Hiring can be one of those time intensive, nightmarish processes if you let it. It doesn't need to be, of course, but so often people get hung up on that word in the middle, 'perfect'. The trouble is, 'perfect' is a subjective term. Below, we'll show you how to find your 'perfect' next hire, but first, let's take a brief look at what not to do.
Don't get hung up on technical skills. So what if an employee doesn't have your desired “fifteen years experience in X?” An overwhelming percentage of the time, it doesn't matter. Here's what does:
Resourcefulness
First and foremost, you want an employee who can think on his feet. Technical skills can be taught. Resourcefulness cannot. I'd rather hire a resourceful coder with two years' experience than a careful plodder with ten. Any day of the week. I want someone I can count on to think way outside the box when the need arises and has the basics nailed down. That's the beauty of hiring someone resourceful. What they lack in practical skills, they'll pick up on their own with no prompting from me.
Thoughtfulness
I don't want someone who shoots first and asks questions later, but someone who thinks about problems from a variety of angles and chooses the most effective approach, even if it is not the approach I had in mind at the outset. There's a lot to be said for being clever, and that's not a skill that can be taught either. You've either got it or you don't.
Diligence
Someone who follows through. It's easy to finish a job when everything's firing on all cylinders. Much harder when things start to go wrong. I'm looking for someone who's cool under fire, and who knows how to keep nose to grindstone and get it done even when things are blowing up all around him. That's my first pick.
Intuition
Having someone who not only makes decisions, but understands the “why” behind the choice made. People make wrong choices. It happens. I don't care so much about that, what I'm really after is the why. What was the thinking that led to the choice and more importantly, once it became apparent that the choice was the wrong one, what happened next? Related to that, someone who can intuit the meaning behind things happening around them and make seamless adjustments accordingly is invaluable.
Compatibility
This one is probably the most important of all. It's not just the skills and raw materials I'm looking for, but also, someone who can mesh nicely with the people we've already got. I don't want to create rifts and waves in the workplace. I want someone who's going to compliment our existing team, not disrupt it.
Again, technical skills can be taught, provided the basics are there. Not that they're completely unimportant of course, but what I'm really looking for in terms of my next 'perfect' hire is someone with all the intangibles in place. If I can find that person, he or she may will win out over a candidate who's much more qualified on paper.
