As a small business owner, one of the most important decisions that you will make is who you hire. Your employees can make or break your business, so it is important that you take the time to find quality employees. One of the positives to the unemployment rate being so high is that there is an ample amount of well-qualified people looking for jobs. This means that you will be able to find the perfect people for your company. The hard part is recognizing when that special person’s resume crosses your desk. Here are five steps from the experts to help you find the perfect employees to help make your business flourish.
Step 1: Scan for Keywords
When you posted your job opening, you knew exactly what you wanted. Don’t forget these requirements when browsing through resumes. Pick a few select keywords from your job listing that you will look for in the stack of resumes. For example, if you stated that you wanted someone with at least five years of experience in your field, make sure to only keep resumes that meet this requirement. If you do not have the time to read over every resume that you receive, you may also want to invest in some recruiting software that can do this preliminary process for you.
Step 2: Language Matters
When looking through resumes, you also want to pay attention to the type of language that is used. Inc. notes that there is a big difference between active and passive language, and you only want to hire people that refer to their previous experience with active language. For example, you want to look for words like delivered, earned, and built, rather than responsible for or tasked with. People who use active language do a good job because they want to, not because they have to.
Step 3: Pre-employment Tests Are a Must
Before you start scheduling interviews, you should have all remaining applicants complete a pre-employment test online. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, pre-employment tests can more accurately determine which potential employees will be the best match for your particular business more than any other method, even checking references or conducting interviews. There are many professional companies that offer pre-employment tests that you can use. However, you should always add in a few of your own questions that are specifically targeted to your industry. The results of these tests will show you much more than a resume can, including important employee traits such as work ethic, focus, teamwork, and honesty.
Step 4: Get a Second Opinion
Now that you have it narrowed down to your final few candidates, it is time to start conducting interviews. However, you should always have someone else in the room with you, such as an HR manager. That way, you can compare notes at the end of the interviews to make sure that you both got the same feeling about the candidates.
Step 5: Think Outside the Box
Once you have completed all of the above steps, it is time to choose your winner. It is important to consider everything you know about each applicant, especially their attitude towards the hiring process. If they seem excited throughout the whole process, they will probably still be excited about the actual job several months or years down the road. Additionally, always follow your gut. Sometimes the best candidate is not always the one that looks the best on paper. Only you can decide who will be the perfect fit for your company.
Originally posted on October 10, 2012 @ 1:22 am