A Checklist for Staffing Up
A Checklist for Staffing Up
When you are considering the possibility of hiring staff – whether that staff includes a virtual assistant, an onsite assistant, freelance consultant, or an entire office of staff – you want to make the right decision as quickly as possible and get the role filled. After all, every passing day without a person in the empty role will cost you money and time! Print and use this article as a checklist to review resumes and to make sure that you cover these points during your interview.
Experience
This should be one of the main considerations when looking at a potential candidate. You need to determine how much experience he or she has working at the tasks you want them to do. It doesn't mean that they must have performed the exact role, but they should at least have experience in the tasks you need done. For example, a branch manager who is applying for the job of marketing manager might still be well qualified, just because they did marketing while a branch manager. Insist on and check references. Be sure that the experience listed matches what you are seeking.
Integrity
This trait is particularly important if your employee will be dealing with confidential information. Again, reference checks are invaluable and a background check should be considered when client confidentiality is important. Integrity can be a difficult quality to measure so you might have to rely on instinct a little.
Professionalism
This is always important in the business world. If your employee will be dealing with clients via the phone or email, it is imperative that they are able to conduct themselves in a professional manner. How do they conduct themselves on the phone? Do they have a pleasant speaking voice and use proper grammar? A thorough interview as well as a writing assessment can help you make this determination. And seriously consider doing this same assessment for all employees, not just front-office employees, because these people might answer phones in a pinch or they may end up becoming managers when your business grows further.
Initiative
This is huge, but it's often missed. In my opinion, it's the second-most-important quality after integrity. A person with initiative may not always do a perfect job, but they're also not going to sit around and wait. They will be assertive, proactive, and a self-starter. Watch for candidates who seem to think “outside the box” and resist hiring employees who seem to be timid and who need a lot of guidance. You don't want to spend your time micro-managing people or cleaning up after their messes! You will want to ask how they handle obstacles or difficulties in completing a task and how they manage their time when working from home.
These qualities are imperative in every staff member you hire, whether virtual assistant, freelancer, or employee. Use this article as a "checklist" to ensure that they possess these qualities before you hire them.
A Checklist for Staffing Up - To learn more about this author, visit Heather Villa's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
![]() |
Free Download - How Much Does A Small Business Owner Make? By Heather Villa |
A Checklist for Staffing Up
When you are considering the possibility of hiring staff – whether that staff includes a virtual assistant, an onsite assistant, freelance consultant, or an entire office of staff – you want to make the right decision as quickly as possible and get the role filled. After all, every passing day without a person in the empty role will cost you money and time! Print and use this article as a checklist to review resumes and to make sure that you cover these points during your interview.
Experience
This should be one of the main considerations when looking at a potential candidate. You need to determine how much experience he or she has working at the tasks you want them to do. It doesn't mean that they must have performed the exact role, but they should at least have experience in the tasks you need done. For example, a branch manager who is applying for the job of marketing manager might still be well qualified, just because they did marketing while a branch manager. Insist on and check references. Be sure that the experience listed matches what you are seeking.
Integrity
This trait is particularly important if your employee will be dealing with confidential information. Again, reference checks are invaluable and a background check should be considered when client confidentiality is important. Integrity can be a difficult quality to measure so you might have to rely on instinct a little.
Professionalism
This is always important in the business world. If your employee will be dealing with clients via the phone or email, it is imperative that they are able to conduct themselves in a professional manner. How do they conduct themselves on the phone? Do they have a pleasant speaking voice and use proper grammar? A thorough interview as well as a writing assessment can help you make this determination. And seriously consider doing this same assessment for all employees, not just front-office employees, because these people might answer phones in a pinch or they may end up becoming managers when your business grows further.
Initiative
This is huge, but it's often missed. In my opinion, it's the second-most-important quality after integrity. A person with initiative may not always do a perfect job, but they're also not going to sit around and wait. They will be assertive, proactive, and a self-starter. Watch for candidates who seem to think “outside the box” and resist hiring employees who seem to be timid and who need a lot of guidance. You don't want to spend your time micro-managing people or cleaning up after their messes! You will want to ask how they handle obstacles or difficulties in completing a task and how they manage their time when working from home.
These qualities are imperative in every staff member you hire, whether virtual assistant, freelancer, or employee. Use this article as a "checklist" to ensure that they possess these qualities before you hire them.
A Checklist for Staffing Up - To learn more about this author, visit Heather Villa's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
![]() | |
| |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
|
| |
| |||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. |
![]() | |
![]()
| |
![]() | |
|
| |
![]() | |
|
| |
![]() | |||||||
|
![]() | ||
|
| ||
![]() |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
![]() |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
![]() |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
![]() |
|
|
![]() | ||
|
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | ||
|
Top 50 Debt Blogs
Learn To Get Out Of Debt | ||
![]() | ||
![]() | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||






Subscribe to Heather's articles











