How to find the perfect person for your business

It’s all well and good to talk about how to retain staff and keep your team happy, but how can you ensure you’re choosing the best and most appropriate candidates to become part of your business? Below are a list of what I believe are a great way to select great staff:

Know what you’re looking for – this may seem really basic but you would be surprised how many people go into the hiring process with a vague concept of the right person for the role and how rarely this works out. To hire the person best suited for your company and the role, it’s important to take the time to define exactly the qualifications and characteristics your ideal candidate will possess

Review Resume & Cover Letter – set aside some time to do this and do it well. Although no one has time to read reams of information, the quality of the resume and cover letter is a great indicator of the quality of the person. Have they taken the time to target their cover letter and experience to the role? If not, it’s reasonable to conclude that maybe they’re not all that passionate about this job.

Phone Screen – it’s important to include this step in your interviewing process. (prior to meeting them face to face) Taking the time to have an initial chat with your candidates will help you get a feeling of them and their ability to fit into the role you’re offering. You’ll be able to cross-check the details in their resume, as well as confirming if their expectations are in-line with what you’re able to provide.

Prepare – you’ve already got a clear idea of your candidate so it’s just a matter of creating questions that will draw out responses which demonstrate their suitability. Allow time before the interview to review their resume and again after, to go over your notes. We expect candidates to be punctual and well prepared so it’s only fair to show them the same courtesy.

Listen – don’t be too determined to get through your planned questions. You could try Anthony Robbin’s 4 tenets of deep listening, eye contact, presence, non-verbal feedback and connections because although you’ve created the perfect questions, you may find that by skipping a few and really listening to your candidate, you’ll find out a lot more about them and their ability to fill the position.

It’s incredibly valuable to invest time into finding the right people for your business. Connecting the best candidates with their dream job is my my passion so give me a call and let’s discuss how I can guide you through this process.

Shannon Wood, Managing Director S8 Expert Recruitment Solutions. I have over 14 years recruitment experience specialising in the animal health industry across the ANZ region. Areas of expertise include sales and marketing, technical roles (Quality Assurance, Quality Control & Regulatory Affairs) and operational & financial positions. I work extensively in the veterinary, ruminant, monogastric, aquaculture and the pet specialty industries and I look forward to the next 14 years.