I think different people look for different things when they are hiring. I have seen some people hired in positions and I could never figure out what the manager was thinking. Here are some tips based on my experiences: 1. Don't necessarily believe what people put on their resumes. Most people embellish, but I've seen people outright lie. 2. Face to face interviews are critical. At one job I had they interviewed someone over the phone and ended up hiring. Unfortunately when he showed up to work, he didn't speak any English. Apparently someone else had done the interview for him. 3. Know who you want to hire. What I mean is, have a really good idea of the type of person you need for the role you're filling. If it's customer service, you want someone with a warm personality that communicates well by email and telephone. If you need someone to do your bookkeeping, you want someone that is experienced in the software you use so you don't have to waste too much time on training. I've seen people create a rating chart based on the personality and experience they require. So each facet is rated on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 is "not a match" and 5 is "perfect match." During the review of the resume and the interview, you can rate the candidates and hopefully it will help you choose the best person for the job.

Andrea has provided some great tips (and I although I have seen a lot, can't believe someone actually had someone else do a phone interview for them; that's just crazy!) Here are some additional thoughts: - You will probably want to at least bullet point some of the key things you need this employee to do (they will ask in the interview and you can't hire the right person if you are not sure about the major items you will need them to do). - Along these lines, is there specific experience needed? Spell it out as this gives you a way of comparing candidates. - Do you know what you will need to pay? You can check out one of my blog articles: [url=http://kgcompconsulting.com/compensation/determining-how-much-to-pay/]http://kgcompconsulting.com/compensation/determining-how-much-to-pay/[/url] - Communication is key in most jobs...ask them to give you some examples of things they reference. If they cannot clearly explain, then they will probably not communicate well on the job either. (Is that important to you?) - Using open-ended questions which has the candidate explain the "how they did something" will help you get a better idea of their understanding of the content area. Don't just ask if they have experience doing such and such...ask them to explain how they did such and such. I don't know the type of employee you are hiring but hopefully, these tips will help. Good luck! Korin

Marina, did you see that great article I just posted? Here is a link...there are some great tips here that may be useful to you. [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/small-business-network/2012/dec/18/recruiting-right-staff-crucial-small-business]http://www.guardian.co.uk/small-business-network/2012/dec/18/recruiting-right-staff-crucial-small-business[/url]