An effective hiring strategy takes a variety of factors into consideration and it’s up to you to create that strategy. Consider these seven tips for finding top-notch employees.

1. Develop a Detailed Job Description

Before you initiate any interviews, clearly outline your expectations of the new employee and how you see the person contributing to the company’s goals. Besides listing the obvious in the job description, such as main duties, also consider how the employee’s tasks dovetail with the company’s goals and vision.

What exactly do you hope to accomplish by hiring this individual? What sort of work style and outlook should the applicant possess? Develop a list of key skills, experience, training and traits you seek, which you can use to create an ad and explore in more depth during any resulting interviews.

2. Consider Hiring From Within

Hiring a “known quantity” has its advantages. Is there a current employee who possesses the necessary skills to fill the position, or is trainable? Someone already working for the company may have untapped talents. Or maybe your current employees know individuals who would make a good fit. Referrals are the new recruiter.

3. Carefully Review Each Candidate’s Materials

Thoroughly examine each applicant’s resume and supporting documents. Check for required skills and experience, look for any inconsistencies and gaps in employment and don’t be afraid to contact their references.

Also consider the overall appearance and impression the resume gives. Is the document well-written and free of typos? Does it open with a clear objective and highlight relevant experience? You want a prospective employee who eloquently explains his or her accomplishments and has a clear grasp of why those achievements are important.

4. Ask Telling Interview Questions

Besides asking the standard queries such as salary expectations and education and experience, take the opportunity during the interview to ask open-ended questions that encourage the interviewee to reveal as much information as possible.

Potential questions include: “Tell me about a successful project you were involved in.” “Why did you decide to join the industry?” “What are your strengths/weaknesses?” and “Where do you see yourself five years from now?” After the applicant answers each question, encourage the person to reveal even more by remaining silent for several seconds afterward. Many people will fill in the void by offering additional information.

5. Include Several Interviewers

Involving other members of the company in the first or second interview achieves a number of goals. Doing so gives you various perspectives on the potential employee, shows you how well the interviewee relates to other employees and reveals how the person performs in group situations. Including other members of the company is likely to bring out a side of the interviewee that you may not see otherwise.

It’s also important that before the interview, make sure all the interviewers are on the same page. What are you looking for in a candidate? What are you expecting from them? What questions are you going to ask? After the interviewee leaves, take a few minutes to discuss the applicant with the group and record the consensus and any thoughts or considerations.

6. Watch for Red Flags

Warning signs to look for when examining a job applicant include gaps in the resume the person can’t explain, hesitancy or a lack of information from former employers when you check references, inappropriate posts on social media sites, an unwillingness to make eye contact or answer certain questions during the interview and an inability to explain how accomplishments on the resume were achieved. If something feels off, it probably is.

7. Consider Chemistry

While skills and experience are critical, personality fit is equally important. An outstanding resume won’t change the fact that an applicant is not likely to positively contribute to the company culture. If your business requires that employees assist in the company’s social networking efforts, for instance, but the applicant expresses resistance at the notion, it’s probably best to move on to the next candidate. Never underestimate how important culture is to hiring and retaining employees.

Here at Grasshopper, we employ many of these tips and recently began practicing the A Method for hiring. The results have been great and the employees we’ve hired through this even better.

Any tips you’d like to share for hiring high-quality employees?

The holidays are a crazy time for everyone, with travel, kids home from school, vacations and more it can be hard to get things done.  A break is nice and all, but unfortunately you just can’t put your business on hold during the holidays.

Since things still have to get done, we put together a few tools we think are great for running your business when you’re on the go.

1. Gogo

For those of you who are forced to hit up the airports during one of the craziest times of the year, make sure to put Gogo on your to-do list before boarding that airplane.  Gogo has plans ranging from $4.95 for up to 1.5 hours to $12.95 for 3+ hours and will keep you connected so that you can be in the air and online, making that dreaded flight productive.

2. Dropbox

Dropbox gives you access to your documents and files wherever you are, allowing you to collaborate with your team when you’re traveling. One of the best parts about Dropbox is that it works even when you’re offline and don’t have an internet connection.  With this tool, you can easily share and send documents or large files to your co-workers and clients, so you don’t have to worry about holding up deals when you’re traveling.

3. Grasshopper

This one is a given.  Grasshopper was designed specifically for entrepreneurs on the go. With just a cell phone (or any other phone line for that matter), you can run your business from anywhere –airport, in-law’s house, hotel room, or the beach, it doesn’t matter. Grasshopper allows you to take your calls and meetings, without having to be tied down to your desk and you can even get your voicemails via email so you can decide which calls really are worth taking during that once a year vacation of yours.

4. Join.Me

Join.Me is a great free tool for when you need to collaborate on a project but just can’t seem to explain it over the phone.  Join.Me makes screen sharing super simple.  All you have to do is go to their site, click the big orange share button, and tell you’re co-worker (or client) the address at the top of your screen.  This is a fast and easy way to get things accomplished remotely with your teammates back home.

5. Evernote

Evernote’s tag line is “Remember Everything.” – With a tagline like that you know this tool is awesome (since I can’t manage to remember anything without writing it down).  It was also just nominated as company of the year by Inc. Magazine. How could this tool not be on our list?

Evernote works great as an on the go to-do list (for those of you who can’t function when you forget your notebook at home J) but it can also be used as much, much more.  You can use it to keep track of employee performance, as an electronic filing cabinet and even to remind yourself of that bottle of wine you liked while you were away.

These are just a few of the amazing tools out there that help you run your business remotely.  We took to our Twitter and Facebook pages to see how our fans and followers run their businesses when they’re travelling.

Here are a few responses:

Now, it’s your turn to add to the list! What are your must have apps or tools when you’re on the go?

But being a small business owner — especially a work at home small business owner — has its challenges. Among these are distractions, isolation, burnout, inability to unplug, guilt over lack of family time, and of course, the call of the kitchen, Oprah, or FarmVille.

If you’re struggling with one or more of these challenges — or the initial excitement of being your own boss has waned, try these tips for self-motivation to keep you and your business moving forward.

1. Develop an In-the-Office Attitude

Treat your work at home business the same as you would an office job. When you’re at “work,” don’t attend to personal matters or accept personal phone calls. Keep regularly scheduled office hours where you conduct tasks vital to your business.

2. Keep a Work/Life Balance

It’s easy to make your work your life, particularly when your work is at home and you’re passionate about your business. Although working from home can be liberating, many telecommuters get drawn into a 24/7 work lifestyle. While it’s important to focus on work while at work, it’s equally important to take a break from work to spend with family, friends, or simply do things you enjoy outside of your business. Taking a break from work helps you have a clearer perspective, renewed vigor, and a fresh outlook toward business goals and obstacles.

3. Learn How to Focus

Some people who work at home find it difficult to stay on task. Distractions abound — whether it’s your pet, kids, spouse, or chores that need to be done. And if your work revolves around the computer, the distractions are practically limitless. But that’s where a concentration tool, such as Focus Booster can help. Focus Booster is a free desktop application that uses the Pomodoro time management technique to improve your focus and concentration. The Pomodoro  technique breaks work sessions down in 25-minute segments with 5 minute breaks in between to enhance focus and alertness.

4. Don’t Isolate Yourself

One of the biggest drawbacks of telecommuting from home or working on a home-based business is that it can be isolating. Some entrepreneurs admit that they don’t even get out for lunch. A change of scenery can spark creativity, improve productivity, and keep you motivated. Try working out of a coffee shop or local library a few times a month; or make an effort to interact with others through Skype and social media tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Meetup. Getting involved in groups online and offline can also help you network and grow your business.

5. Remind Yourself of the Reasons You Chose to Work at Home

Last but not least, most small business owners and telecommuters who work from home have strong reasons for doing so. Whether it’s to avoid commuting, spend more time with the family, or create a business and watch it grow, keep your reasons for working at home in plain sight.

In the same way that launching a new business requires careful planning and overcoming obstacles, sustained motivation requires staying on track and keeping distractions at bay.

What tips for self-motivation do you have to add to the list?

Emails are an effective and easy way to communicate. Maybe they are too easy. As an entrepreneur or salesperson, you need to know when the best time is to make a call instead of sending an email.

Next time you’re considering the best way to communicate, consider these advantages of placing a call:

1.    Conversation builds relationships.

Great relationships are the key to converting prospects into customers. Building relationships through email is difficult. You have to sell yourself with your products or services, so make sure you get to know your customers on a personal level.

2.    Phone calls create urgency.

Email discussions can drag on for months. If you call your prospective client, you may be able to convince them to buy on the spot.

3.    Talking in real-time lets you cover more ground.

When you speak with your client on the phone, you are going to speak freely with them and share your thoughts much more quickly. It will be much easier to get on the same page and you don’t have to worry about forgetting key details.

4.    Your emotions are clearer.

When someone emails you it is hard to know what they are really thinking. About 80% of communication is nonverbal. Granted, you will still miss most of this on the phone, but you can at least listen to their tone and gauge awkward pauses. These will be telltale signs that something isn’t going well and that you need to change strategies.

5.    Phones force your clients to speak with you.

Some people are notoriously bad at replying to emails. It is not uncommon for some people to take a month or more to respond. Many people never respond at all. Calling a client is a much more reliable way of getting through to them.

Email is a great way to communicate, but don’t rely on it too much. Sometimes, you are just going to have to pick up the phone and reach out. You can communicate more easily and it may be all you need to close that sale.

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5(at) gmail(dot)com.

It seems as though every few months another Twitter scandal erupts, and these scandals are usually due to an employee at a company that accidentally tweets something lewd or inappropriate from an official company Twitter account.

While these scandals can be quite funny to the general public, they do cause some damage, especially to brands and those individuals who are directly involved.

In order to avoid these kinds of scandals and keep them from affecting your own company, you should consider following these rules.

1. Don’t Save Passwords in Your Browser

One of the main reasons why people inadvertently tweet inappropriate tweets from official company accounts is that they save their passwords to accounts in the browser. Yes, this option makes life easier, but it can also lead you to be careless in recognizing which account you’re actually logged into. If you can help it, don’t save passwords to Twitter and other social media accounts. This will ensure that you never accidentally log into the wrong account.

2. Think Before You Tweet

Secondly, you should think before you tweet. If you think about the content of your social media post, then that’ll make you aware of the actual act of updating social media accounts. Ask yourself if you’d be embarrassed by what you’re about to post if it went to the wrong person. If the answer is ‘yes,’ then you probably shouldn’t press the publish button until you’ve had some time to revise your thoughts.

3. Plan Social Media Activity

If you work for a company that is active with social media, then you should do your best to plan out that company’s social media activity. This means your company should put someone who knows what they’re doing in charge of those accounts. This will make sure there aren’t any accidents. In other words, just as companies use spokespeople to manage their brand, so too do they need to use social media experts to manage their online brand. Don’t just let any random employee handle the Twitter. Put someone in charge; responsibility makes people act smarter.

4. Keep Personal Life Separate from Work Life

Another thing that will help you is if you keep your personal life completely separate from your work life. Yes, this is a tough thing to manage, as often our work blends with our personal life, in the form of company picnics and so on, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give it a shot. In other words, don’t update your personal social media accounts at work! It’s as simple as that.

5. Own Your Social Media Mistakes

If you do happen to make a social media mistake, then you need to recognize that and ‘own’ it. Don’t delete the offensive Tweet or try to hide it. The public will find out and they’ll know what’s up. It’s best to just apologize for the error and accept the consequences. Work with your company to come to a solution, as tough as that may be. It’s better to learn from your mistakes instead of dooming yourself to repeat them.