Hiring Strategies

Building a successful business depends on your ability to manage growth. And growth often means adding to your work force. For new business owners, however, hiring can be a tricky task. To select qualified people, you have to ask some questions concerning their ability, experience, training and reliability. Ask the right questions, and you'll get the information you need to make good hiring decisions. Ask the wrong questions, and you may need an attorney.

The hiring process has become more complex. Changing regulations, well-publicized court rulings, watchdog groups and a more sophisticated work force all mean you must be very careful about the questions you ask in an employment interview.

At issue are the questions you ask. They must be consistent, legal and job-related. Each candidate must be asked the same questions. You must be ready to prove that you've given each candidate an equal opportunity to satisfy the requirements of the specific job for which they're being interviewed.

This article was originally published in the November 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Hiring Strategies.