Hiring the ideal candidate: Where Do You Look?

Managers, supervisors, Human Resource personnel, and business owners are continually challenged in recruiting the best employees for their organization. Finding dependable, hardworking, and talented employees with the skill sets you need is no easy task. Whether looking for executives or line workers, the difficulty is the same. So, what do you do?

For the past year One Southern Indiana has spent quite a bit of time talking with area employers, and we have found that many companies are finding that they need to utilize multiple resources to find qualified candidates, and these resources range from word of mouth to online postings. If you are an area employer looking for that ideal candidate, here are some great recruiting resources that your fellow employers are utilizing.

• Word of mouth – Often you can find the best employees by letting your current employees know that you are looking for a few more great associates. Your best staff can be a great source for suggesting candidates – they, too, want the best co-workers to keep morale and production high. Also, don’t hesitate to let your colleagues know that you are looking …they may have recently heard of someone looking to move that may not have fit their needs but could fit yours.
• Online job matching databases – From what we have heard, two of the best are www.louisvilleworks.com and www.CareerBuilder.com. Both are easy to use and are widely checked by the “computer literate” crowd…and if that’s what you’re really needing, online may be the best place to post.
• Employment agencies – We have a vast array of employment agencies in the metropolitan area which often specialize in different industries. Here on our website you can search our member database for “employment services” for contact information and links to many of their websites.
• WorkOne (the “employment office”) – They are on a state-wide system now which makes their pool broader than you would think. Also, they have a program called WorkKeys that helps you to find out what skill sets you are looking for, tests the candidates and even has a way to remediate in some skill-set areas.
  Newspapers ads – People do still read the Help Wanted ads, and those looking to relocate to the area now have access to the ads on-line.
• One Southern Indiana – We have an option now for our members to post jobs for free here on our website.  Just log in as a member and post your positions.

There are of course other things to consider. Know the position you are hiring for and make sure that your job description is detailed enough so that you will get qualified applicants. Pre-screen over the phone so that you are not wasting your time. Make the most of the interview and know what you are looking for. And lastly, if you are a beginner or novice at all of this, take a class or talk with another seasoned professional.

Dawn Bennett
1SI Member Services
dawnb@1si.org