You have an open position and are ready to hire someone. That’s great news, particularly in our current Colorado jobs economy. As we see at Experience Factor daily, there is a wealth of talent waiting outside your door ready to work. But before you rush into filling the position, consider the following tips from Margaret Heffernan,  a CEO and author who has hired hundreds of people on finding the best person for the job.

1. Write up a job description that matters. The best job descriptions don’t just outline duties, responsibilities and necessary skills. They also articulate how you want the work to be done and the moral climate in which the company operates.

2. Know the talent you already have. Do you have any current employees who might seize an open opportunity? You want to encourage in-house talent, so work hard to discover what you have before you go looking for more.

3. Align your values with your hiring process. There’s no point saying teamwork is important and then let one person make the hiring decision. If you say you value instinct, then doing a wide array of personal and professional assessments probably isn’t the way to go either. If you value creativity and risk-taking, don’t set ridiculously hard problems that humiliate the people who can’t solve them.

4. Listen hard for dissenting voices. If everyone loves your preferred candidate, something is probably wrong. No hire is perfect and there should be some dissenting voices around the table. What are the candidate’s weaknesses? They may not be critical, but they must exist and it’s better to identify them early to see if the candidate will still be a good fit.

5. Watch the salary negotiation like a hawk. How people manage money will tell you a great deal about how they’ll handle partners and customers. If you don’t like what you see, pull the plug.

6. Start with a trial period. I don’t think you ever know anyone until you see them in action (and vice versa). So agree—for both your sakes—to a joint review after one to three months. Give very honest feedback and ask for it too.

7. Never sell your organization. Interviewing should be all about exploration, not persuasion. You shouldn’t sell your company, and the candidates shouldn’t sell themselves either. What you’re after is an intelligent, adult discussion about what constitutes success within your company and within the candidate’s professional and personal life.