Small Business - Hiring The Perfect Candidate For Your Company

Selecting the perfect candidate for a new position is difficult but there are some steps to take to make the selection process easier and not as overwhelming.

It is important that care and caution must go into selecting new employees. Anyone can look fabulous on paper and can prove to be an even better actor or actress in the actual interview. So how do you know that the person applying for the position is for real?

Business best practices will tell you to rely on multiple sources when selecting a new employee.

Begin with the resume and/or application. Carefully compare the qualifications for the position in question with the skills that the candidates possess. You want to place stronger consideration on those applicants that possess the desired skills rather than those who don;t.

For example, in filling the role of a Data Management Analyst, you may place heavier consideration on the applicant with the four years of data analyst experience and fluent computer skills versus the actor who's only other experience outside of being an extra in off Broadway theater productions, is washing dishes at a fast food restaurant in high school. The skills the latter of the two possess don't match what you are looking for in the position.

Once you have narrowed the applications and resumes down to those that possess the skills that would best fit the job, review the documents again. If possible, have a few others qualified and permissible to review the documents give you another perspective regarding the candidates. (It is not business best practices to have potential coworkers of the future employee review applications where salary information and other confidential information are accessible.)

At this point you should have further narrowed the candidates down and the interviewing process may begin.

Various businesses handle the interview process differently. Some choose to have one-to-one interviews with an HR representative meeting with the candidate. Others choose to have a supervisor do the interview. Still other companies prefer the group interview that includes multiple staff members and possibly the entire team that the employee will work with. There is no right or wrong method.

The only thing you absolutely must do is completely follow through with the interview. Perhaps you are opposed to the way the candidate answers the first question, business best practices requires that you continue with the interview and ask the same questions of that candidate that you ask of all candidates. You should not end the interview early.

After finishing the interviews, review your notes of the candidates and determine which candidates initial responses best fit the job position needs. At this point, you may have several candidates or you may have none and want to repost the position for hire.

If you have candidates that you would like to further consider for the position, business best practices would recommend scheduling second interviews and possibly include those who will directly be working with the employee. The second interview gives you the opportunity to gather more information about the candidate and the skills and also verify that the candidate is consistent with the answers provided at the first interview.

If possible, you may want to do skills assessment tests to get a rating on what the candidates are actually able to do. Some candidates may be modest about their typing skills and end up blowing all of the other candidates out of the water while others may exaggerate just a little. say by 50 words per minute. This is also a tool to see how the candidates compare to each other.

At this time, you make your selection. One last thing to consider when hiring that new addition is the personality that the candidate brings to the team. You must always consider the personality of the candidate when hiring as well. If you have two equally qualified candidates and one is very eager and enthusiastic about the job while the other candidate is rather melancholy, your best bet is to go with the enthusiastic candidate.

There is no guarantee that every new hire you make will be the perfect fit for your company or position in question. Using the above-mentioned suggestions is a way to get closer to the better fitting candidate, however.