Giles Cadman 
If you’re reading this blog, you are ready to hire – so congratulations! Your business is growing. In my experience, hiring is one of the most important "“ and ongoing "“ tasks of any business owner. It can be a time consuming and stressful project, and it could come with some big consequences (for you AND your business) if you make a bad hiring choice.
On the contrary, making a good hiring choice could help your business in a big way. As I've written about in my recent blog, The Team Behind the Success, your business wouldn't flourish without the help of you team."
Here is my insight when it comes to hiring for success.
Write a detailed job description
Your job description is important because this is what will attract people to or deter people from applying for the position. While you want to make the description detailed enough that it appeals to candidates that would fit the position, you also don't want to scare anyone off. Creating a job description that lists 30 responsibilities and 20 requirements will likely discourage a lot of people from applying"”and you could be discouraging a great fit.
A key piece of advice to remember while writing a job description is to focus more on what your company can do for the future employee, rather than what they can do for the company. For example, rather than saying "making cold calls to potential investors," try saying "opportunity to connect with a wide variety of people in the industry."
Check social media profiles
For most businesses, it's quite common to do a quick background check prior to an interview, even if it's just briefly searching the interviewee's name on Google. But, taking a few extra minutes to check out their social media pages could be beneficial. A person's social media accounts reveal a lot about who they are as a person, for better or for worse. In this day and age, your potential hires should understand the important of having a squeaky-clean digital footprint. Make note of anything that looks questionable and take this into consideration when making your final decision.
Get to know your candidate
While learning about your candidate's "˜hard' skills"” such as organization, proficiency in certain software, or attention to detail"”it's also important to focus on soft skills when interviewing to hire. Get a feel for their personality, sure, they might have all the written requirements, but will this person fit into your company culture? Do they have social intelligence?
Think carefully about the questions you ask your candidate. Rather than "where do you see yourself in 10 years," try "who do you want to be in 10 years?"
Remember, skills can be acquired, but personalities can't.
Your team will be one of the biggest factors in whether or not your business will be successful. When it's time to hire, make sure you're hiring with success in mind.
Want to learn more? Read the second blog in my series, the Team Behind the Success.
