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How to Find Good Employees?
By Laurie L. O'Neil

In my prior life, I was a controller of a recruiting company. so I have some insight in this area. Asking the right type of questions and finding the right candidate can be challenging. Often we get our personal feelings involved in the hiring process. You like the person but the person may not necessarily have the right skill set for the job. Often we may compromise what we are searching for in a candidate in exchange for an easy fit.

Here are some things that you want to think about before you hire an employee:

1. Put together a job posting that will capture the interest of a potential employee, flexible hours, benefits, the job requirements.
2. When recruiting for an employee, have a job description put together. This will have a job summary, duties and responsibilities, complexity of work, experience, skills, and education. This will keep you focused on who you are looking for.
3. When interviewing have some behavioral type of interview questions. For example: Tell me about a time when your workload was heavy. How did you complete all your work? Remaining calm under extreme pressure is a difficult skill for many people. Tell me about a situation when you were able to do this. These types of questions give you some good insight on how someone could react with your clients. Sometimes people do not know how to answer these questions.
4. Look for someone who has consistent job experience, spent 4 or more years in one position at some point in their career.
5. Be sure to check references!!!!

Be firm on what you are searching for in a candidate. Be clear about what you stand for and what your values are in your company. You are searching for someone who shares similar values. Finding good employees will not come easy nor should it. In my last job posting, I phone screened all the resumes and only interviewed who I thought was a perfect fit for the job. This may be time consuming but it will cost you in the long run if you do not take the time.

Copyright © 2008 Linda Hunt and Laurie O’Neil, The Bookkeeper’s Referral Network, Inc.

If you would like to use this article on your website or in your own e-newsletter, please reprint in its entirety and include the following information:  Copyright © 2008 Linda Hunt and Laurie O’Neil, The Bookkeeper’s Referral Network, Inc.  Linda Hunt and Lauire O’Neil are the co-founder of The Bookkeeper’s Referral Network Inc., the place where business meets great bookkeepers. To sign up for free articles and insider tips to grow your practice, add value to your clients while making more money working less, visit www.bkpr-network.com