When hiring new employees, it can be hard to find someone who fits the bill perfectly. Often, perfect candidates don’t come cheap, and you may have to compromise on your employee skill “wish-list.” Because of this dilemma, we will be examining some of the pros and cons of hiring the imperfect, albeit well-suited, candidate to help you prioritize the skills and qualities that will be best for your office. 

The articles we have brought you about social media and youthful hires may have sounded like we were giving you conflicting evidence. Although I recommend using a committed employee for your social media strategy instead of an intern, I also suggest that searching for youth is a possible way to get fresh ideas. I stand by both sets of advice, however, it was not until I came across an article from Inc.com  that gave explicit advice not to hire a 23 year old, did I realize that my advice might have been somewhat confusing. This article outlined a set of stereotypes about today’s youth that are both non-factual and could be possibly discriminatory. 

It’s time to re-think the questions that you ask during the interview process. If the goal is to find the best person fit for the job opening, then some of the stereotypical interview questions are no longer going to cut it, such as, “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” Some hypothetical questions are good, but they should be based in the reality of your industry. For instance, present interviewees with a possible conflict scenario and ask what their resolutions would be. Their answer will help you discover something tangible about them as a potential employee. Avoid asking the questions that always seem to be asked in interviews, but don’t really tell you anything about the applicant. Just because everyone else asks them, doesn’t mean you should. Instead, ask questions about their actual work experiences that are relevant to the position you are trying to fill. Below, we show the questions typically asked at interviews, and suggest what questions you should ask instead.

LinkedIn — in case you didn’t know — is a business-oriented social network. Since its launch in 2003, the site boasts 135 million registered users, and it is gaining popularity as a tool for both applicants and employers. LinkedIn is more than a job-listing site; it is a network of professionals. LinkedIn posts on their site that “executives from all 2011 Fortune 500 companies [are] members” of this network. The site uses multi-level contacts called Connections, and each user has a list of business Connections. Think of it like a Rolodex™; but (certain restrictions apply) you’re able to access all of your Connections’ contacts as well. They are your extended Connections and this maintains a chain of professional contacts. The site utilizes a “gated-access approach” to preserve privacy, but you can use these Connections to search for suitable candidates.

Hiring the wrong person for an open position can end up costing your company far more than just a financial woo. According to Career Builder, two-thirds of American companies admit to making regrettable decisions in the last year. The majority of those surveyed confessed that their biggest mistake could be summed up with one bad hire. “Sixty-nine percent of employers reported that bad hires lowered their company’s productivity, affected worker morale and even resulted in legal issues. Forty-one percent of companies estimate that a bad hire costs more than $25,000, and one in four said it costs more than $50,000.” That’s an awful high price to pay for a mistake that was likely avoidable in the first place.

Arte Nathan, President of Strategic Development Worldwide out of Laguna Beach, Calif., has been a pivotal influence in the creative development of the modern day Las Vegas Strip. After spending 25 years in human resources with Steve Wynn, the casino-resort developer responsible for the Mirage, Treasure Island and the Bellagio, among others, Nathan has been on the cutting edge of innovative hiring in a changing industry. Although much of his career has been spent in hospitality, Nathan’s adaptations of the world’s evolution can, and should, be implemented in the new scene of classified advertising.

Although the newspaper industry is far from stable, the need for quality sales reps that meet the qualifications of the rising standards in advertising sales is exorbitant.  Many companies insist they do not wish to discriminate against the unemployed, yet oppressing those who are currently out of work is a recent phenomenon that is gaining political and media attention. In fact, democrats in both chambers of Congress are seeking to make the discriminatory hiring decision a federal crime.

Day Two’s keynote speaker Kirk Davis, president and chief operating officer at GateHouse Media, gave a rousing presentation entitled Revenue Growth Starts with Strong Leadership. He opened with a question: How intentionally is your company evolving? Intentional. The word carried a lot of weight for Davis over his career in the industry. He believes that this industry has a tendency to let things happen to it, to change only when forced to, instead of grabbing the bull by the horns. He urged organizations to become intentional in all aspects of business, from development to managing the staff.