to work in a position they are intrinsically unsuited for. This can be a cycle that continuously repeats throughout the entire career of the employee resulting in never finding a long term career option.

This principle is also often found in management positions largely due to the same reasons. Often high performing sales people are promoted into upper management in hopes that they are able to train newer employees- but lack the management, leadership or training skills to do so.

Here are some of the symptoms of an unhappy employee or potential candidate.

1) Not following up with customers.

It’s important to make sure your employees know how to interact with customers, and that they have a good work ethic. If an employee doesn’t follow up with a customer after an appointment, there is no way of knowing whether or not they are doing their job properly. It can lead to lost sales and customer satisfaction issues down the road if you don't address this in the hiring process.

2) Poor communication skills.

Poor communication skills are a red flag. If you can't communicate effectively in your job especially in your interview, there is no chance that you will be able to communicate with customers over the phone or in person.

It's important that everyone on the team can listen and speak clearly, so the customer understands what they need to do next. If they don't understand something, this could cause them to cancel their appointment or buy elsewhere if they're already at your dealership!

3) Inability to work as a team member.

If you've ever worked in a team environment, you know how important it is to have good teamwork. In fact, teamwork is what holds many companies together.

If you see that your candidate has difficulty working with others, or even worse: doesn't even want to be a part of the team, it's probably best to pass on him/her.

It could be that your candidate will not be able to get along very well with other employees or customers at the dealership and this could lead some problems down the road if they don't work well together.

4) Negative attitude.

A negative attitude can be a telltale sign that an employee is not right for the job. A positive attitude shows your team member cares about their work and the company's goals.

A poor attitude means they won't be accountable when things go wrong, they will make excuses, and they might even take out their frustrations on other employees or customers.

5) Inconsistent attendance record.

If a candidate has an inconsistent attendance record, it can be a red flag. You want to hire someone who is reliable and punctual so they are always working when they’re supposed to be working. This means that even if you have multiple positions available, you shouldn’t hire someone whose attendance history isn’t consistent.

Another factor that might indicate this problem is if the candidate was late for interviews or meetings with you or your staff members. If you find yourself having to deal with this type of behavior from your employees, it could cause them to miss work and make it harder for other team members in your organization as well as yourself

6) They are not detail oriented:

A person who is detail-oriented will be careful when it comes to completing tasks and paperwork, ensuring that they are done right the first time. They will also be able to handle difficult situations calmly and professionally.

A nightmare employee could care less about how their work looks and will leave sloppy projects everywhere they go, which can cause delays or mistakes in production or service delivery.

7) They do not listen well:

Employees who don't listen well will not only make decisions based on their own opinion but they may also ignore instructions given by supervisors because "they know best."

You don't want this type of employee on board at your shop or dealership because they won't take direction from anyone else either--they'll just do whatever they want regardless of what others have told them as long as it makes sense in their mind!

This kind of behavior leads directly toward chaos within an organization which can lead towards failure down the road if not addressed immediately .

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When hiring a new candidate in the automotive industry it is important to look for these indicators that may demonstrate a potential red flag during the interview process.

You should never hire someone you don't like.

There's a lot of great advice out there about hiring the right people for your company, and I'm going to share some of it with you. However, before we do that, I want to make sure we're on the same page as far as what "the right people" means. It doesn't mean someone who is smart enough or even has good work ethic; those things are important but they aren't enough.

Whenever you're trying to hire anyone—even if it's just an intern—you should never hire someone you don't like. When someone says that they want their employees to be happy and enjoy their jobs, this is exactly what they mean:

They don't want anyone working for them unless both parties think each other will be happy together. So if after meeting with your candidate(s) or going through their resume and references, you have any doubts at all about whether or not this would be true in practice then trust yourself because nine times out of ten our instincts are correct when it comes to these types of things!

You can learn a lot from the way a candidate treats receptionists, admin staff and other service professionals.

You can learn a lot from the way a candidate treats receptionists, admin staff and other service professionals. If they are rude or condescending to them, it is likely that they will be rude to customers and clients as well.

In addition to this, if they're disrespectful of these people in front of you (and they're not being blatantly disrespectful towards you), it shows that they are not concerned with how others see them.

Their behavior around receptionists, administrative staff and other service providers can also give you an idea of their work ethic and attitude towards others

Be wary of candidates who are too forward, who ask about salary before you do.

If a candidate is willing to state his or her salary requirement as a question in the first interview, it's likely that they will also be willing to walk away from the job if their demands aren't met.

A strong candidate should appreciate that there are other things besides their own needs and wants at play here—namely, your budget and what position you can afford to pay for any given employee.

To avoid getting burned by someone who may have a high salary requirement but low work ethic, always follow standard protocol when interviewing new hires and try not to disclose anything about how much you'll be paying them until later in the process..

If a candidate has no questions for you at all, it may be a sign that they're not interested in the job at all.

If a candidate has no questions for you at all, it may be a sign that they're not interested in the job at all. This is especially true if they've been through several interviews with you and still don't seem engaged in the process.

When someone doesn't ask any questions or has nothing to say, that's usually because they're not concerned about working for you or your company at all. If you find yourself having this problem, it might be time to move along and look elsewhere for your next hire.

Be wary of candidates who show up to their interview with a friend or relative:

• This can be a red flag because it shows that the person may not be confident enough in his or her own abilities to go for the job by themselves.
• It also suggests that they may need someone to tell them what to say during the interview, which could mean that they aren't comfortable talking about themselves or discussing their skills and experience on their own.

EARLY ARRIVAL: If a candidate shows up early to their interview you know they are engaged and interested.

If a candidate shows up early to their interview, it is because they are engaged and interested in the job. This is a good thing. If you have an applicant who arrives late without any explanation, this might be a sign that they are disorganized and/or not very concerned about the position.

It’s important to note that being early does not mean waiting around for all of the other candidates to arrive before coming into the office or meeting room. Showing up early means showing up at least fifteen minutes before your scheduled interview time so you can take care of some last minute things like filling out paperwork or having someone meet with them prior to their actual interview time slot

GOOD HANDSHAKE: A strong handshake shows confidence and strength. This is essential for staff members in the car business.

A strong handshake shows confidence and strength. This is essential for staff members in the car business.

Notice how the hand is extended, palm facing downwards, showing that you are ready to shake hands. Another clue to look out for is whether they offer their left or right hand first. A lot of people won't feel comfortable shaking with their dominant hand because it's seen as rude by some cultures. If they're offering their left hand first then it's probably a sign of respect towards you or someone else nearby!

USES EXAMPLES IN ANSWERS: Candidates who have done their research and prepared for the interview will be able to give you real-life examples of skills and experience during an interview.

Candidates who have done their research and prepared for the interview will be able to give you real-life examples of skills and experience during an interview. If, for example, you ask a candidate about his or her past experience with technology (programming languages, software etc.), and the answer seems vague or not specific enough (instead of "I've used Java"), then it's likely that he or she doesn't have any hands-on experience.

When this happens, don't waste time going down that rabbit hole; instead, keep asking questions until you find out whether they can actually do what they claim on paper.

ASKS QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AND ITS PEOPLE: Asking questions about your dealership or store shows that they want to invest in your company.

One of the biggest signs that someone is a good fit for a position is if they ask questions about your business and the people that work there. If a candidate asks you questions about other employees, it's a sign they are interested in collaborating with others, which is a must-have quality for any employee.

If they are asking questions about themselves, then you can be sure that they have done their research on the company and found some reason to be interested in working for you.

HAS A POSITIVE PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDE: A positive attitude goes a long way in business, especially the automotive industry where people constantly talk to others who are having bad days. Make sure that your candidates show positivity in their interviews! You will notice this immediately!

• A positive attitude goes a long way in business, especially the automotive industry where people constantly talk to others who are having bad days. Make sure that your candidates show positivity in their interviews! You will notice this immediately!

In contrast - an unhappy or misfitting candidate will normally possess all or a mix of these 3 elements.

• They lack attention to detail. An employee with a poor attention span will be hard to train, and could cause errors in customer service or inventory management.
• They have poor communication skills. A job interview is not the time to try out your first impressions on strangers; if you do poorly at an interview and don't show an effort to improve yourself through practice, then it's unlikely that you'll perform well in other areas of work either!
• They don't learn from their mistakes. If someone has made multiple mistakes on their resume or during an interview (like forgetting what department they worked for last summer), then there's no reason why they should keep their jobs after making those same mistakes again!

Be sure to look out for these signs when hiring a new candidate! You'll avoid having a nightmare employee on your hands and will save huge amounts of money on retraining or retention.

Investing in the right hire is nothing compared to the cost of the wrong one.

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