4 strategies to improve your hiring

Finding the right person for a position is part art and part science. While some people seem to have a gift for finding good people, everyone can improve their success rate by following a methodical step-by-step process.

Know what you want

First and foremost, it’s important to envision what work will look like with a new person. What will he or she do? How do you envision interactions looking and sounding? What do you expect in terms of quality and quantity of work? What temperament do you see working best? Does the person need to be creative? Is the work basically the same each day? If this person is going to interact with people other than you, who are they and what do they want from a new hire?

Create a robust job description

Once you are clear about the kind of person you want to hire, it’s time to put pen to paper and craft a job description. When you list the duties the person will perform, begin each of your sentences with a verb and write in everyday language. If you do that, you’ll be well on your way to solidifying your expectations.

Think about what it’s going to take for someone to be successful

Experience and education are essential to success in some jobs, and for others, they’re not. If education isn’t a deal breaker, do you want to exclude candidates by making a degree mandatory? What you require can widen or narrow your applicant pool — potentially in ways that could hurt your chances of finding the right person. Think long and hard about what’s essential before moving to the next step.

Create a strong job ad

Just as candidates are selling themselves, you are selling your company and the open position. An ad is your opportunity to attract talent. Whether you’re working with a recruiter or doing the recruiting yourself, spend time creating a strong job title, telling your organization’s story and briefly describing your essential requirements. If you have a great location, solid benefits or some other selling point, include that information too. Your ad should quickly paint a robust picture of why you’re great, what you’re looking for, and why they should want to work with you.

Read six more strategies in the Round the Table article.

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