Deciding what kind of skills are needed to perform each job in your company is the key to locating promising job applicants. Only after you have defined what is important to a particular job, can you begin the hiring process. The candidates you draw for interviews will depend upon the description of the job and skills required for the job. Everything centers around how you describe the job to potential applicants.

Here are some steps to follow in finding promising job applicants.

Describe the job. Suppose you, as the busy business owner, deciding to hire someone to relieve you of some of your duties. Start by looking at the many functions you perform and decide where your own attention is crucial and what tasks you can delegate. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are and try to hire someone who can provide a balance to your skills. Prepare a written job description, so you can refer to it frequently.

Decide what skills are necessary to accomplish the job. What is the lowest level of skill you can accept? In this case, let’s assume you’ve decided to hire a secretary, but you quickly learn that skilled secretaries are both scarce and expensive. Perhaps you really need only someone to do some typing. Hiring a typist may be both easier and cheaper than hiring a secretary. Many high school students are qualified typists, and many seek part-time work.

When you publicize your job opening, spell out exactly what you want. Suppose you’re looking for a sales clerk. What should the applicant be able to do? Tally sales receipts accurately? Keep a customer list? Promote products to your customers? The job of sales clerk means different things to different people, and unless you spell out what you expect the employee to do, you’re going to be receiving applications from people who are both over- and under-qualified.

Locate promising applicants. There are many sources of promising applicants. Your state has an employment service; find out where it is and use it. Private employment agencies can be helpful; however, they will charge either the employer or the employee a fee for its services. If your business has a display window, you may want to place a "help wanted" sign there. Of course there’s a disadvantage to that method; you sign will draw a lot of non-qualified applicants with whom you’ll have to spend time you can ill afford.

Advertise for job applicants. Newspaper advertising is another common method. This draws a large number of written applicants that you can screen on your own schedule, and then you choose to interview only the more promising applicants. Local schools should not be overlooked. Your high school may offer courses in business subjects and have students who either want to work part-time during the school year or full-time after graduation. If you have a nearby community college, this is another good source of applicants. Finally, there are personal sources: friends, neighbors, suppliers customers and present employees.

If you would like to discuss preparing job descriptions, interviewing job applicants or hiring new employees, contact the SCORE® Association (Service Corps of Retired Executives). More than 12,000 volunteer, business counselors donate their time and expertise to assist entrepreneurs. SCORE® is a nonprofit organization that provides free and confidential business counseling as a community service.