What advice would you give a company as regards hiring the right person, is a question often asked. Here are 5 very simple steps to take which should help.

1. Have a structure and process that will help you make the right selection. The most common way to hire someone is to interview them, this on its own is very limiting but it remains the most widely used process. Therefore it is really important that you get the most out of the 30 – 40 minutes you spend with the candidates.

2. Be really familiar with the skills and competencies needed in the role, make sure you have a detailed job description that will guide you.

3. Prepare for the interview by reviewing the cv’s, set out some questions to ask, and have an objective scoring matrix to objectively assess each candidate.

4. Ask probing questions, don’t give the candidate the answer you want in the question. Consider scenario and competency based questions such as, tell me about a time when you …….. this is a much better way to assess the person’s ability in doing the job rather than they just giving you the text book response.

5. Finally before making an offer, take up references. It can be very interesting to hear what previous employers say about your candidate(s) and it could significantly influence your decision to hire the person!