Much has been written over the years about how to interview and who to hire.  As recruiters we have found that recruiting/ hiring is never a perfect science.

Successful business owners frequently attribute the success of his or her company directly to employees.

So how can you, as a business owner or hiring manager, increase your odds of hiring the right person?

Some have suggested hiring people that are smarter than you, have just the basic skill set needed and can be trained, are a good cultural fit, or have the right personal “connections”.  

May we offer five simple suggestions from our experience in working with people like you.

1- Hire someone that loves technology.  Our clients frequently tell us that their best employees are the ones that are passionate about their craft.

2- Aggressively pursue people that are looking for more then a paycheck.  While a paycheck is very important, today’s employees are looking to expand and challenge their minds.  Find someone that has the potential to deliver more then the immediate job requires.

3- Remember the old saying that “the best predictor of the future is the past” as it relates to a persons ability, dependability, and attitude.  Former Utah Jazz Coach Frank Layden said, “you can’t teach height.”  Same goes for attitude.  Hiring people that bring the right attitude in to your organization from the start increases your odds of getting it right.    

4- Don’t eliminate a potentially great candidate solely because they lack one or two “skills”.  Clearly, we understand that some jobs require honed skills in certain technologies.  With that said, our experience is that managers occasionally pass up meeting a potentially great candidate because they aren’t a perfect technical fit from A to Z.  In today’s competitive hiring market managers need to look beyond the alphabet soup of technologies to identify the “right person”.

5- Follow your gut.  The best managers do all they can to learn about the candidates in their pool and then follow their gut for that final decision.

We are interested in what helps you identify the right people.  Please share your thoughts.