People have lots of reason why they think recruiting is difficult. I admit, it’s not easy however many times we make it harder to be successful.

What can you do? Here are 5 ways to ease your recruiting frustration.

Understand what you need.  Many times people will have a general idea of what they need. For example:  I need a customer service person or a bookkeeper.  You need to know specifically what you need in terms of skill. More precisely would be:  I need a friendly, patient person to handle customer questions.  I need someone who’s an expert at QuickBooks.

Avoid Distractions. Candidates can come with many shiny objects. They may have an interesting skill or experience we “believe” we can utilize in the future.  It’s possible you can, however if you didn’t originally think about for the position you need. Think twice before being distracted.

They all look the same.  Yes, when going through many resumes they may seem to all blend in together. Determine the one, two, or three skills you must have and use that as your filter. Once you start talking to people, the differences will be clear.

Don’t discount gaps in employment.  When reviewing resumes for the first time, don’t discount the person who has been out of work. If you like everything else on the resume, talk to them to get the story. People take off long periods of time for various reasons – children, taking care of parents/family member, school, death of a spouse/child, etc.  Don’t make assumptions.

Look at more than skills.  This is a big one.  We get so caught up on skills we forget there is a person behind the paper.  People come with personalities, work habits, and a temperament. Dive deeper into this aspect, this is a person you will be working with everyday. Remember, skills can be taught.

Keeping these in mind will make your recruitment efforts a little easier.