Quality Q’s

Key Steps to Find the Right Candidate to Fill Your Contract Needs

You have a new project. You have worked with clients and stakeholders and have identified their ‘pain’ and your plan. Your project is attainable, realistic and time bound. You can achieve your goal only if you can staff your positions with the right talent. In order to do so, there are three steps you need to take to obtain the best possible candidates for your open positions. Follow these three Quality cues or “Q’s” as we call them for success:

1. Determine Qualifications


2. Search For Qualified Candidates


3. Quantify Candidates

Determine Qualifications

Once you have established your project goal, you need to fill each position with qualified candidates. While you are constructing your project plan and narrowing your project goal you should also be identifying the people who will be performing each task and their duties.

Some positions require leadership; others require technical expertise while still others are more labor intensive. What this means is that you should construct your “wish list” for the best possible candidate for each position.

Your wish list should include as many quantifiable attributes that you need for the position. For example, a management position wish list can include the level of education required for the position, the number of years experience, specific industry experience and specific technology skills that are in place in your workplace used to manage your project.

You can also identify some of the subjective attributes that are desirable. These include the ability to work in a team environment if that is the type of environment you are staffing or alternately the ability to work independently if this position requires independent aptitude.

Search for Qualified Candidates

Sometimes you will be able to look inward in your own organization and find the ideal candidate after that you will need to look outside of your organization.

Your search for the best candidate can take many forms including internal posting, posting your positions to online job banks as well as hiring a third party to perform the search for you.

When you are searching for the best possible candidate you must remember to maintain a realistic balance in your search.

When you constructed your wish list and you may have constructed a candidate profile that is unattainable or unrealistic. For example, you may want an executive with management experience who is also familiar with a cutting edge technology with which only a small subset of the population is familiar.

This doesn’t mean you should settle for an unqualified candidate; however your expectations should be realistic. The balance is to find the best possible candidate from the existing pool of resources who will be available to perform the job in the timeframe required for your project to be successful.

Quantify Candidates

The decision on how you will qualify and quantify candidates should not be left until after you have a qualified pool of applicants. These decisions must be made at the time you make your “wish list.” This way you will be more objective in your analysis and be better positioned to utilize your selection tools to make the best decision possible.

The first step is to use your wish list to weed out the candidates who do not fit your requirements. This step should reduce your potential pool to a more manageable level; however you will likely have more resumes and candidates than you have positions to fill. It is at this point you will want to quantify each candidate qualifications.

Some of the quantification tools you may consider include certifications from external sources, assessment tests and other internal controls you may have at your disposal.

Conclusion

Some of these tasks can be accomplished in-house, online, or with the help of third-party consulting companies who can assist you with your objectives, your search and quantification.

No matter how you choose to approach your candidate search, you should feel confident in your final decision. The wrong choice can impede your project goals, but the right choice can ensure the success of your project and keep your commitment to your clients and stakeholders and ensure the success of your project.