A very important job of a business owner is selecting the best employees to hire for positions in your company. A good rule is to try to hire employees who are smarter than you, as employees represent you and should make you and your business look really good.
Most employers advertise for a vacant position, which will include education, experience and skill requirements, along with other requirements that may be necessary for the job. The internet is the most likely place applicants will search for job openings, so you may receive some resumes and application letters by email. At the end of the time period advertised, you will sort through the applications and find the ones that seem to fit your requirements and will best fit with your business. Depending on the position, you may want strict criteria or choose to have fewer criterions. The stricter the criteria, the fewer applicants you will have; and you might miss the opportunity to hire someone who would be a great asset to your company. By law, there are certain things you do not want to include on your application. I won’t list everything here, but examples are age, race and sex. If a job requires heavy lifting, you could list that as a requirement in your advertisement for the job but not that only men need apply. Invest time in a thorough fair selection process in order to help prevent all the problems that stem from mismatches of people and organizations.
After you have selected your top applicants, you will call them to schedule an interview with you. After you have hired someone and have a signed contract, you will want to send letters to all of the other applicants thanking them for applying and informing them that the position has been filled. File the applications for future possibilities of job openings to fill.
Interviewing provides you the opportunity to meet the applicants and talk about the job for which they have applied. It is important to set aside the time with no interruptions from people or telephone calls. They should be dressed appropriately for the job, and that is probably the best they will ever be dressed. A firm handshake, voice tone, body posture, facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact will communicate information to you. That first impression and their personality will help you decide rather quickly if they are a fit for your business. It is important to remember that some people are better at interviewing than others. The very thought of a job interview can intimidate people and make them feel insecure and vulnerable. People feel a sense of not being in control of their lives and destinies, as they are dependent on someone else to offer them a job. Think of the job interview as a mutual exchange of information, and the applicant should have questions about the business. You can tell if the applicant is prepared for the interview by how much he or she knows about the job and the organization and also the ease of speaking about experiences, goals, strengths and weaknesses. After interviewing the top applicants, you will probably be able to reach the decision of the best qualified person for the job. You may want to ask the top applicants to meet with you again to ask them additional questions before you make your final decision.
The first few days are usually stressful for new employees as they want to learn the ropes and fit in. They learn more about the business by working with other employees, who are role models and mentors. Evaluations with positive feedback will help them feel they are an important part of the organization. Of course, it is equally important to correct any problems as they occur.
