Searching for just the right candidate can sometimes seem like looking for a needle in a haystack. Here are some questions that you should know the answers to in order to proceed in picking just the right person.

1. Why are they looking for a new job? Looking for a new job is not anyone’ idea of a good time. People put themselves through the interview process for a specific set of reasons—rarely only money. Lack of upward mobility, the work no longer interests them, perhaps their workload has increased substantially due to layoffs. Keep asking questions until you know the real reasons they are looking for a new position and match their needs with yours as you get the answers.
2. What did they make at their current or recently past job? You need to know not only their salary, but bonuses, 401K plans, pensions and benefits. If your offer can’t match up to what they already had, you will end up with a disgruntled employee.
3. What did they like and dislike about their last job? This will give you a picture of their strengths and weaknesses, since no one likes to do things they do badly. You are more likely to get a true picture than just by asking them to list their weaknesses.
4. Are they a loner or good on a team? Some people shine on solo projects, while some require others to spark their best work. If you are hiring a programmer, you might not care if they only emerge from their office for at the weekly development meeting, but your marketing team might need to bounce ideas off of one another. Fit the candidate to the job.
5. Are they qualified? You may really like the candidate but, at the end of the day, if they can’t do the job, you’ve got the wrong person. Check their work history, ask about the types of projects or equipment they have worked on, investigate their training or educational records—do your best to discover if they will be able to do the job well with only a minimum of training and downtime.
6. Will they fit in with the rest of your employees? Company culture is something to be considered. If the candidate is a high-powered exec used to international travel and Seville Row suits and you are trying to fill a job with your  20-something staff who wear jeans and flip flops and conduct webinars, you’ll have a disconnect and no one will be happy.
7. Are they in talks to take a job somewhere else? If the candidate is on the short-list to get hired at a competitor, you need to know so, if you decide this person is the one, you can move fast and get an offer in their hands sooner rather than later.

Let Arrow Staffing help you in your search for the perfect candidate.