Small Businesses: Finding the Right Candidate for the Job

By Helen Evans

Your business is finally doing well, and the time has come to add an employee to alleviate some of your responsibilities. While this should be a time to rejoice, without a team behind you to ask the right interview questions or to even conduct the interview, crucial time will be taken out of your day. Of course, this is acceptable since this new employee will help your business run smoother, right? The key to finding the right candidate is all in the approach. And if you do everything right, you will be able to find a candidate who will help your business grow and allow you to expand the business or take on other responsibilities.

Pull in Potential Leads

The right candidate will need to be local and qualified. This is easily accomplished by placing a job listing on the right websites -- the key word here is “right.” There are many job search sites available, but if you're based in New York and place an ad for employment for District of Columbia jobs, you will end up putting yourself through unnecessary hassles. Every job site is broken down into cities.

Choose the city where your office is based as well as any cities within a 15- to 20-mile radius. This will ensure that you attract geographically desirable candidates.

Ask the Right Questions

While a resume can be impressive, a job candidate's personality can go a long way, and the interview will ultimately determine who you will end up hiring. As the interviewer, you will need to ask the right questions so that you can find a person who will be the right fit. Your interview questions should ask:

• What was it about our company that made you apply?

• What can you provide to our company that sets you above other candidates?

• Which of your skills do you feel are most beneficial?

Now, the tricky part is that the right candidate should also ask you questions. If a potential employee does not ask questions, they are simply not best suited for the job. A bright, enthusiastic candidate should ask:

• What does the future hold for the company, and what are the company’s goals?

• What do you, the interviewer, see as potential assets that the candidate can bring to the table?

• What are the biggest hurdles of the available position?

• What would an ideal candidate be able to do for the business?

Subcontractors

Sometimes businesses do not want to deal with all the overhead that comes with hiring an employee. Benefits, taxes, and insurance will go up if a person is added to a team. This can make business operations more complex –- especially for one-person operations. But there are times when hiring a subcontractor can be more beneficial to a business. Many subcontractors are highly trained individuals, and since they are on their own company’s payroll, the result can be lower overhead costs for a company. This makes better economic sense for many smaller businesses.

But when a regular employee is needed for a business, to find that perfect employee, it's all about placing ads in the right places and asking all the right questions. You know your business better than anyone else, so come up with questions that you would like to ask an ideal candidate. If a candidate is truly interested, they will also ask you questions and want to truly help you succeed.

Post sponsored by JobTonic.com.