Hiring someone for a position in your company is not an easy task. How can you be sure you have the right person? Of course, going with your gut and the chemistry with a person are important factors to consider, there are other more tried and tested methods to ensure that you employ the correct candidate for your vacancy.

Making the wrong choice can prove costly both in financial resources and time so getting it right straight away will spare headaches down the line. The first crucial step before interview is to have a really good look at the job description. Is it current and does it encompass all of the relevant skills, qualities and behaviors that you need in this position. Identify some clear hiring factors that must be used in interview to evaluate a candidate’s suitability.

If you are not familiar with the processes of the job, then involve people who are as they will be better placed to evaluate the candidate’s ability than you are. It is also important to ask clear, precise questions that you have pre-planned which really focus on the key requirements of the role and draw out the most conclusive answers detailing past examples of such behaviours.

It is important to concentrate on a candidate’s accomplishments rather than their experience in past positions and look for times when they have faced challenges and overcome them. It is how people cope under pressure that should interest you and not how charming and well-spoken they may be. For jobs involving access to vulnerable people, a CRB Check will also be required to give you more of an idea if something is lurking in their past that they may not have disclosed to you. For more information, visit http://carecheck.co.uk/

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Work ethic, attitude and motivation should be placed high on your list of favourable attributes perhaps moreso than experience. You will want someone who can follow through on work commitments and gets along with management and other members of the team. Remember that you can always train a person who has little experience but totally the right attitude.

If applicable, incorporate tests into the screening process to give you a good idea of a candidate’s aptitude for the role. If you don’t find the right person straight away then keep on looking and don’t settle for the next best thing as it might prove costly in the long run.

When you have made the decision to hire someone then don’t stop there. Assign someone to mentor them to ensure a smooth and successful introduction into the company and make sure they have a workstation ready for their arrival as nothing is worse than arriving for your first day and to feel unwelcome and forgotten about. As their manager, take the time to chat and ask how everything’s going and show that you are keen to support their success within the company.