There is nothing more important -- to your personal and company success -- than hiring great people.   Nothing.  Lou Adler, President of The Adler Group & Author “Hire With Your Head”

Let’s face it. Hiring is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do in business.

With or without an HR department to help you in the process, finding right talent when you need it is the lynchpin of a successful business.

1. Define the Skills You Need

I’m a strong believer in not hiring by gut instinct. I’ve done it many times over the years and sometimes its even been successful. But by far the greatest hiring successes were the ones where I sat down with my team and defined exactly what competencies and behaviours were needed and in what order.

My first business was a recruitment firm dedicated to hiring high tech contractors and employees. When it came time to grow I needed to hire someone totally dedicated who be as committed as I to serving customers and growing the business. And I needed strong administrative and customer service skills yet this was not an area I knew much about.

2. Knowing Where to Look

I turned to an administrative staffing firm to source right-fit candidates for me. This raised a lot of eyebrows (someone like me giving business to a potential competitor), but it worked brilliantly. So well that I used that same recruitment firm three times over a period of ten years, each time getting exactly what I needed.

Come to think of it, why wouldn’t I give myself the same advice I’d been dishing out to prospective clients?

3. Asking the Right Questions

You’ve got some great candidates lined up for interviews. You’ve done your prescreening and can safely assume they’ll be highly motivated and hungry to beat out other job seekers.

The more skilled applicants will be mirroring your mannerisms and gestures and doing everything in their power to make you like them. And that’s fine. But aside from demonstrating eager-beaver salesmanship, it doesn’t tell you a thing about their essential skills or what they’re going to be like in the line of fire.

4. Behavioural Interviewing Will Save You
   Prepare two or three challenging scenarios that are typically associated with the position you’re trying to fill. This will bring out each candidate’s Achilles heal and quickly sort out the so-so candidates from the A-Level players you’re trying to hire.
   
   You’ll need to put together several scenarios to accurately measure each candidate’s skills -- as they relate to your exact needs. Then ask each to describe how they would deal with, address or respond to each scenario.

5. Watch for Signs

Here’s what to look for to learn what you need to know about each candidate:

• Can they think on their feet and remain calm while juggling multiple demands?
• How do they handle difficult people?
• Do they take initiative to solve problems?
• Are they accountable for their behaviors at the end of the day?
• Can they maintain a balance dealing with others and getting their job done?

These are just a few of the inherent skills that you’ll want to be looking for in your A-Level players, and which are essential for you have on your side -- not the competitors’.