A Hire Calling

An entrepreneur in need of new employees worries about making a bad choice.

- Adam Bornstein

I run a small business and need to hire in order for us to grow. What’s the best approach for bringing on the right people? —SHANE, Toronto

SHANE, the strength of your team is the strength of your business. But the opposite is also true—hiring the wrong people can pull down your operation and cost you money. When I was in the corporate world, I tried to buy an all-star team. I focused mostly on résumés and achievements. It didn’t work out too well. Later, when I started my own business, I couldn’t afford to buy that kind of team. That forced me to focus on the bigger, tougher question: What actually makes a good employee? Uncovering the answer made me better at finding the right talent. I learned that, though prior job titles are indicative, great hiring is really about identifying passion. It may seem like you can only learn about someone over time, but I found that asking better, more specific questions during the interviewing process can reveal a lot.