How to Hire an Employee

An old theatrical maxim says that 90 percent of good directing is good
casting. Finding and hiring good people will make directing your business
easier and more rewarding for all involved. The ideal employees
do more than fill vacancies; they bring talents and energy that
strengthen the performance of the whole group.

Instructions

1. Write a clear and complete job description. List required skills, as well as personality traits and preferred experience. If possible, confer with a person who's already doing the job to make sure you don't omit essential qualifications.

2. Write an advertisement based on your wish list. Note which skills and experience are mandatory and which are preferred. Finally, mention a little about your company and the job itself (desirable location, competitive benefits) to encourage replies from qualified candidates.

3. Post your advertisement where job seekers will see it. Choices range from newspapers to online job boards and mailing lists, some of which are industry specific. Specify how you want respondents to send re'sume's and contact you--by e-mail, fax, phone or regular mail.

4. Sort incoming job queries by immediately putting them in one of three folders: "Don't Interview," "Maybe Interview" and "Definitely Interview." If more than one person will be sorting the first round of applicants, clearly define the desired attributes.

5. Set up interviews. If you find several qualified candidates in the first round, call only those in your "Definitely Interview" pile. If you are not getting a qualified pool of applicants after several weeks, consider rewriting your ad and possibly redefining your mandatory education and experience levels.

6. Interview candidates. Prepare your questions in advance so you can use the interview time wisely. One useful technique is to present a hypothetical (or even real) work problem and see what ideas a candidate can contribute toward a solution. Another possibility is to throw out a startlingly difficult question and see how the candidate handles a curve ball. Rumor has it that for years interviewers at a major West Coast software firm asked candidates: "How much water is contained in all the swimming pools in Los Angeles County?"

7. Sort the annotated re'sume's and applications in one of two folders: "Second Interview" or "Reject."

8. Schedule the next round of interviews. These should introduce the applicants to other senior-level people at your company. At this level, you need to probe the specifics of re'sume's. Look out for too many timing gaps in the list of previous jobs and for longwinded, evasive answers to direct questions.

9. Decide on a top candidate after the interviews and thorough checking of references. At this point, references tell the tale. Check facts: Did this person really manage this number of people? Was she actually responsible for the entire region or merely part of it? Probe more-subjective areas: What are this person's greatest strengths? Weaknesses?

10. Make a formal job offer. If you haven't posted the salary up front, have your acceptable range in mind, but let the job applicant name a dollar figure first. This places you in the stronger negotiating position. Applicants know that too.

Tips & Warnings

• If the job requires a skills test--such as typing or copy-editing--make sure you have the results before you devote much interview time to a candidate.

• Don't insist that a candidate have exactly the set of skills the job requires. Instead, look for someone who has demonstrated the ability to learn new skills in the past.

• Look for a re'sume' pattern of ever-increasing responsibilities in better and better companies when interviewing to fill a high-level management position.

• Take good notes on your impressions (on the actual re'sume' or application) as soon as an interview ends.

• Mail form letters to the rejected candidates letting them know that the position is filled and thanking them for their time.

• If you expect a flood of responses to an ad, use applicant-tracking software to do the initial culling and sorting. WetFeet.com, MindScope.com and HRMDirect.com are among the many possibilities.

• It is illegal to ask applicants questions about their age, disability and sexual orientation. Consult with your human resources department or attorney about what is allowable.

• A pattern of frequent job changes should raise red flags, a situation one corporate executive describes as "too many jobs, too many excuses."