Finding The Best Talent For Your Job Openings

How to sort out the keepers from your stack of resumes.

Even though the unemployment rates are still high and so many qualified people are out there looking for jobs, it can still be a challenge to find the right person to fill your job openings. I think that in some cases, the tough job market actually makes the task more difficult. It may sound counter-intuitive, because when the unemployment rate is high, there are hundreds of resume being sent in daily for a single job opening. You might think that having such a large pool of applicants would make it easier to find the exact right person, but it doesn't.

In fact, when you have to sort through a huge number of applicants, it becomes more difficult to separate the ordinary candidates from the extraordinary ones. Added to that, when people have been looking for a new job for an extended period of time without much luck, they tend to feel discouraged and in an effort to reach out to as many employers as possible, applicants might send in resumes with information for a broad search. These applicants may be the exact person you are looking for but because they are applying for many jobs, not just your job, it may be tougher to spot the gem.

If you are having difficulty finding the right person for your job opening, here are some tips to help:

• Always choose character over experience - Don't focus on experience only. Just because someone has been working in the field for a long time doesn't mean that they are any more capable than a lesser experienced person. Instead, get a clear idea of what type of person would be the best fit for the job. Maybe you need someone who is a team player and would be able to contribute ideas and energy to team meetings and brainstorming session. Perhaps the job is best for someone who likes to work independently and keep to themselves. Whatever it is, try to find the personality type that fits best with the job. When someone is a great fit on a base, character level, it is easier to be patient and give extra training to an employee who has less experience. Even the most experienced and competent employee will cause all sorts of troubles when they aren't a good match for the job.

• Focus on potential rather than flaws - Typically, in an interview, the goal is to find out the applicants flaws. Although that can be important later in the game, at the beginning, try to look at the potential of the candidate. Give each person a chance to show you what they can offer your company, keep an open mind and look for the promise.

• Look for ways to take a chance - Even employees that you would have sworn were going to be an amazing addition to your team end up being anything but. When you are interviewing people, you may run across an applicant that doesn't look that great on paper but you just have a great feeling about them and really want to hire them. In that situation, look for ways that you can hire them while minimizing your risk if it doesn't work out. Maybe you could offer them a temporary position, an internship or just allow a longer period of time before you invest a lot in developing their talent. Trust your gut, but use your head. If your first instinct is that this is the right person, even when their resume doesn't look as good as you would have liked, you won't regret hiring them as much as you will regret letting them get away.

• Think outside of the box - You might not have followed the most traditional career path but someone, somewhere took a chance on you and gave you a fair shot. Don't forget that. It's so easy to slip into the mindset of what a successful career path "should" look like that we can't see any room for any deviation. Don't discredit your own judgement and try to avoid the formulaic mentality.

• Become a better listener - When your are interviewing applicants, it's a completely different process than having a meeting or a conversation with an employee. Don't be afraid to ask hard questions and press on with follow-up questions. In most conversations, this sort of aggressive listening is considered rude, in an interview it's the best way to find out the information instead of simply making assumptions. Pay attention to what is being said and how it is being delivered. Look for clues and don't be afraid to ask more questions if you feel that they are giving you a well-rehearsed story.

Finding the right new employee can be a challenge, but if you keep an open mind and look for the qualities that are most important, you can be fairly certain that you'll find the perfect person for the job.

Have you struggled to find the jewel in a stack of resumes? Do you agree or disagree with these suggestions? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for SalesHeadsBlog andNexxt. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.