Powerful Hiring Strategies

By guest author Logan Strain        

If a business is composed of a group of people with different responsibilities working towards a single goal, then deciding what people make up that group will be the most important decision you make as a business owner. Here are a few vital tips that will make sure you next hire will be a star employee.

Make Sure You Understand the Job – If one of your employees will be working with the new hire, ask him or her what they would like to see in a candidate before you start interviewing. If you put an ad out for the position, this will help you develop a through list of duties and responsibilities.

Interview Multiple Times -  Even if you are in a rush to fill the position, it pays off conduct multiple interviews. It may take longer, but you will waste an even greater amount of time and money if you wind up with a poor fit.

Consider the Value of Provided References – Honestly, it’s not that hard for just about everyone to find someone who will find something good to say about them. Even employers who had a bad experience will sometimes provide good references because they are afraid of legal action.  Trust your gut and take each positive reference with a grain of salt.

Ask Open Ended Questions During the Interview – Employers desperate to make a quick and good hire sometimes make the mistake of asking leading questions like “Do you consider attention to detail important?”  The goal is to keep the candidate talking about themselves, their interests, their skills, and their experiences.  Questions more along of the lines of “How do you handle the stress of an impending deadline?” give you a better idea of weather or not they will be an asset or a liability to your company.

This has been a business and hiring post by guest author Logan Strain

Hey it's Chris here with a little side note - I also like to make the person applying for the position jump through a bunch of hoops. Say it's a personal trainer you're hiring, have them meet you (or your manager) at the gym at 5am one day, 9:30 pm the next, and have them come in and do a little free training once or twice to see if they're willing to go the distance and are reliable and punctual.