The Hiring Process for Small Businesses: A No-Fear Guide	1.0/5.0 (1 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
January 22, 2018

Employees are the lifeblood of any company, but at a small business –– or at a company that’s just starting out –– making the right hire is exponentially more important than at an established business. That’s because small businesses have fewer employees and resources and can’t throw bodies at a problem in the same way a larger corporation can. Fortunately, there are ways you can manage the hiring process and ensure that you land the perfect candidate to fill the position you need. Here’s how:

Sweat the Small Stuff

It may not sound like much, but little aspects of a job description can either excite or discourage a potential candidate. Using industry-specific lingo in the posts you display on places like indeed.com, or elsewhere will help separate the wheat from the chaff as well. So if you’re looking for a salesperson, it’s perfectly acceptable to request an in-depth knowledge of salesforce and VoIP integration in your listing. Committed professionals will know what you’re talking about, and you’ll be able to bring in more qualified candidates as a result.

Be Mistake-Free

Take extra care that there are no errors (spelling, grammatical, factual,) in your post. There’s no faster way to dissuade someone from applying to your company than to send out a slapdash job listing. If you’re serious about what you do, your post should reflect that.

Ditch the Cliches

Interviewing candidates for new jobs has taken on a cat-and-mouse feel over the past few years. With so many instant guides available on the internet for how to conduct a job interview, what to expect at a job interview, and what questions to ask, employers have gone off the deep end lately in posing unessential (or just plain weird) questions to their candidates. You don’t need to know who your new employee’s high-school sweetheart was, or if they live near their parents. All you need to know is 1) if they can get the job done, and 2) you can work with them. Remember, you’re not searching for a new best friend; you’re looking for someone to do business with.

Involve Your Current Employees

It’s critical that you and your new employee have a solid rapport; but it’s just as imperative that they get along with everyone else at your operation as well. To ensure that happens, don’t just guess that whoever you choose to employ will work out. Instead, actively involve your current staff in the process. Let them ask questions and listen to their feedback. At a small business, team chemistry is vital. It can prove the difference between success and failure, so don’t underestimate the positive (or negative) effect an new employee can have in your office.