When the economy seems stuck in a quagmire, such as it is today, employers have a better chance to select from a wider group of applicants. Many of them served their employers well but through no fault of their own got tripped by extraordinarily high prices for health care, raw materials and energy, or outsourcing and offshoring.

As IMT discussed last September, "not looking for a good fit within the position, the firm and the future" is one of the top hiring mistakes made by small businesses.

Each company has its own culture as well as knowledge and skill needs. And for small businesses, employees can make or break the business as they play a huge part in creating and communicating the organization's corporate culture. So, when hiring, it pays for employers just starting out to choose only employees who would fit in well and meet the business needs as precisely as possible.

From day one, small-biz owners should think hard about the candidates who can be brought on board to help meet the vision of the new business.

While employers large and small tend to hire based on a candidate's job skills and experience, research has shown that job fit is less important than organization fit. Most businesses require a rapport among employees. If you hire someone who does not fit in with the team's chemistry, you may find yourself with unnecessary problems.

Tips for finding and hiring new employees who'll fit in well start with writing a job description for the position the employer intends to fill, says Frances Sharpe at Work.com. "Include as much detail as possible. Resist the urge to say things like 'miscellaneous duties as required' but don't make the job description too limiting in case you need to expand the duties," Sharpe writes.

When writing the text for an advertisement, include information on why an applicant would want to work for your company and what makes the company special. Read some ads and make note of those that impress you most.

For advertisement placement, use online job sites and local newspapers. Consider local radio stations, too. But don't rely solely on traditional recruiting sources. Often you can build a pipeline of quality candidates by establishing relationships with key talent sources such as professional trade organizations, vocational schools, and colleges and universities. Starting out, you can find employees for administrative tasks through nearby schools' internship programs. Once you have a budget, you can bring people on board for as little as one hour a day and then increase their hours when you can afford it. As well, think back to how your current best employees found out about the opportunities you offered, and use that data to point you to the media that connected them with you so you get the best return on investment.

Meanwhile, don't forget that while your company is evaluating applicants, those applicants are evaluating your company. Make their choice easier by highlighting your company's strengths, opportunities and positive culture.

When you have enough résumés, check references. Though there are laws on what you can ask officially, ensure you have the dates of hire and leave correct and what duties the person performed. This way, should you invite the applicant to a meeting, you will know if he or she is stretching basic facts too much.

When it comes to interviews, screen by telephone first. Of those who seem to have the skills, knowledge, attitude and experience you want, schedule these applicants for a meeting so you have enough one-on-one time.

Also, prepare questions ahead of time. Questions about knowledge, skills, attitude and performance help an interviewer assess a candidate's fitness for the job.

For small manufacturers, in particular, consider LaRita M. Heet's comments at Work.com: 1) "Hire people who have a solid educational background in math, science and engineering; and 2) Hire workers who you can train and promote within your company."

If time is not of the essence, then consider prioritizing the knowledge, skills, experience, traits, and characteristics you seek in the employee while you hold out for the "right" person. After establishing priorities, an employer could even use a weighting system giving different numerical values to each of these personal elements and then score the candidates.

Hiring the "right" person isn't easy. If an employer doesn't have the time to do it carefully, relying on professionals, experts or a professional staffing firm may work best. After all this, you deserve to get the "right" employee — not just the best one.

Earlier: Top Hiring Mistake Made by Small Business

Resources

Guide to Hiring and Managing Your First Employees
by Frances Sharpe
Work.com

Guide to Hiring Manufacturing Workers
by LaRita M. Heet
Work.com