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Avoid These Hiring Mistakes One week after hiring a shipping manager for her online personalized gifts business, The Younique Boutique, Brina Bujkovsky knew something was wrong. Other employees saw the new hire slipping in and out of the building with a backpack. One day at lunch, he left to "make a personal call but did not return for several hours. When he finally showed up, he was extremely intoxicated. Bujkovsky fired him immediately. Hiring mistakes like the one Bujkovsky made are quite common and can be expensive, especially for small companies. The problem is intensified when job markets are tight; half of small business owners say that they can find few or no qualified applicants for the positions they are trying to fill. Spotting problem employees before they are hired, however, is not always easy because bad employees often are adept at hiding their problems until well after they are hired. What steps can entrepreneurs take to avoid making critical hiring mistakes? Consider these: Know what you want. Before hiring anyone, an entrepreneur should create a job description and a job specification. These important documents spell out the duties and responsibilities of the job and define the skills, traits, and experience of the ideal candidate. Don't be in a hurry. Rushing through the hirinys process almost always guarantees a hiring mistake. Hiring a new employee is a long-term commitment; make sure you devote sufficient time to making the right decision. Employers should avoid rushing to conclusions in interviews; 50 percent of employers say that they need only five minutes to determine whether a candidate is a good fit for a position. Involve others in the selection process. Involving others in the selection process reduces the probability that "warning signs" about a candidate will go unnoticed. After her hiring mistake, Bujkovsky changed the selection process in her company to include her entire team in the interview process. Prepare for the interview. Job candidates know that they should prepare for an interview, and the same goes for the employer. After creating a job description and a job specification for the position, an entrepreneur should develop a series of questions designed to reveal candidates' skills, abilities, and fit for the joband for the company. Listen carefully to candidates' answers and observe their body language. Once entrepreneurs have a set of prepared questions that are designed to probe each candidate's experience, personality, background, and work ethic, they listen carefully (even for what candidates don't say) and watch their body language during the interview. . "Test drive" candidates whenever possible. Internships and apprenticeships allow employers to observe candidates to determine whether they are likely to make good full-time employees. When internships or apprenticeships are not practical, some companies use interviews that put candidates into situations they are likely to encounter on the job to see how they handle them. . "Test drive" candidates whenever possible. Internships and apprenticeships allow employers to observe candidates to determine whether they are likely to make good full-time employees. When internships or apprenticeships are not practical, some companies use interviews that put candidates into situations they are likely to encounter on the job to see how they handle them. . Check references-always. Checking candidates' references takes time, but the payoff can be huge. Some companies check "one-off" references, people with whom a candidate worked but who are not listed as references on the application. Asking listed references for other potential references and searching social media sites such as Linkedin and Facebook can produce these valuable unofficial references. Look for candidates' profiles on social media platforms. Social media can be useful not only for finding candidates but also for learning more about them. Although it is not a good idea to ask for candidates' social media passwords (it actually is illegal in 26 states), reviewing their social media profiles can be quite revealing. A study by CareerBuilder reports that 60 percent of employers investigate job candidates' social networking sites (a significant increase from 22 percent in 2008) and that 49 percent have discovered something there that caused them to reject a candidate. Conversely, 32 percent of hiring managers say they found information on social media that led them to hire a candidate. 1. Why are hiring mistakes so expensive for companies, particularly small businesses? 2. Suppose your best friend is about to hire someone to work in his or her company. List at least three other tips that will enable him or her to avoid making a hiring mistake

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