This story appears in the
April 2000 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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America's tight job market has caused some entrepreneurs to
relax their hiring policies and lower their standards. The problem,
though, is you could end up singing the desperation-hiring blues.
"Don't let [your] need for someone get in front of the
fact that this is the most important business decision you have to
make," warns Mel Kleiman, managing partner of Hire Tough
Group, a consulting and training firm in Houston. "Don't
let short-term solutions get in the way of long-term
objectives."
Disciplining yourself to hire the right candidate-and not just
any warm body-when you're strapped for help is tough. But while
lowering your standards might seem easier at the time, it can end
up costing you money. Just ask Kayla Tollen, 51, founder of
Kayla
Advertising in Key West, Florida. "I've given in to
'desperation hiring' a few times," she recalls.
"I once hired someone who didn't totally fit my criteria,
and they were terrible to a client. I had to fire them."
Tollen now always uses a checklist to evaluate potential employees
and won't even consider hiring someone without a second
interview.
What it boils down to is refusing to compromise your standards,
no matter how badly you need to fill a position. Wayne Mello, North
American executive director for Robert Half International Inc. in
Boston, Massachusetts, the largest specialized employment agency in
the United States, offers this advice: "Slow down the pace and
get out of the filling-an-empty-seat mind-set."
Ellen Paris is a Washington, DC, writer and former Forbes
magazine staff writer.