When you’ve officially reached a point where bringing on a new employee is the right move, you want to make sure you handle everything right the first time. This helps ensure you can get the person you need quickly while making sure you aren’t stuck with a less than ideal fit or finding yourself hiring again too soon. To help you manage the task efficiently, here are five steps for finding your best new employee.

Whether you are refilling a position or starting one from scratch, you need to review the position to see exactly what competencies are required to get the job done. This involves looking at the assigned duties as well as evaluating the new employee’s team for skill gaps that need to be filled by the candidate. Once you clarify your needs, you can create a job posting that includes those high-priority items, ensuring you are speaking to the right job seekers before anyone submits an application.

After crafting your vacancy announcement, you need to put it out into the world. You can begin by listing the job opening on your company website as well as relevant job boards and even local classifieds. Working with a reputable staffing firm is also a great method for connecting with qualified job seekers, so consider it when you start the recruitment process to help widen your net.

Once you have a quality resume or application in your hands, it’s time to start interviewing. You’ll start by contacting candidates who most closely meet your needs and scheduling times to meet. Prior to the interview, craft some key questions you want to cover during the meeting, so you are prepared in advance.

Make sure you schedule interviews for a sufficient duration based on the complexity of the position and how much you hope to discuss. In most cases, professional-level interviews should be blocked for at least an hour, though some entry-level jobs make only require half that. When in doubt, give yourself more time instead of less. After all, the candidate you choose to pursue could be with your organization for a long time, so give yourself the opportunity to be thorough during the interview process instead of feeling rushed.

Whenever you hire anyone, you should always take the time to run an appropriate background check based on the position and speak with the person’s references. While professional references are often somewhat biased, as the contacts are provided by the candidate, using probing questions can help you gain a deeper understanding of the job seeker’s capabilities, allowing you to get the most out of these calls. Make sure you give yourself time to get the information you need by handling these reference checks during a time where you won’t feel rushed.

If you want to streamline this part of the process, many staffing agencies can conduct background and reference checks on your behalf. This means you get all of the information you need, collected by professionals, without having to take the time from your busy schedule.

As soon as you’ve identified your ideal candidate, it’s time to make an official offer. Start by speaking with them over the phone to cover the basics and send the details in a formal letter. Be prepared to negotiate with the job seeker, as this is a common practice, and then send an updated formal letter once you have found mutually agreeable terms and obtain their official acceptance.

Once that process is complete, you can begin looking forward to the onboarding process and having a great employee joining your team. If you would like to work with a skilled staffing agency to manage the process for you, the professionals at The Advance Group have the experience to handle the process right the first tie. Contact us to see how our recruitment specialists can help with your hiring needs today.