Hiring is an involved process. There are numerous considerations for finding the ideal candidate. To find the best applicant, you need to redefine what it takes to locate the perfect match. Part one of this three-part series aims to help you separate your hiring needs from your hiring wants.
If you are ready to redefine your business’s hiring practices, begin with the following questions.
What Sets This Position Apart?
Every position has its place; there are a set of assigned duties that distinguish each job from those around it. To hire the best candidate for an opening, you need to focus on what makes the work performed by that ideal employee different from that of every other employee on your roster.
By identifying the essential characteristics of the position, you are defining your needs. These requirements are the foundation upon which your job announcement should be based.
How Much Time Can I Dedicate to Training?
You may have the ability to integrate a new employee into the position slowly using a predefined training plan or with the help of a skilled employee. In cases like these, you have some flexibility regarding the amount of experience required and the precise skills your ideal candidate must already possess.
Alternatively, you might need a person who can hit the ground running, fighting the fires that started while the position was vacant. This may necessitate specific knowledge and experience in required systems.
Understanding how much effort can be directed toward onboarding the new hire will help you decide the level of experience you need, as well as the precise skill set the person will need.
Can Someone Else Cover These Job Duties?
Just as training ability can be a key indicator of the required amount of experience, so can the capabilities of other employees already with the company. If a current employee can step in and manage tasks that would otherwise be assigned to the vacant position, this can provide insight into what skills are missing from the current team.
By analyzing the skills of those already on your team, you can identify the skills gaps that exist within the group. Finding an employee who can take those duties off the plate of a current employee may be a want.
How Long Will the Position Be Relevant?
Even if you are in dire need of a particular set of skills, consider how long your business will require these skills to be available. During times of transition, such as integrating a new technological solution, a particular knowledge base may be essential to the success of the project. However, once the installation is complete, those same skills may no longer be relevant to your daily operations. When that is the case, you need to determine if you need a new full-time employee, or if you should consider hiring someone on a contractual or temporary basis.
For full-time employees where the primary purpose for hiring them may change once a project is complete, you should determine the skills that will be required of the employee once the job is complete. You also need to consider whether the new knowledge can be obtained through concurrent training while the project is underway, or if the ideal candidate will already possess those skills.
Pulling it All Together
By thoroughly examining which traits are required of your candidates, you can focus your search on the candidates that bring those skills to the table. Any other function you may wish them to provide, either immediately or over time, should be classified as a want. This allows wants to separate top candidates who meet all your needs, and also prevents you from hiring a person who meets all of your wants, but misses some of your needs.
With experience working with clients in fulfilling their IT hiring needs, The Squires Group has the knowledge and expertise to redefine how you hire new employees. Contact us today and see what they have to offer.
