7 Steps to Hiring a New Employee

Need to make a hire ? Want to be sure you do it right? This brief guide will give you a quick, but substantial, step-by-step overview of the hiring process:

Step 1: Figure Out What You Need in a New Hire

Before you hire anyone, take some time to determine exactly what you’re looking for in a new employee. Get input from your colleagues if appropriate. Consider questions like:

1. What kind of skills would the ideal employee have?
2. What would their attitude be like?
3. What would their responsibilities be?
4. How much can you pay them?
5. How many hours do you expect them to work?
6. Where will they be located?

Taking the time to fully understand what you want in a new employee will prevent a bad hire down the line and ensure that you don’t take too long to make decisions once the interview process is under way.

Step 2: Find Candidates

This step can be a tricky. There are many ways to go about it, but we recommend writing a job description based on the ideal employee outlined in step one and posting it to a relevant job board. This is an easy and inexpensive way to start getting applicants for your opening.

Step 3: Set Up Interviews

Once you have applicants, screen them to figure out which ones are likely to align with the criteria determined in step one. Once you’ve identified promising candidates, set up interviews with them.

If you use software to aid your hiring process, you may be able to set up interviews with automatic reminders, which is always a good idea. That will reduce the number of no-show candidates.

Step 4: Interview the Candidates

Interviewing is an art. Generally, it is a good idea to talk with a candidate on multiple occasions and have multiple people interview them. This way, you’ll be likely to cut bias out of the process, and you can rely on input from others to confirm whether your impression of the candidate is accurate.

Remember, you’ll likely be working with this person for quite some time. Take steps now to get a full picture of each applicant. It can make a world of difference.

Step 5: Background and Reference Checks

Once you’ve found a promising candidate, it’s a good idea to conduct a reference check. When speaking with a candidate’s references, ask in-depth questions. Go beyond “Was this person a good employee?” Because each applicant handpicks their references, they will likely be slightly biased in favor of the candidate. Digging deep is a good way to get a picture of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

In addition to a reference check, you may want to conduct a full background check on a candidate’s potential criminal history. Plenty of services can do this for you. Look around for one that fits your needs.

Step 6: Extend an Offer

Once you’ve zeroed in on the perfect candidate, you’re ready to make an offer. It’s best to start by discussing your offer over the phone, then send a follow-up offer letter via email. Make sure to include all the relevant information while writing your offer letter. This will prevent miscommunication and misunderstandings while increasing the likelihood a candidate accepts.

Step 7: Negotiate 

Often, a candidate will want to negotiate some terms of the offer letter. This is perfectly normal, and you should be prepared for it to happen.

You can find a number of resources online about how to negotiate with candidates. One key piece of advice: Remain respectful and listen to your candidate’s concerns. You don’t want to hire an employee who walks away from negotiations with a bad taste in their mouth!

You’re Done! 

And that’s it! You’ve just hired an employee!

Of course, there’s more to do – like paperwork and training – but you’re well on your way to a successful, long-term new employee!

Will Zimmerman is a content marketer for Proven.