Are you looking to add information technology personnel? You want to hire for a competitive edge, right?
Naturally, you must consider your current and future needs and how to align them with the aptitude and skills in the recruitment and hiring of your ideal candidate, and vice versa.
IT is a crucial position for you. The difference between failure and success requires some reflection. Hint — that means hiring someone with compatible drive and talent — an entrepreneurial spirit.
To choose the right person, here six tips:
1. Recruit for impact with best practices in screening resumes.
The wrong hires result in costly turnover — a waste of money and time. Don’t take shortcuts.
Before you begin interviewing, start with careful screening of resumes for an impact person.
2. Hire someone who is a fit for your culture and capable from the get-go.
In this economic environment, especially in a small operation, you’re wearing many hats. So you need versatile employees who will relate well to all members of your team.
Technology will continue to undergo dynamic change. Look for someone who has a good perspective on the history of information technology with the current experience to perform the necessary tasks for your organization — now and in the future.
The most-desirable candidate will actively learn and continuously grow.
Such situations call for behavioral interviews to make sure you have a good match.
3. Put a premium on judgment and communication skills.
You need a person who willingly listens and relates to you and others. With enough information, IT requires strategic decisions to deal with changing technology but the capability to discuss technological concepts in easy-to-understand terms.
So ask your candidates to share how they solved issues. Share with them real-time situations that your company faces. This will afford you the opportunity to consider their judgments and how they’ll perform for you.
Listen carefully to the interviewees’ answers and look for exemplary communication skills.
Look for someone who has a good perspective on the history of information technology with the current experience to perform the necessary tasks for your organization — now and in the future.
4. Hire for resourcefulness.
Interviews should include questions that will give you an idea about the persons’ creativity to address difficult issues. You’ll be depending on IT expertise for success in compliance, finance, marketing and sales, and security.
Seemingly, all CEOs have complained to me about IT professionals who don’t understand business and the need to provide affordable solutions for returning yields on investments. It isn’t a conclusion from my experience as a business-performance consultant.
Two studies indicate the need for IT professionals to get businesslike. Hire someone who gets it.
5. Assess the persons’ resilience.
Business success doesn’t come easily. Your business will continue to face adversity. Hire someone in whom you will have faith to get the job done.
That means someone who will face challenges with resilience — someone not cocky but confident — a game-changer.
6. Consider the applicants’ potential to be leaders.
In growing your firm, you’ll want to hire an asset to help you achieve your objectives. So hire a team member who is ambitious, pragmatic and capable of building an IT staff.
The bottom-line: You need someone with IT talent and entrepreneurial skills. Good luck!
From the Coach’s Corner, additional related tips:
Need to Hire a Professional? Advertising Tips to Attract the Best Talent — Whether your business has grown so you need to hire a key professional or you’re replacing a person, there are certain advertising-recruitment tips to use. To avoid wasting your time, you must plan. Think about your objective and job specifications, and keep editing your announcement draft until you get it right.
Hiring? 4 Pointers on Negotiating Wages with Job Applicants — Some employers have had difficulty in successfully extending job offers to applicants, especially Millennial professionals. It’s not uncommon to interview applicants who aren’t shy in negotiations with their inflated egos and salary expectations.
HR — Avoid the 10 Most Common Background Screening Gaffes — In human resources, all background checks are not equal. “An organization that runs background checks on all of its incoming employees is already doing a lot of things right,” writes Michael Klazema, marketing director of Backgroundchecks.com.
4 Recommendations to Avoid Spending Too Much on IT — To take advantage of big cost savings in information technology, a study says businesses need to change their buying habits. Here’s how.
For Profits, Manage Your Growth at the Right Pace — Entrepreneurs frequently try to rush their business growth. Certainly, growth is great but if you scale too fast, you’re looking for trouble. The key is to prepare.
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.”
-Elbert Hubbard
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