<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Suzan Sturholm

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Stories

• Learn about the benefits of solar power 5/2/12 • Business climate for the week of May 2 5/2/12 • Check This Out: "We're Headed for a Fiscal Cliff. Should We Jump?" 5/2/12 • Learn how to use LinkedIn to get a job 5/2/12 • Economic Alliance Snohomish County annual awards banquet 5/2/12 • Port of Everett boat yard does some heavy lifting 5/1/12 • Kimberly-Clark puts Everett mill on market 5/1/12 • Keep your business on solid footing with OEM software 4/26/12 • Manage to get some respect into the workplace 4/26/12 • Everett Floral is ready to blossom again 4/26/12 • Mark Duffy, HBJ's Executive of the Year 4/26/12 • Business climate for the week of April 25 4/25/12 • Check This Out: "Cage Match: Dollar Coin vs. Dollar Bill" 4/25/12 • Business Before Hours with the Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce 4/25/12 • Recycle almost anything and shred those documents 4/25/12

CONTACT SCBJ Kurt Batdorf, Editor kbatdorf@scbj.com

Finding the perfect job candidate

By Suzan Sturholm
All Things HR LLC

Finding the perfect fit for every open position is the dream of every great recruiter. But that's it -- it's just a dream. The truth is, there is no perfect candidate. Perfection is an improbability.

An employer can only hope to make the best possible hire from the available pool of candidates:

• Within a reasonable geographic range;

• With acceptable salary expectations;

• Seeking a change in employment; and

• Excited about the opportunity with your organization.

Passive job-seekers are key

A key requirement is that the candidate be actively searching for a new role when you have one available. This severely limits the pool of applicants. In fact, if asked to identify characteristics of ideal candidate, most managers would agree they are seeking:

• A top performer in their current role and

• someone working for a competitor or in the same industry.

Since these characteristics describe a currently employed person, they are unlikely to be actively searching for a new opportunity. For key roles or hard-to-fill positions, it is often crucial to employ targeted candidate search techniques and rely upon the expertise of outside recruiting agencies to source high potentials.

Best Practices

In addition to sourcing the best possible candidate for a position, there are a few things that can be done internally to increase the chance of a successful hire every time:

• Create comprehensive and well-written job descriptions.

• Spend time on advertisement text to craft clever copy enticing high caliber job-seekers.

• Develop a standard resume screening process and require all potential candidates to meet the position's minimum requirements.

• Conduct background checks on education credentials and three previous work references.

Recruiting for a key role in the organization can be extremely challenging as the stakes for failure and success are high. It is important to cast the net wide to solicit the attention of both active and passive candidates thereby increasing your chance of getting as close as you can to perfection.

All Things HR is an employment consultant and recruitment firm in Lynnwood. For information on their services, call 425-248-4978 or go to www.allthings-hr.com.