How to Hire the Best!

During 2021 and 2022, there was a period of time where nearly 50 million people quit their jobs due to dissatisfaction, burnout, and obligations brought about with COVID-19. This was called the Great Resignation, and experts say it finally has come to an end. With incredible interest rate hikes and inflation refusing to stay down, American workers are not able to leave their jobs and find new ones as easily as before.

Now, as a business owner, you are looking to hire an in-house accountant or bookkeeper from a different pool of candidates than before. How can you be certain that you are hiring the best possible candidate? As a public accounting firm, we have much experience in that regard, and we have a few tips to prepare you for the hiring process.

Tip #1: Be prepared for junior accountants who began their careers in the 2020s. With the pandemic limiting office and client contact, many junior accountants who only recently began working may not have the same experience and technical skills as their peers who finished school a few years earlier.

Tip #2: Test your candidates’ technical skills. You can find the perfect candidate; they went to a reputable school and got a 3.6 GPA. But when you ask them a relatively simple accounting question, they stumble. On paper, this candidate is perfect, but in reality, you should make an assessment to really know if they are the right fit. This does not mean you should bully or embarrass an interviewee, but you should have clear and firm expectations.

Tip #3: Be flexible and adaptable. It is great to have a team of employees who are flexible and adaptable themselves, but that communication and reliability will not last if you as their boss are not the same. And when you are in the hiring process, you should not quickly dismiss an interviewee because they do not immediately fit the bill. If you are flexible with them and have patience and good training ethic, then they can learn and flourish within your business.

As a business owner, hiring the best candidates can be difficult and frustrating, but following these tips will make the process smoother and more beneficial for you and your business.