Now What?

Now What? You found a great Urban Intern - - someone who's skilled, talented, available when you need them. You can finally cross 'hiring' off of your to-do list, right? Not so fast! Consider the following: We recently spoke with a few business owners who thought this exactly-- their team was in place so they devoted zero time to ongoing recruiting. Until one day, someone on their development team gave notice. And the next day, their marketing team was suddenly down one person!!! Finding top talent is an ongoing process and the same rules apply for part-time help and interns. In an ideal scenario, we'd all have HR professionals in-house who are solely devoted to keeping a fresh rolodex of people to call upon in the case of a job opening. But for those businesses that don't, here are some tips on how to keep the pipeline fresh: Once you narrow down your pool of candidates, continue to invest in the relationship with those you don't hire. Maybe they'll be free in the future or can step in if your top choice doesn't work out. Stay connected with a resource for finding candidates. Save job descriptions and other information you found useful in the first go-round as it can save you time down the line. Use the downtime (do we ever have any) to think a step ahead. Nothing beats the feeling of making a decision without an impending deadline looming right in front of you. Now's the perfect time to evaluate needs for 2010 and get going with your search. Or at the very least, you'll have good advice to give to your friends who don't do this, because sooner or later, they'll come to you and ask-- NOW WHAT?? **Log into Urban Interns here