When making a hiring decision four factors should be considered to ensure the right candidate is chosen. They include matching a candidate’s experience with the job responsibilities, matching a candidate’s work ethic with your own work ethic, checking references and being patient during the search process.

Matching a candidate’s experience with the job’s responsibilities seems like an easy one, right? Who would actually hire a person who doesn’t have experience? Many people actually do (I am guilty of it)! The reason business owners hire people without experience is because they often lack experience themselves in the particular area they are hiring for and take a candidates word that they can perform. A way to avoid making this mistake is by asking previous colleagues, business associates and friends for help. For example you have a business that is beginning to grow and you need someone to manage the day to day office operations while you focus on sales, marketing, product development, breathing and money. You have done a decent job taking care of the office but frankly it has never been your strong point and you have no interest in learning now. The best way to make sure a candidate has the right experience for what you need in this example is by asking your accountant to interview your ‘final’ candidates. Most accountants would be willing to help because it makes their job easier in the end for you to have a competent person in this role. If you need to hire a sales person and have no experience in sales ask a previous colleague, business associates or friend who has been successful in sales if they could interview your ‘final’ candidates. People like to help especially when they are able to demonstrate their level of experience.

It is important to match a candidate’s work ethic with your own. Work ethic doesn’t have to be solely about the hours a person puts in everyday it is more about the amount of work that is accomplished each day. If you’re a nose to the grind stone work type having a chatty Cathy or chatty Joey in the office will drive you insane and will most likely mean the amount of actual work performed by Cathy or Joey is less than desirable. You should keep this factor in mind when considering a friend or relative for a job. Many times friends and family have a hard time separating work and social life which can hurt your business and your personal relationship.

How to check a candidate’s references: You always want to talk to a previous boss or someone who holds (held) an equal position to the previous boss. The only time you can make an exception is if the person has only had one job and they are still in it. Talking to a co-worker doesn’t work because a co-worker never had a professional stake in the candidate’s work and will not be able to give an accurate picture of the candidate’s ability. Be skeptical of a reference who claims a candidate has no flaws and repeatedly praises them. I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect and the candidate is not perfect. Getting a reference from someone who can not be objective should make you question whether this person is a good judge of anything. Which brings me to my next point, once a reference is in a comfortable conversation about the candidate ask some questions of the reference relative to their current role as a check on their creditability…remember they have no stake after providing a reference to you so make sure they are at least competent.

An equally important factor in hiring an employee is being patient during the process. It doesn’t have to take weeks to find the right candidate, it may only take a day, but don’t hire the first person you interview because they’re perfect. Measure that person against two other candidates to give yourself a point of reference. You may ultimately decide that the first person you interview is still perfect but you avoid making a costly impulse decision. A phone interview is an excellent way to prescreen candidates and lessen the time you spend face to face interviewing. It is recommended that you have your final candidates interviewed by someone other than yourself to gain feedback from a different perspective. Ask your friends, family and business associates for help if you’re a one person shop.

Christine Colucci holds an MBA in Finance from Lubin School of Business at Pace University as well as a BS in Organizational Development from Manhattanville College. She was raised in an entrepreneurial environment with both her parents owning separate businesses and remembers fondly the nightly dinner table discussions that she actively participated in from a very young age. Christine has over thirteen years of corporate human resource experience with a focus in the areas of employee benefits, compensation structures and HRIS. Most recently she has been actively building her own business of qualifying and referring health insurance brokers to businesses that need cost effective assistance in managing their health insurance costs and providing value added voluntary benefits for employees. She is also a resource for finding personal financial planners / advisors that match an individuals needs. She can be reached at christinecolucci@aol.com.