How to properly hire a winning team of Trainers

More on that in a moment, let’s first get into the entire hiring process:

I’ve outlined all the steps below that you should follow for success:

Step 1:

Know exactly who and what you are looking for. Full-time, part-time, fill-in, bootcamp instructor, etc

Step 2:

Choose the CPTs start date – I hire 30 days out from their official start. This gives me 2 weeks to hire and the CPT gets to give their 2 weeks notice to their current work place. I also want 1 week to train each new CPT (although, my training only takes about 3 hours on 2 different days…)

Step 3:

Let your other CPTs know that you are hiring and tell them why… and why they shouldn’t worry that it will take leads away from them! (this is too often overlooked and if you do this step your current CPTs will be happier with you rather then seeing a new face walk through the door unexpectedly…)

Step 4:

Place and ad on CraigsList.org for FREE (although my city now charges $25.00). There’s simply no need to pay for an ad in a local paper, etc. I typically get over 50 APPLICANTS with just my one ad running. It’s really a fantastic advertisement if I do say so myself ; )
It did take me about 3-4 tries to get it right.

Feel free to edit it to make it your own!

Here’s my CL AD to HIRE NEW CPTS:

>>> Download CPT Ad for Craigslist

Step 5:

Make sure to use a “blind email address” so that CPT candidates don’t email or call your studio – it wastes your time and your staffs. I also have the resumes (CV’s) and cover letters sent to my assistants so that he/she can go through them and weed them out by using my specific criteria listed in the advertisement.

Step 6:

Email back the 6-10 people you like most and set up a time that week to conduct a PHONE INTERVIEW. There’s NO need to invite anyone in yet and waste your time (I”M big on guarding my time since I have so little of it free). If a candidate can speak articulately on the phone and carry themselves professionally then you can invite them in. Remember, “speaking intelligently and professionally” is a HUGE part of our jobs.

Step 7:

Invite 5-6 people in for an in-person interview. Ask them a pre-set list of questions about their background, training experience, knowledge of working with specific clients, who they most enjoy working with, why they’re leaving their current job, what they can offer, how they work on a team, etc. Then ask them to take you through or design a quick program on the fly for client “x.” Tell them the contraindications for that client and that client’s goals. See if they’re quick on their feet on not…

Step 8:

Make notes on each candidate and let each one know that you will be contacting them with 3 days to give them an answer or request for a 2nd interview.

Step 9:

I only do a 2nd interview with the person I am looking to hire. All I’m basically doing is giving them additional details about the position, the pay, the hours, etc and making sure they don’t blow it… at the end of the interview I offer them the position and ask for an answer right then. If they need to think about it, I will give them until the following evening.

Step 10: After they accept I email everyone else back who I did an in-person interview with and let them know that although they were great at this time I have decided to go with someone else and that I will keep their resume on file if a position should open up in the future.

WOW, that was a lot… but it’s all there!

NOW for the BIG KEY to hiring:

After I make sure everyone has one of the top certifications and credentials I need a way of filtering people out. I used to hire the smartest person who interviewed for the job, but that ended up being a huge mistake… I quickly found out a lot of guys with Master’s degrees ended up not being able to relate to or connect with their clients.

Therefore, they were quickly without any clients!

Not exactly good for business, so I sat back and assessed who my best CPTs were and also the people in the industry with the best track record for client retention…

What I found out was that education was 2nd since clients didn’t know one ABC certification from the next NSCA one…

I realized the #1 trainers for retention were the ones with the most ENERGETIC, CARING, and OUTGOING personalities. Clients really latched on to these CPTs genuineness and developed real friendships with these fitness pros.

In the end it’s all about getting clients results AND developing lasting friendships where clients can’t wait to come back and meet with your every week EVEN AFTER THEY”VE GOTTEN ALL THE RESULTS THEY WILL GET!

So, my advice is to hire on personality after you’ve already sorted through anyone who isn’t qualified – don’t base your hiring decision solely on education like I used to… you’ll have way too much turnover and you won’t be doing anyone any favors in the end!