Job Descriptions: Develop job descriptions with objective benchmarks to assess each applicants qualifications. Job descriptions should establish reasonable requirements for the position including skills, experience, educational background, and physical capabilities.

Prescreen Applicants: Narrow the applicant pool by carefully reviewing resumes and cover letters to find applicants with the appropriate background. Interviewing only these qualified applicants saves the tremendous expense associated with interviewing obviously bad matches.

Uniform Questions: Prepare a script for interviews so that every applicant is asked the same questions. The best questions are objective, open ended and job-related. Scripts can ensure that all applicants, regardless of race, age, sex or national origin, will be afforded an equal opportunity to respond to the same questions. Design questions which elicit information about previous work experiences, as well as how an applicant would handle specific situations likely to arise in the course of employment.

Inappropriate Questions: Avoid asking questions related to membership in a legally protected class (e.g., questions that elicit an applicants race, national origin, religion, or age). Remember, personal questions may be perceived as inappropriate or invasive. Provide managers with a list of questions which are illegal or inappropriate to ask.

Training: Train managers and interviewers about the legal pitfalls of interviewing. Specifically, teach managers to balance the risks associated with the hiring process (i.e., discriminatory failure to hire and negligent hiring lawsuits). Sensitize managers to gender and cultural biases. Advise managers how to handle situations where an applicant raises unsolicited, potentially risky topics, such as family plans, medical histories, etc.

Reference Check: Check an applicants references. Perform the reference check before making an offer. Document your attempts to check a reference even if you receive no response. Even if you decide not to check a reference, merely telling an applicant that you check references increases the likelihood that you will obtain accurate information from the applicant. Familiarize yourself with the legal limits on reference checking.

Go With Your Gut: Step back from the applicants resume long enough to ask yourself if you can envision the applicant working comfortably with the other employees. If the answer is probably not,discount the fact that the applicant fits on paper. Employees who tend to stay with a company are those whose personality and work ethic are in line with the companys culture. While you should trust your instincts, be sure that you can support your hiring decision with objective attributes that the employee possesses. In addition, remember that diversity in employees backgrounds, styles and perspectives can benefit your business in many ways (e.g., increasing community contacts, minimizing legal risks).

Dedicating time and energy now to selecting future employees will create a more productive workplace with less turnover and increased employee morale. Remember that each applicant may be a diamond in the rough.