Many employers are cautious when it comes to hiring employees. Is it better to choose from word-of-mouth candidates? Or should you just place an ad online and see what comes in? What about your friend’s kid who’s looking for a job?

No matter how you get prospects in the door, the interview is the most important step in choosing the best new employees. Even now, with so many good workers clamoring for a job, you could easily make a bad hire—wasting your time, the employee’s time and your company’s money.

Red Flags That Might Eliminate a Job Candidate

• Unorganized: Was he on time? Does she have her resume ready to hand you in case you don’t have a copy handy? Are they well put-together? Matching shoes are always a good sign! During the interview, listen for thorough answers to your questions. Candidates who avoid questions, answer questions other than the ones you ask, or offer incomplete answers reveal their lack of preparation.
• Don’t know what the company does: It’s a given that a prospect should have done some research on your company; even better is that they know something about the position they’re interviewing for. If a candidate asks no questions when given the opportunity, consider the reasons behind it. Whether he’s nervous or just lacks creativity, no questions asked means no go.
• No common courtesy: Did the prospective employee send a thank-you note after the interview? While this practice is not as common as it used to be, when a job candidate thanks you for your time, it’s a sign that they are not only polite, but good at following up. Also, observe how they treat other staff, from the building maintenance person to the president.
• Blame others for their failures: Candidates who won’t take responsibility for their mistakes or lack of success will likely continue this pattern. We’ve all heard employees complain about their co-workers, bosses, or lack of resources—but rarely do we hear an employee complain about themselves! Everyone makes mistakes—and those who admit it and learn from them make great team players.

Business owners and hiring managers usually stand in one of two groups when it comes to screening employees: either they are all for it and believe every single job candidate needs to be pre-screened prior to the job offer; or they make that decision on a case-by-case basis. Here are a few examples from the news this week that shed some light on why the latter is not such a great idea:

• An executive director of a non-profit, the West Wisconsin Land Trust, allegedly stole thousands of dollars from the organization by using its credit card to purchase things like nutritional supplements, coffee and hotel rooms. While this might not sound excessive, it is when you consider the nutritional supplement purchases totaled over $13,000 and the hotel was over $1,600. If you can’t trust the ED of a non profit, who can you trust?
• A non profit sled dog organization in Alaska realized too late that an employee had failed to pay $20,000 in gaming taxes, instead keeping $15,000 of it for herself. She was arrested and convicted of a felony.
• In California, a Macy’s employee was accused recently of stealing a whopping $60,000 in makeup over the course of a year. The stocker had access to storerooms where makeup was kept, and took bags of high-end merchandise out of the store in bags. He then sold the high-end makeup at street fairs.
• Even the federal government is not immune from employee theft. This week, a U.S. Forest Service employee was charged with stealing and pawning $4,500 worth of tools. The employee stole chainsaws, air compressors and generators. His thievery went unnoticed until a repairman noticed Forest Service numbers etched into a chain saw bought in to his shop.

Regardless of whether these four individuals had criminal records when they were hired, they do now. So if you’re a business owner or hiring manager who wants to avoid hiring people who steal from their employers, it’s always a good idea to run a pre-employment credit check and criminal background check.

Hiring employees has been off the to-do list for business owners struggling to recover from a down economy and for those who are again starting to do well after a couple of tough years. So, what has changed? Have employers’ needs changed due to a different economic reality? Have potential employees changed, too?

Ask a dozen employers what they’re looking for in employees today, and you’ll probably hear a variety of answers—as well as some commonalities. Here are a few answers we’ve received to that question:

Attitude: “I’m seeing a new commitment to work from potential employees,” says Andrea, a floral shop owner. “A respect for me as an employer and a real desire to work is replacing the ‘you owe me a job’ attitude that some employees exhibited over the past several years.” Andrea says hiring for attitude is her #1 goal. “Positive people contribute to a great company culture and make customers feel great about dealing with my company.”

Appreciation: “I want people who appreciate my company and my customers,” says Kevin, a heating and air conditioning company owner. “They represent me with every interaction and I can’t afford to hire employees who are not customer-centric.” Kevin makes sure he asks every potential employee to give examples of how they have gone above and beyond for customers in their previous jobs. “If they can’t answer that question, I won’t hire them.”

Excellent references: With so many more people looking for work, it pays to know whom you’re hiring. Checking with previous employers, running pre-employment screening checks and calling references are more important then ever before.

Easier recruiting: Your best new employee could be a link or two away. “I ask my contacts on LinkedIn for referrals when I’m hiring,” said Jeanne. “And, I ask my employees if they know of a good person for a particular position.” Employees usually try to make good recommendations, since it reflects directly on them.

Community involvement: “I always look closely at applicants who say they volunteer or are otherwise active in the community,” said Mark. “Their contacts usually become my customers.” And it goes both ways. Mark says he works toward supporting the groups hisvolunteer with. “It makes for a better community, which is important when times are tough.”

Right now, lots of good, smart people are looking for work. If your business is in hiring mode—and plenty still are, despite the economy—how can you focus your recruiting efforts and find the right people?

Employee recruitment has become more complicated as the usual practices have changed over the past several years. Mass advertising, online or in print, won’t always target your best hire—especially for higher-level professional positions. If the perfect employee never sees your ad, how can you hire them? And a better question is, where are they and how can let them know you’re hiring?

That’s where social networking comes in to boost your recruiting efforts.

LinkedIn is probably the largest online social network for business. You could think of it as a replacement for your Rolodex—only it contains 42 million names across the entire globe!  Once you join and complete your profile, you can easily search for people you know. LinkedIn does just what its name implies—it links business people, whether they work in the same building or worked together twenty years ago.

But LinkedIn goes much farther in building community. It links you to all the contacts held by each of your contacts—so through degrees of separation, you are connected to all those millions of people.  LinkedIn also finds commonalities among its members, who then form groups based on shared industry connections or interests. Whether you’re in manufacturing, medicine, or marketing, you can find thousands of like-minded folks quickly.

Once you’ve established contacts, you can easily put out the word about positions you need to fill. Rather than calling thirty of your Rolodex contacts, LinkedIn can automatically put your message out to thirty thousand of your contacts’ contacts! Plus, you can search by keyword through the entire LinkedIn network to find people with the skills and qualifications you require. So instead of waiting for the perfect employee to come to you, you can find them in seconds—even if they weren’t looking for a job.

But remember that online social networking is much like face-to-face networking. Just as smart people are always looking for their next great position, smart employers are always recruiting their next great hire. That means you have to stay involved, be helpful, keep adding to your contacts, and invite others into your circle.

Social networks can make recruiting employees a breeze!

Before you hire, screen every applicant. Check out our Pre-Employment Screening services. Increase your peace of mind and save training costs by hiring smart.