Fitness Industry Solutions

December 1, 2006
Author: Tom Perkins - Business Development Coach and Certified Personal Trainer

Finding and hiring the right people is always hard. There’s a lot riding on that initial interview – for both the person doing the hiring and the applicant. As a manager or owner, preparation and self-awareness can go along way in making that first meeting a productive one.

Here is a list of common mistakes that those doing the hiring often make when interviewing. How many have you caught yourself making? The good news is that most can be avoided by simply doing a little advanced preparation.

When nervous, many people tend to talk and talk about everything from their own families to their jobs to what their plans for the weekend are. If you are doing all the talking, how are you going to find out anything about the prospective candidate or their ability to do the job?

It’s only natural to want to make a nervous candidate feel comfortable with the interview process or to “take-it” easy on a candidate you might like by asking easy questions, but you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Challenging questions are going to reveal more about your candidate in terms of how they perform under pressure or in their ability to solve problems.

Do not ask closed-end questions because you are not going to get the information you need. For example, what kind of response are you likely to get to, “You are a certified, aren’t you?” You’ll probably get a yes or no answer, but a yes answer to what kind of certifications? You may be thinking one thing and they another. Try instead a question such as, “Tell me a little about your training and the certifications you hold.”

It’s illegal to ask deeply personal questions or questions pertaining to that individual’s lifestyle. Forget about asking questions like “Do you have kids?” or “What year did you graduate high school?” They are inflammatory, illegal, and bottom line, won’t assist you in finding the best person for the job.

Yes, it’s a royal pain to have to spend a whole day interviewing potential candidates. You may find yourself wanting to keep the interviews brief and too the point, but are you really going to be able to develop an accurate picture of that candidate?

Finally, avoid grading on a curve. What does that mean? Often, an average candidate can look like a brilliant choice if they’ve followed a candidate that could best be described as a disappointment. However, it doesn’t mean they are the best person for the job. Someone may come in tomorrow that could blow both candidates out of the water, but how will you be able to tell if you gave the average candidate high marks? Stick to a plan of evaluating each applicant on the criteria you established before starting the interview process – not on how they perform in relations to another.

With a degree in Accounting, certified as a personal trainer, and primary function as a business development coach; Tom Perkins works with personal training departments, fitness professionals, management of health clubs, as well as fitness product and sports nutrition companies in the areas of sales, marketing, and promotion; operations and administration, and staffing and human resource management. With 6 startups in 17 years under his belt and over 20 years of working with the fitness industry Tom leads companies to profitability through Fitness Industry Solutions www.fitnessindustrysolutions.com.