How to Hire the Right Person for the Job

Have you ever hired someone you though was an absolute star who turned out to be an asteroid or a meteor? Did you envision them as a new light in your sky / team and end up instead with fading or destructive potential on your hands?Larry Bossidy said, "I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people not on strategies." If this is the case, leave luck and fate at the casino and use tools that secure the right person.First things first, understand. Understand the job yes, but also understand your organization, its strategic direction, culture and core values. If you the rightest right person you have ever had the pleasure of hiring, you must understand what the 'right person' would look like to you, to other team members, other departments, and to the organization as a whole.Track you Talent. Be strategic in your recruitment efforts. Which recruitment resources are frequented by the type of talent you need. Gone are the days of simply placing an ad in the local paper. Job seekers are mobile and so you must be also. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other social networking sites are becoming important recruitment resources and if you don't know how to tap into its potential, find someone who can!Use a Large Net. Use as many resources as you can to add value to your recruitment efforts. This is what makes a recruitment service so great. The same ad can be duplicated and recycled on multiple sites to increase visibility and the resultant applicant pool you will attract.Quality Control. Be exhaustive in your review process. Consider applicants in depth and take time to check credentials and certifications. Prescreen applicants to thin out the competition based on the inflexible details of the position. (i.e.: Pay, Hours of Work)Hold Meaningful Interviews. Ask probing questions that require more from the interviewee than the standard queries anyone can search for (and thus prepare for) online. Ask your candidate specific, behaviourally based questions that help predict how they may perform in future situations. Aim to discover the person behind the resume, to highlight their fit into the culture of your organization.Be Gracious. Be careful not to burn your bridges. If they impressed you enough to get to the interview stage, but were not the best fit for the current position, maintain that relationship and encourage future applications in case they might be the star of a future role.Do you want to hire the right person for your team? Of course you do! So take these tips with you on your search to make sure you make the most of your efforts.