If you are a manager, one of the most stressful aspects of your job is finding good people to fill available positions in your company. Whether you work in a small business or for a large corporation, hiring new personnel can be a hard process to manage. There are many things to consider when you are reviewing resumes and arranging interviews, but if you attention to some key factors, you will typically find a successful match for your needs.
The first step toward finding good people to fill positions is the advertising process. You can put in ads in local newspapers and make postings on Internet job sites. Be sure to word your ad in such a way that it adequately describes the most important skills needed for the job. If the available position calls for certain communication or technical skills be sure to list those clearly, and if applicants are expected to know particular software programs make sure you say that this knowledge is required.
Once you have placed you ad, you will have to begin screening applicants. The first step is to look through all of the submitted resumes and rule out those who obviously do not have the right qualifications for the job. This process can be as lenient or as strict as you need, depending on how many people apply for the position. If you have a big stack of resumes, you will have to immediately rule out some people just for the sake of time. However, if you have little to choose from, you might consider interviewing all of the candidates to see who seems the best suited to the job at hand.
After you have narrowed your applicant field, you will have to start arranging interviews. Though scheduling can be a nightmare if you are already extremely busy with your own job, you should set aside a few days to conduct your interviews. You can spend half of every day for a week interviewing candidates, leaving the other half of each day to conduct business as usual. Once you have finished scheduling, you can begin the interview process.
Interviewing can be very stressful for both the interviewer and the people being interviewed. It is important to make your job candidates as comfortable as possible so you will be able to better judge them for who they really are. If you begin the interview with a series of tough questions, he or she may become frazzled and not be able to give you answers that illustrate his or her true abilities. However, if the available job requires grace under pressure and thinking on ones feet, it might be a good idea to test the applicants ability to deal with stressful situations.
You should cater your interview to the requirements of the job. Reiterate needed skills sets and confirm that the applicant has the skills needed to perform adequately. You can usually tell a lot about people from how they conduct themselves during an interview. If the applicant is confident even when fielding tough problem-solving questions, he or she will probably be good at doing so in a professional setting. Be sure to take notes on positive and negative qualities of an applicant so you do not forget during the course of the long interviewing process.
Once you have interviewed all of the applicants you are considering, you will have to make the hard choice of who to hire. Even if you have several qualified people, there are usually one or two who really stand out. If you can narrow your choices to two or three candidates, you can always arrange for another interview with each. Keeping in mind the requirements of the position, you can usually figure out the best person for the job after conducting a focused second interview session. After you make your decision, be confident that you have chosen the right person to become the newest member of your team.
