Bill Gates has stated that the best strategy Microsoft has, to get the company to the level of success it has reached, is to hire “smart” employees. It’s obvious, every business owner wants good and smart employees, but it’s not always what happens. Before you consider hiring an employee, even posting a job opportunity, you need to make sure that you know what it takes to hire a great employee. Obtaining awesome employees does not depend on the applicants, but rather the way you go about choosing an applicant.

Know What Kind of Person Fits in Your Business

Every business has its own unique environment, or culture, that it has developed. This usually is dictated by the leadership that exists within the company. Do you allow your employees to wear jeans on Fridays or are you that strict CEO that requires a tie every day? Little things like this play a large role in the “feel” of the business. Before you look for a new employee, you need to remind yourself of what type of person is going to fit in with the current environment. Don’t bring someone in that is going to immediately feel like an outcast. This type of move will on backfire on you. Finding an employee that fits in with the rest of the staff will only cause that employee to be that much more effective.

Promote Yourself

Promoting yourself, as a person, may sound odd when trying to find the best employee. The bottom line is that employees want to work for a boss that is good to them, especially the great employees. When people are good at a particular skill, position or industry- they know it. They also know that they deserve the best work environment and fellow staff that exists. If you can build your reputation as one of the best businesses to work for, you will see an increase in the number of quality employees that apply for your job, or maybe even over-qualified people.

Keep the Cost in Mind

Anyone that has had a business for a reasonable amount of time knows that the process of hiring and firing employees is a costly one. Don’t add any more costs to your business. You can do this by never settling for an employee that you have doubts about. Chances are, if you question one thing about a potential employee, you are probably right. Even if the best candidate out of all the applicants doesn’t seem right for a particular reason, don’t hire him or her. You have nothing to lose by not hiring an employee, but much to lose if you hire the wrong one.

As you can see, there are a lot of things about yourself and your business that need to be determined and understood before you can even attempt to hire a new employee. Always remember, there is no rush. The right applicant will show up at some point. Keep in mind that hiring the wrong employee can be more detrimental to your business than going without an employee.