Seasonal Hiring: How to Hire Great Summer Employees

By: Roberta Matuson

The 2011 forecast for summer hiring is a bit hazy as experts try to predict which way the winds will turn. Some believe demand for seasonal jobs will be up this year, while others say it will remain the same. However, all agree now is the time to take action if your recruiting strategy includes seasonal hiring of summer hires and interns.

“We think summer hiring will increase compared to last summer,” states Rob Wilson, president of Westmont, Illinois Employco USA, Inc., a firm in the human resource outsourcing industry. “In some industries more than others, some companies are starting to hire. We are receiving more requests for internships and entry-level positions, including summer hires, from clients in the restaurant and hospitality industry, tradeshows, landscaping and retail.” Wilson goes on to say that employers are cautious, yet they are still moving forward.

A prime example of this is Las Vegas, Nevada-based Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park. CEO Jeff Platt says that hiring is up across the country. Platt normally sees a spike in hiring during the summer due to the increase in business at their facilities. Throw in the fact that the company is in growth mode and recruiting candidates is job-one these days.

Platt approaches hiring the way professional coaches put together winning sports teams. He cultivates college recruiting relationships with local universities, who in turn help refer top players to his organization. It hasn’t taken long for word to get out that this is the team to join. “Specifically in Las Vegas our applicant flow has increased because we have built a great relationship with the local university. As people start to see that we have opportunities for people who start in entry-level positions, then our applicant flow will continue to rise.”

Platt fills his summer hiring needs by hiring hourly workers and interns. “We have some employees who have gone off to college and return in the summer to work as interns. Usually it’s someone who has been with us for a while. We have some employees who worked for us part-time and are now returning home from college for the summer. When we re-hire them, we are able to give them more responsibility because they understand our product,” states Platt.

Attracting Summer HiresWhen it comes to attracting summer hires, Wilson recommends putting thought into how write to job descriptions. He also suggests you present your small company brand in a way that is attractive to job seekers. “Is your workplace a great place to work? What’s the work environment like?” Convey the best image so the best and the brightest will seek you out.

Employee referrals are the gold standard when it comes to hiring. Ask people in your organization who they know that may be in need of a job this summer. Also think about recruiting with social media to find qualified candidates.

Optimally, Platt suggests looking for employees three to four months before you need them and then bringing them on board 60 days ahead of their regular schedule. This will allow you time to replace people who aren’t working out, before your busy season kicks in.

Hiring Foreign WorkersIt may sound like a great idea to staff your entry-level seasonal positions with foreign workers, but it’s not as easy as you think. Shereen C. Chen, an attorney and partner with the law firm of Hyland Levin, based in Marlton, New Jersey, points out there are only 66,000 H2b visas given out each fiscal year.

You may have a better chance of winning the lottery than securing a visa for your workers as the fiscal year is broken down into two parts, with 33,000 visas available for each season (October 1-March 30 and April 1-to September 30.) “The H2b visa is for unskilled labor,” notes Chen. To receive these visas, employers must prove they are unable to find a US worker who can fill these jobs. Your efforts (and money) would likely be better spent building relationships inside the US to avoid getting stuck in this maze.

Hiring Right the First TimeWilson believes entrepreneurs must learn how to interview well and ask interview questions that probe. “Keep in mind that it’s more expensive to hire the wrong person,” says Wilson. “It will cost you more because you have to recruit a second person. Hire right the first time.” A bit of research will help you avoid common hiring mistakes.

^© 2010 Human Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.

Legal Disclaimer: None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

Holistic Thinking: A Prescription for Health Care Recruiting

By:  Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr., author of From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership

The health care industry today is balancing two powerful and, to some extent, opposite dynamics. On one hand there is tremendous growth in demand. The aging of the large baby boomers demographic, the oldest of whom are turning 65, will translate into increased consumption of health care resources. On the other hand, there is the need to control costs.

Regardless which way the political winds blow on health care reform, there remains the undisputed fact that health care costs are already 17 percent of US GDP and on track to reach 20 percent in the next few years. 

How can health care companies handle such challenges of increasing growth while managing costs? To respond, employers need to recruit, retain, manage, and develop people who are able to think holistically.  Instead of focusing only on their specific business unit or function, holistic thinkers take into view the overall organization.

Holistic Thinking and Values-Based LeadershipHaving a holistic perspective is a highly-valued leadership skill today. Holistic thinking goes hand-in-hand with values-based leadership, which uses tools such as self-reflection and gaining a balance of perspectives to look at issues, challenges, and opportunities from all sides. Holistic thinking and values-based leadership are needed now more than ever as companies face competitive challenges to deliver results while remaining committed to doing the right thing.   

People who embrace values-based leadership demonstrate these qualities in how they think, speak, act, and perform. For the values-based leader, it is far more important to demonstrate what the organization had achieved, than what she personally accomplished. Values-based leaders at every level take pride in their teams, whether they have three people reporting to them or they are responsible for thousands of people.  Values-based leaders develop and mentor others and take ownership of their responsibilities beyond a “check the box” approach.

I define values-based leadership in the context of four principles: 

• Self-reflection – being able to step back and ask the deeper questions of yourself, such as weighing the impact of your decisions and actions. 

• Balance – looking at issues, opportunities, and circumstances from multiple perspectives, instead of seeking to convince others that your view is the “right” one.

• True self-confidence – being comfortable in your own skin and having the conviction to do the right thing instead of needing to be right.

• Genuine humility – able to relate sincerely to others, regardless of their job title and never forgetting where you came from.

Recruiting Holistic-Oriented Employees How can employers find people who are both holistic-thinkers and values-based leaders?

The first step is in the recruitment process is reviewing resumes -- in other words, looking for indications of a holistic, values-based approach on paper. For example, does a candidate demonstrate that he has completed assignments successfully across multiple functions, units, or geographies? Such accomplishments show that a candidate is capable of relating to the overall organization instead of just a particular unit or function.

To illustrate, I use the image of a circle inside of which are several parallel lines. All too often, people view their jobs as being part of one of the parallel lines. They are so focused on that “line” they can only see how to advance along it to reach a higher level. What these narrow-thinkers fail to see, however, is that there are actually multiple lines, each representing a particular unit, function, or geography. Surrounding all these lines is a circle which represents the entire organization.

Holistic thinkers are not limited by their particular line. Their resumes show they have been involved in multiple lines, whether with different assignments or as part of cross-function teams.  A holistic thinker may not necessarily have had jobs in several divisions. Someone who has volunteered for cross-functional assignments and projects also demonstrates an awareness of the goals and objectives of the entire organization. A candidate who is a holistic thinker is able to explain how his particular responsibilities or accomplishments benefited the entire organization, such as streamlining processes to improve efficiencies across the multiple departments. 

Interview Questions that Prompt Self-ReflectionOnce you have identified holistic thinkers through your screening process, now the interviewing process begins. Through face-to-face meetings, you will be able to determine if and how people demonstrate the four principles of values-based leadership. This will require some thought-provoking interview questions -- and listening with discernment. 

The foundational principle of values-based leadership is self-reflection. People who are self-reflective tend to give more thoughtful answers than just reciting information that’s already on their resumes. They can explain the impact of what they did on the entire organization. A self-reflective person acknowledges lessons learned -- not just what she accomplished -- and also gives credit to the team.

Hand-in-hand with self-reflection is balance. An individual with balance seeks to understand problems, opportunities, and circumstances from multiple perspectives. The objective is not to be right, but to find the best approach by seeking input broadly and exploring several options.

For example, in an interview you give a candidate a hypothetical problem to address. A person with balance will always mention gathering information broadly before making a decision. In contrast, a person who gives a knee-jerk response without first reflecting and then mentions only what he knows is probably not someone who values having a balanced perspective.

True self-confidence is revealed in attitude, that a person is comfortable in his own skin. People who are truly self-confident know what they know -- and what they don’t know. Instead of speaking only as “I,” a truly self-confident person talks about “we.”  When asked what they are most proud of, these people can share credit with their team members. They speak with pride about helping to develop their team, instead of just showing how irreplaceable they are as individuals.

An insightful interview question to reveal true self-confidence is to ask a candidate about the people she has mentored. Does she mention proudly what others achieved and where they are now? Or is she eager to get the conversation back “on track” -- that is, discussing her accomplishments? 

The fourth principle is genuine humility. The revealing characteristic is the ability to relate to everyone, regardless of position or job title. A person with genuine humility never forgets where he came from, and carries with him the lessons learned from previous positions. A person with genuine humility is able to inspire followership, because he respects everyone and doesn’t treat people differently because they have a higher rank or a bigger title.

Today’s economically and politically challenging times call for values-based leaders at every level, from within teams to the heads of department and divisions and among senior executives. With a purposeful approach to recruitment, retention, management, and development, companies can elevate the performance of their teams, with an emphasis on holistic thinking and values-based leadership as demonstrated by all.

Recruitment Strategies that Reach and Engage Today’s Job Seekers

By: Dona DeZube, Monster.com Finance Expert

As more consumers set aside laptops in favor of smartphones, iPads and other tablet computers, job seekers expect to be engaged with videos, job notifications and quick follow-up. Many experts say that recruiters must learn to adapt their recruitment strategy to these platforms.

With new tools and applications, you can adapt your current recruitment messages to the latest devices in the Web 2.0 world. The results will generate greater engagement and increase your ability to attract top talent.

Today’s mobile job seekers have different expectations and look for:

• Instant updates about new jobs via their mobile devices
• Immediate feedback to their job application 
• Recruiting videos to watch on their mobile devices
• Engaging, interactive content from employers

While that may seem impossible as a small business hiring strategy, here’s the good news: responding to those demands with consistent recruiting messages across multiple platforms is easier and less expensive than you might imagine.

The Growth of Mobile Recruiting “Over the past 12 months, Monster has seen a twofold increase in mobile-based traffic to our site," says Chris Necklas, Product Manager for Consumer at Monster. Based on the growth of tablet sales, and expectations that mobile Internet use will surpass desktop use by 2015, Monster has created a suite of mobile apps for iPhone, iPad touch and Android devices to better cater to this audience.

Necklas encourages employers to take an integrated approach to mobile-friendly apply solutions. “Monster has taken a lead role in integrating mobile with our job search applications,” he says, adding that Monster now reaches over 2 million mobile job seekers. “Our next step is partnering with employers to ensure that any off-Monster apply methods they may require are also mobile-friendly.”

The Ease of Mobile Messaging
One of the quickest and easiest ways for recruiters to take their recruiting message mobile -- adjusting a traditional Monster.com job posting to fit a smartphone format -- also happens to be free. “It doesn’t cost you anything extra, we adapt your online job posting to be read and consumed on a mobile device,” Necklaus explains.
  
Small business recruiting strategies should be revisited for opportunities to tap into the mobile evolution. As Internet-connected mobile devices are an “always-on” personal device, any opportunities to link these attributes into the recruitment process will be beneficial to seekers. Some ideas include:

• Job postings where seekers call the hiring manager directly instead of applying with a resume 
• Mobile customer relationship management (CRM) that links recruiters and seekers via instant messaging
• Use of permission-based Short Message Service (SMS) 
• Frequent updates to show the candidate their progress through the application process
• Incorporation of QR codes (Quick Response) in recruitment materials

Going Beyond the Written Word with Video
While mobile devices tend to be small, job seekers’ desires for more in-depth information are growing, says Leslie Cope, a senior product director for Monster.com. “They want to see videos about the company, hear from people who are already employed and compare one opportunity to the next,” she says.

Cope adds that you don’t have to be a big corporation to put big tools to work. “We’re giving small businesses the same tools and advantages that large companies have. Videos make you stand out, and it’s more affordable than you’d think.”

Eva Bitteker, product manager for Monster’s Video Profile product, says videos are especially effective for companies that have to sell candidates on their location (think rural hospitals), increase their response rate for qualified applicants, or illustrate positions that are difficult to describe with words alone. “Video is especially popular with firms that recruit sales, customer service, biotech and healthcare workers,” adds Bitteker.

Here’s why videos work well in those situations:

• Your employees are your best asset. A video that features your employees talking about the reasons why they enjoy working for your company, or what makes their jobs exciting, can be incredibly compelling.

• They give job seekers a peek at your corporate culture. Video is a great medium to visually communicate and showcase key selling points for your company, such as a unique office layout, a casual work environment, a downtown or scenic location.

• Show what job requirements look like in real life. A job description that says you have to lift a 50-pound box into a truck is different than actually seeing someone do it; this also helps candidates more accurately judge if they’re equipped to do the job.

• Feature aspects of the job that don’t fit easily into a job description. This can include your company’s tools, materials or machinery.

Once completed, you can add your recruitment video to your Monster job posting, your corporate website’s career pages, your company’s Facebook page and other social media pages. You can also email it to candidates, post it on sites like YouTube and (even if Monster.com films it for you) post it on competing job boards.

What to Do with All Those New Leads
What’s the downside of a more powerful mobile recruiting strategy? It increases candidates’ expectation for two-way communications. To cope with those demands, Monster provides candidate management tools that can be put in place before you activate new mobile-based campaigns.

“[Mobile] job seekers are looking for confirmation back from the employer, letting them know their information was received, where they stand in the recruiting process and if they’re going to hear further,” Cope says.

Monster’s free candidate management tools allow you to filter applicants, find people who fit your criteria, automatically contact the best prospects -- and even reminds you to follow up with candidates.

“Filtering, candidate screening and ranking tools let you quickly find the top applicants, so you can focus on reaching out and selling candidates on why your opportunity is right for them,” Cope says.

As recruitment strategies and small business hiring strategies evolve, there’s no doubt that Web 2.0, mobile and video recruitment tools will take center stage. Now’s the time to put these tools to work and enable your small company to stand out from competitors and make all your job postings more engaging.

Company Branding: Create Visibility for your Small Business

By: Ann Handley
 
In this multi-part series on driving company branding, Ann Handley explains how to rethink your site content to make it more engaging. This is excerpted, in part, from her book, Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business

In my previous article, Social Media Marketing: the Six Defining Elements of Online Content, we looked at the six characteristics of a good content idea or story.

Content that has all or most of those six elements will attract your audience and appeal to them on a fundamental, emotional level. In essence, creating stories that have these elements allows your audience to connect with you as one person to another, and view your business as what it is: a living, breathing entity run by real people.

Are you wondering how you are going to create all this content when you don’t have breaking news to share on a regular basis?

Previously, companies were expected to talk to the world only when they had something newsworthy to share. Those days are over. If you want to remain relevant and top of mind, you need to find a way to converse with customers and prospects much more frequently than only when you have big news as part of your social media strategy.

So what might you talk about when there’s “nothing” to say? Consider these approaches to developing relevant content.

1. Chat with customers. Arm your recruiters and other customer-facing folks with micro-video cameras to capture face time with prospects or customers. Bring a camera along the next time you attend a networking event. Not sure what to say? Try asking customers a single question to unify their answers and string them together for a compelling video. Ask something like, “What’s your biggest marketing challenge? Name one business goal for 2011.” Or, “What’s a strategy you’re using to grow your business this year?”  

2. Interview luminaries. Question and answer interviews with thought-leaders, strategic partners, or flat-out interesting or creative thinkers make for compelling text, audio, or video content. They also raise your profile with them, and they will most likely link to the interview from their own, better-read sites. And don’t forget the thought leaders in your own organization, too. [Tip: A simple Q&A chat via Skype is easy to do and allows for back-and-forth banter that gives an interview more energy and makes it more fun to read. Capture the text, edit for clarity, slap on a headline, and you’re done!

3. Share real-time photos. Configure your blog to work with Flickr so that you can upload photos from industry events, meetups, or other gatherings. Snap photos to share on Twitter via Twitpic or other Twitter photo-sharing services. Having fresh content matters here, so consider posting photos straight from your mobile phone, or invest in an EyeFi card that fits most digital cameras and will upload photos to the Web instantly. Bonus: The faster you can get your photos up, the more likely it is that people will use them to refer to, share with others, and drive traffic to your content.

4. Ask customer service. The front line is a great source for content, so ask them: What are customers contacting us about? What problems do they have? How might you help them resolve their issues? This approach is great for regular content with a recurring “questions from our customers” theme.

5. Monitor search keywords. What keywords are people using when they land on your blog or job postings? Monitoring those keywords can inform your content stories and suggest new opportunities; keywords tell you what your would-be customers are interested in and actively looking for; the right keywords will also help your content and job postings searchable.

6. Monitor social media keywords, too. Monitoring social media conversations and trending keyword topics on Twitter, blogs, and social status updates can be a rich source of content ideas. Doing so gives you a sense of what people are talking about in real time and what matters to your customers now.

Bonus: Choose trending topics that your audience might never connect to your business. This is a great way to surprise your community, and often leads to more conversation and interaction.

7. Research online. Use something like Google AdWords Keyword Tool to determine what people are searching for. If you sell rubber ducks, for example, you might be interested to know that 750 people have searched for “bride and groom rubber ducks” in any given month, 501 for “yellow floating ducks,” and another 460 for “cheap rubber duckies.” Those might suggest topics to create content around.

Bonus: Google Predictive Search is great for this, too, as Google auto-completes your search query with suggestions of what people are actually looking for. Another great place to research content ideas is Yahoo! Answers; the questions people post related to your own searches or queries can reveal a treasure trove of information.

8. Trawl industry news. Share an opinion about a recent news story that’s affecting your industry or audience. Whenever possible, be timely; you could benefit from the extra boost of being one of the first to comment on the topic, as latecomers are likely to reference and link to you.

8a. Related to the preceding: Trawl non-industry news, too. Play off a popular general news story and relate it to your own industry. In journalism, this is called using a “news hook.” What did the 2010 FIFA World Cup have to do with growing your small business? Nothing, really. But in an article at American Express OPEN Forum, Rohit Bhargava offered four lessons that small businesses could glean from South Africa’s hosting of the games.

9. Get inspired by your own passions. Consider these recent blog posts: What World of Warcraft’s Patchwerk Can Teach You about Recovering Morale (by Christopher S. Penn) or Brian Clark’s Ernest Hemingway’s Top 5 Tips for Writing Well. On the surface, they may make you tilt your head, doggie-style, and wonder how those combos came about. It’s exactly such piqued curiosity that draws in more readers.

10. Go behind the scenes. Show things that your readers or followers don’t usually get to see. Share photos that give an insider’s view of your company. Consider using these as teasers of some new, compelling content, product, or event that you’ll be sharing soon.

Bonus: Encourage your customers to also share their photos of or stories about favorite staff members they have interacted with, or how they use your products in their lives. Have your employees join in the fun by sharing pictures of their workspaces.
 
11. Reach into your community. Create content that showcases your readers, viewers, commenters and other active members of your community. If you notice that two visitors consistently comment on your blog posts, for example, write a post thanking them; also point out who they are, and link back to their blogs or businesses. You might even highlight some of your favorite posts from their blogs.

Bonus: Once you start highlighting your audience members, you might well spark more participation by others who hope that they too might get a spotlight shone on them.

So there you go: 11+ ways to find the compelling stories within your own organization that help build your brand. There are many more approaches, of course. What ways have you found to be most effective?

Write Effective Online Job Postings

The Internet was supposed to simplify recruiting. Yet the combination of quick and easy online applications and resulting increase in the number of applicants has led to millions of resumes floating around in cyberspace. So how can you manage the flood?

Should you give up on your job posting? Definitely not. There isn't a better way to quickly and inexpensively attract top talent.

Follow these simple strategies to improve the quality of responses you receive and decrease your time to hire.

Be Specific

A quick job search turns up mostly short job postings with no clear definition of job requirements. If half the people reading the job description can imagine themselves to be qualified, your inbox will be full within hours.

To avoid this, work closely with the hiring manager to understand his specific requirements. If your CFO will only hire CPAs, state that requirement clearly. Don't say you need a human resources assistant who "knows benefits" if you actually need an expert in workers' comp. And if you need an executive assistant who has experience organizing huge corporate conventions, don't write "plans company events," which could mean arranging the annual company picnic.

Writing specific posting requirements takes a little longer, but by helping job seekers understand your needs, you'll reduce the number of applications from unqualified candidates and ultimately save more time than you spend.

Be Clear

Make sure the job requirements and job duties are easy to understand by someone who does not already work for your company. Some job descriptions include so much corporate jargon that it's difficult for job seekers to tell if they are qualified, leading many to simply press a button to submit a resume.

For example, one company is currently advertising for a product manager to "create wireframes, product specification/MRDs/PRDs and scope documentation."

Compare it with this posting for a product manager: "Must have a network of contacts amongst key decision makers within the entertainment industry (particularly film and music)." The second is much easier to understand, more specific and likely to attract fewer unqualified applicants.

If you're not sure whether you have included company-speak, have a friend or fellow HR professional review your posting and give you feedback.

Be Up Front

Dissuade potential job seekers from speculative applications by adding a statement explaining that your requirements are firm. For example: "Please read the qualifications for this position carefully. The successful applicant will have to get up to speed quickly and therefore, we will only consider those who meet all the criteria listed above." This won't stop everyone, but it will help deter people who are unsure whether you're serious about your stated requirements.

Be Demanding

Don't make the application process too easy. Instead of just asking for a resume, include an assignment in your posting.

For example, a company looking for a webmaster could include the following: "When applying, please provide an outline of your approach to web site design. The successful applicant will be asked to completely overhaul the site, so we'd like to know how you would approach that process."

Or a retailer looking for a customer service representative could ask applicants to write a cover letter outlining three challenging customer situations they handled successfully. Qualified candidates will be excited to have the opportunity to stand out from the crowd, while casual applicants will be less willing to put in that much effort for a long-shot application.

To be successful in your recruitment efforts, you must constantly adapt your strategies to suit the market. You must manage the candidate flow so you can effectively service your organization.

By creating specific, clear job postings and an application process that requires effort on the part of the applicant, you can reduce the number of unqualified candidates and increase your chance of making the right hire quickly.

IT Recruiting: How your Business can Assess IT Candidate Skills

By: Dona Dezube

It may be an employer’s job market, but it’s still tough to fill jobs that require both IT and business skills. If you’re looking for a recruitment strategy for your small business that will attract “hybrid” candidates, expect a lot of competition from other companies.

“The days of the computer programmer who sits in the back of the office with headphones on writing code are over,” says John Reed, executive director of Robert Half Technology, Menlo Park, California. “Companies want people who can go to meetings, gather information and talk about what clients want to accomplish. Written and verbal skills are at a premium.”

The challenge grows exponentially for small and medium-size companies that don’t have on-staff IT experts to help assess candidates’ skill sets. Fortunately, work-arounds exist to help even the most IT-challenged companies find the right hybrid professionals.

Qualify your Resume Search
When you’re looking at hybrid professionals, you’re probably going to have to focus in one direction or another. “If you’re hiring someone with an MBA who knows the business side of things, they’re not going to know everything technically,” says Thomas Verghese, managing partner at Saxon InfoTech, Inc., Columbia, Maryland. “Technical people tend to get specialized in a single vertical and pick up business skills on the job by working on a project.”

Decide which is more important in your open position--the MBA or the tech knowledge -- then pick carefully as you search resumes to attract top talent.

As you review resumes, look for six things that will tell you the job seeker is right for your hybrid position, says Jack Molisani, president of ProSpring Technical Staffing, Long Beach, California:

1. Is this person’s skillset what you need? If you need a programmer, are they a programmer? 
2. How senior are they?
3. Do they have experience in your industry? 
4. Do they have the IT and business tools to get the job done?
5. Have they done similar things to what you need them to do on this job?
6. Can you afford them?

Get Specific During the Interview Process
Once you’ve narrowed your list of potential employees, tease out details in the interview process about their experience; ask detailed interview questions about prior positions, focusing on how they split their time between technical and business tasks, Reed says.

Verify what the job seeker says via reference checking with previous supervisors to reference check these five questions:

1. What did they do on a typical day?
2. What was their role on past projects?
3. What kind of technical aptitude do they have?
4. How is their business sense?
5. Describe the role you have in mind for the employee. Would they do well in that role? Where would they likely struggle?

Trust, but Verify IT Skills
While most companies have someone who can “talk business” to gauge a candidate’s business acumen, not every company has a technical professional to “talk IT.”

Even if you do have technical pros on staff, they’ll have to find the line between validating skills and experience and over-testing job seekers during the interview.

“If you ask questions that are too simplistic, you risk insulting the IT candidate, or worse, suggesting that you don’t have the IT knowledge to recognize his or her skills level,” Reed says.

You can evaluate IT skills in a number of ways:

Have a tech person on your staff do a technical screen of the candidate resumes and conduct technical interviews. Be clear with your IT employee that he or she is there to assess the candidate’s level of technical aptitude, not to discuss pay or other subjects.

Check presentation and communication skills while you’re vetting IT skills. Come up with an IT problem (how would you build a firewall to maintain data security for us?) and ask the job seeker to explain how they’d solve it using a whiteboard. (And don’t forget the importance of the candidate’s social skills.)

If you don’t have the staff to vet job candidates, you still have options:

Use an outside company to verify tech skills. Testing companies like Prove It!, Brainbench, ReviewNet Services, and eSkill Corporation tell you where candidates are strong and weak and how they compare to others who take tests covering popular technology like .net, Novell Netware and JAVA.

Borrow an IT expert. Saxon InfoTech has a deep staff it can turn to for interview help, but when it needs to hire in new niches, it reaches out to its network to find someone in a different company in the same industry to help in the interview process.

Fake it. You can ask IT questions and nod your head while listening to answers you don’t understand, Reed says. “However, that’s probably the least effective way to test someone’s skills.” Still, it can be done. Google “.net interview questions” and you’ll find plenty of things to ask a .net job candidate. Take time to research your interview questions, jot down notes about the correct answers and then listen for key phrases.

Hire someone who’s been there, done that. Choose a candidate who has  a proven performance record of accomplishing the task you need done and you won’t have to worry so much about technical competency for a small or mid-size company implementation or build-out.

“Someone who’s performed one or two implementations before will know where the issues were, can identify areas of improvements, and when they roll out, they know how to cut costs or judge a timeline,” says Marty Guillamun, executive director of national delivery for Digital Intelligence Systems Corp., McLean, Virginia.

Whatever you do, don’t make a hiring mistake by letting it push you into a hasty candidate selection. “Sometimes you get frustrated that you can’t find the right person and hire the wrong person,” Verghese says. “But if you hire someone and you’ve made the wrong selection, letting them go hurts your reputation.” It also impacts your bottom line with added turnover costs.