There’s a lot at stake when you advertise an open position. You want the spot filled as quickly as possible to minimize disruption and hiring costs.

However, you realize it might take time to find someone with the specific hard and soft skills you require. Furthermore, it’s important that your new hire meshes with your team.

So how do you make sure you’re hiring the right person?

How Do You Find the Perfect New Hire?

1. Write an Accurate Job Ad

Your search for the perfect candidate should start with a job description that accurately portrays the skills required for the role, the primary duties, the company’s expectations, and how they can contribute and grow within your organization.

Be sure to define your company’s culture. Candidates are more likely to apply if they share your motivations and values.

Include a salary range for the position. Applicants have grown increasingly impatient with job postings that don’t include wage information. Plus, in some states, it’s the law.

2. Prescreen Candidates for Better Focus

Narrow your search by prescreening. Asking some basic questions during a quick phone call can help eliminate candidates who don’t have the right qualifications or whose salary expectations don’t match the role.

With a few pertinent questions, you often can get an idea of how the candidate would fit into your culture. Increasingly, companies vet a candidate’s social media presence, too.

3. Make Interviews Count

Interviews should take the form of a conversation between you and your candidates, not an inquisition. You can learn as much from the questions they ask as from their responses to you.

Beyond assessing if a candidate can do the job, dig deeper into who that person is, their career interests and goals and what they need to excel.

Do they seem interested in the work and the organization? Will they be comfortable in your environment? Will this candidate bring new skills or a fresh perspective to your team?

Open-ended behavioral-based questions can provide a clearer understanding of how a candidate approach tasks and solves problems.

Asking unusual interview questions can be a way to break the ice or put a nervous candidate at ease. Just make sure your unique questions have a purpose. They should help you understand how a candidate thinks, not make them feel foolish or uncomfortable.

Get other employees involved. “You are not the only person who is going to have to work with this candidate,” reminds The New York Times. “There is likely already a team of employees you trust that will have to interact with him or her every day. Their opinion should matter.”

4. Evaluate Your Candidates

Take the time to check their references. Does their job history check out? Would previous supervisors hire that person again? Depending on the profession, you may also need to check their educational credentials, criminal history or credit history.

Get feedback from all staff involved in interviews. “It’s impossible for 10-12 people to sit at the table to make the final decision, but their input deserves attention and review,” says The Balance Careers.

Consider additional evaluations beyond the interview, including personality tests and skills-based questionnaires.

The Final Decision

In the end, a well-planned and thoughtful hiring process will bring qualified candidates to your door and provide the details you need to discover your next new hire.

Need help with your talent search? contact the recruitment specialists at Pro Resources Staffing Services.