The weather is fine, your calendar is filled with jobs, and you need another set of hands!  How do you find the right person?  A well-planned job posting and pointed interview questions can help you do just that.  Here is Part 1 of 3 to help guide you to the right employee.  First thing’s first:  the job description.

“I need someone to paint exteriors,” or “I need someone to work on my landscaping crew.”  This sounds self-explanatory, but there may be skills that you want potential candidates to have that you are taking for granted.  If you need someone to paint building exteriors and you primarily spray exteriors, then you probably want someone with experience using a sprayer.  Start by making a list of the tasks that need to be done.  If you run a painting business, these tasks may include painting interiors/exteriors, prep work, clean up, erecting scaffolding, or loading supplies.  Thinking about the day from beginning to end will help you hit all the tasks.

Once you have a list of tasks that you need a new employee to do, create a list of skills that the ideal candidate will have:  experience, ability to work on a team, being on time, the ability to speak multiple languages.  Some of these skills will be MUST HAVES (perhaps like having a driver’s license) and other will be bonus skills (having the ability to use a computer, for instance).

Set your lists aside for a bit (an hour, a day), and then revisit them.  Add to the lists if you think of additional responsibilities or skills.  Next week we’ll talk about how to use all the details you’ve collected to write a good job posting.