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One of the most costly mistakes for small business owners is making a bad hiring decision. Losing the money spent on recruiting, the time to interview the candidates, and the time and cost spent on employee training are a few of the major profit-squeezers that result from hiring mistakes.

Some entrepreneurs attempt to reduce risk by hiring family or friends-which in most cases proves to be the worst hiring mistake of all. It is difficult for most people to accept the relationship transition from family member to employee. Most often, those friendships will end in resentment and disappointment. When a veteran small business owner tells you, “Never hire family!” you can bet he’s learned the hard way.

With a little skill and guidance, small business owners can learn much about potential candidates by understanding resumes. When reading resumes, there are three great things to look for-and two traps to watch out for.

When reading a resume, the three things to look for are:

1. Industry experience

You’ll make shortcuts in new employee training if your new hire has previous experience in your industry. You will see a faster return on investment with your new employee when he or she already understands what your customers want. Prior industry experience also means he or she may have a business following that will result in added revenue for your business.

2. Transferable skills

Very often transferable skills are as critical as industry experience. Skills such as customer service, problem solving, sales and/or crisis management are valuable in almost every industry. Before interviewing candidates, make sure you understand the five most important transferable skills needed for the position you are hiring. Keep those skills in mind when reviewing resumes. Candidates whose resumes showcase those skills should be considered whether they have industry experience or not. An industry can be learned, but great customer service or superb selling skills can only be acquired with time and experience.

3. Accomplishments

When reading through resumes, look for applicants who write about their accomplishments. These are candidates who understand the bottom-line initiatives of an organization. A resume that mentions saving time, cutting costs, and solving customer disputes represents someone who can handle your problems as well.

On the flip side, when reading resumes watch out for these two traps:

1. Unstable work history

Pay attention to the dates on a resume. While the life expectancy of a job isn’t what it was a generation ago, a string of short-term positions should be a concern. Candidates with too many jobs in too short of a time usually have excuses for all of them-sometimes even great excuses. But good excuses aren’t the same thing as good reasons. If you see a consistent pattern of instability, beware! This may be a candidate who (1) doesn’t get along with authority; (2) loses interest in his job after time; or (3) is just plain inept. Beware also of unexplained gaps in employment, which may indicate even more serious problems.

2. Unfocused career path

While it’s quite normal for one’s career path to shift, candidates whose resumes show opposing career directions may indicate uncertainty about their career path. Look out for candidates who have held contrasting positions like “sales” and “accounting,” or “account manager” and “librarian.” This may be a candidate who doesn’t know what he wants in his career. After working for you as customer service rep, he may decide he really wants to be a dog groomer!

With practice you’ll gain expertise at reading between the lines of a resume. Remember the three great things to look for and the two traps to avoid, and you’ll save yourself valuable time, money and effort in hiring new employees.

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Copyright 2006 Sharon Housley

As podcasts increase in popularity, listeners have more choices. So while you might be ahead of the competition, you should still be thinking about ways that you can make your podcast unique and stand out from similarly themed podcasts.

1. Plan Accordingly.

When making the decision and commitment to podcast, it is important to think beyond the moment. Before starting, think about the time the podcast production will take. How will podcasting fit into a current schedule? How frequently will you podcast? How will hosting of podcasting files be handled? If the podcast is excessively popular, how will fees be generated to pay for hosting? What is the common theme that threads all podcasts in a series together? Think not only of a broad theme, but also various episodic themes that fit into a broader theme. What will make you distinct or different from others podcasting about similar content? By approaching podcasting with a little forethought, you will set yourself up for success.

2. Original Content.

Just like any media company, in order to attract and maintain an audience, you will need to provide original content, or at the very least, present the content in an original way. Think about a long term strategy that will help your show distinguish itself from others.

3. Get to The Point.

Jibber Jabber is fun, but not to the point of excluding quality content. Listeners in today?s society don?t have time for incessant rambling. If you have a point to make, make it in a reasonable amount of time. Minimize the fluff and focus on quality content.

4. Do Your Homework.

Not only is faulty information a liability, but incorrect information will hurt a broadcasters long term reputation–just like a journalist?s credibility is paramount to their success. It is important that the information that you provide is accurate. While being a shock jock might have short-term appeal to listeners, most will remain loyal to a source that has properly vetted all of their information.

5. Consistency.

The best content is consistent content. Podcasts should contain compelling content with episodic titles, that are united in common broad theme. The format of the podcast should be consistent, persistent and stable. Each show should be about the same length and contain a common format.

6. Timeless Content.

Content that is timeless has a long shelf life. Broadcasters will benefit more from content that is timeless and can be effectively archived. “How to” content that solves problems will often have long term appeal and listening life. When choosing topics, consider the long term effects of a specific piece and determine whether it will fit with the broad theme of the show.

7. Articulate Words.

The quality of the audio content does matter. Think of the last time you heard a good song, on a poorly tuned radio station; regardless of how much you like the song, most of us would move the dial along. Listeners will not want to strain to hear a podcast; pay particular attention to articulation. Another important item worth noting is that Podcasts have global reach and often global appeal. Minimizing an accent will often extend the podcast?s listening audience.

8. Optimize Podcasts.

Podcast titles should be optimized to incorporate data that relates to the contents of the podcast. Think about the themes when selecting a podcast channel title and description. Use critical and related keywords and phrases that relate to a common theme. The text in the feed is important for both feed optimization and for attracting listeners. Many of the podcast directories index the contents of podcasts using the information contained in the channel and item?s, titles and descriptions. Use these text fields to effectively capture the interest of listeners.

9. Listener Expectations.

Invariably listeners will come to expect certain things from broadcasters. In order to maintain a listening audience, it is important that broadcasts are consistent and satisfy the expectations of listeners. While it is okay to experiment, straying to far from what a listener expects will often disappoint.

10. Archive.

Many new listeners will want to review previous broadcasts. Consider ways to make older shows available through archives. Archives allow broadcasters another channel to benefit from the content. Maintaining archives of older podcasts might bring in new listeners and satisfy listeners who just can?t get enough. Podcasts require effort, but by following basic guidelines and thinking things through, podcasts can be instrumental in increasing web traffic and communications within a community.