By: Shawna Wright

The hiring process is can be complex and convoluted. With dozens of resumes piling up, trusted HR professionals are expected to serve as company gatekeeper. But how are you supposed to discern among that stack of resumes which one is the “A-player,” that invaluable asset to your team. There are ways to reduce the noise typically seen while hiring; it takes a hiring strategy with depth.

Job Boards:

It’s important to be specific in your recruiting methods. General job-search Web sites are a great way to get the message out that your company is hiring, but it also means that anyone can find the posting and apply. Take into consideration where you post company job offerings. It may be worthwhile to focus on more targeted Web sites. There might be fewer responses but they should be coming from a higher caliber candidate. Some job-search Web sites attract active Boston job seekers with a certain industry focus. Others are for more passive job seekers who are just clicking through. It would be terrible for your company to be overlooked by A-players because of the noise on their end of the hiring process.

Education/Experience:

What do you expect job candidates to know? There are roughly 100 colleges and universities within the Boston area and these schools take different approaches to the same major. Some focus more on theory, while others prefer a “real-world” education.

Have you noticed similarities in experience among top players? What are the repeating internships or former employers?  Look at those organizations as farm teams for your company, producing the most gifted job seekers.

Your Competitors:

Your competitors may be your greatest source of information. Find out where they got their A-players and start hunting them down.

Your Own Team:

Take a minute and look around your own office. Talk to your A-player employees. Chances are they have a few contacts in the same field that also have that star power. A-players want to work with similarly talented individuals, keeping them sharp and focused.

 Developing a checklist of gold standards to keep an eye out for in potential candidates helps cut out wasted time spent looking at mediocre candidates.

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