Be clear on who you need
You want someone doing the job—now! However, before you hurry out to find someone to fill the spot, take some time to figure out exactly who you need.
Convert your need into a job description.
Merely listing your job requirements won’t get you the right person. Create a job description that encapsulates your requirements from an experience and personality perspective.
Make sure you have a practical and legal hiring process.
A consistent and effective recruiting process should include a single point for applying (like an email address or website). It should also request the same information from everyone (e.g., resumes, cover letters, or application forms) and meet government equal opportunity standards. The best processes rely heavily on technology and the web in all aspects of the hiring process.
Sell the opportunity, not the salary.
Whether you’re advertising on job boards or relying on referrals, make sure your job sounds exciting to applicants. The best people are more concerned with career growth and want the opportunity to make an impact. Ensure you emphasize what the person will do, learn, and become.
Make sure everyone knows about your job.
There are several ways to get the word out about your job. Use job boards (both free and paid), get referrals from employees and colleagues, and tell everyone who you connect with on social networking sites that you’re looking for and who you’re looking for.
Hiring is both an art and a science—some tools can help you
Of course, you have to feel good about the person you’re hiring. However, these decisions need to be supported by objective data to eliminate biases and cause the recruiting process to produce more consistent, reliable, and high-quality results. There are inexpensive, easy-to-use hiring tools that can help you with your hiring decisions. Use them.
Only interview the best candidates.
If you have an effective screening process, you’ll spend less time interviewing the best candidates for your job.
Focus interviews around gaps.
Don’t ask every candidate the same job interview questions. Use the interview to look for gaps or watch-outs in the candidate’s profile relative to your job. Remember that the interview is also an opportunity for your candidates to learn about your organization, so give them a chance to ask questions, too.
Check references—personally!
You’ve already screened and interviewed candidates, so check their references (both the ones they provide and others you find on your own) before making your final decision. Don’t delegate this to someone else—do it yourself because nobody will dig for red flags as well as you.
Even when you’re done, you’re not done.
A bad start can cause new employees to question their decision to join your company and reduce employee retention. Make sure your new employees have phones and computers set up (if necessary) and have a basic orientation, including lunch on the first day with key people at your firm.
