"I want someone from the top of the class at a top business school, who has advanced rapidly at a fast-growing, respected firm (but I want to pay an entry-level salary)." That's pie-in-the-sky recruiting—spinning your wheels with no results.

In yesterday's Advisor, we covered the first five prehire necessities. Today, we look at five more, including "getting real" to avoid pie-in-the-sky time-wasting.

6. Picture the Perfect Candidate.

It sounds silly, but the biggest mistake in hiring is starting the recruiting process before you know what you are looking for. When there's no clear picture of the ideal candidate, you don’t know what questions to ask, what answers to listen for, and how to evaluate candidates.

You're also not going to attract the best candidates because they'll sense your fuzzy thinking, and that's a turn-off. Further, vague requirements mean you won't get poor candidates to self-select out of the process.

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Don't rely on a job description; do a little digging:

  • What characteristics have helped others excel at this job?
  • What aspects of this job have caused others to fail?
  • What aspects have caused the manager the most heartache?
  • What failure in performance would get the person in this job fired?
  • In what areas did past jobholders need the most improvement?

7. Clarify for Outsiders.

Now you know what you want, but you still have to translate it into language to share outside the company. How will you describe your opening on job boards, advertisements, and notices to others helping with recruiting?

Each job is different, but in general, consider specifying the following things:

  • Number of years’ experience at a specific job
  • Specific duties or types of duties candidates should have performed
  • Specific responsibilities candidates should have had (management, training, bottom line, etc.)
  • Key characteristics or abilities
  • Industry awareness and trends
  • Degrees required
  • Certification or special training required or desirable
  • Computer abilities or software familiarity

8. Gain Agreement.

When you are comfortable with your description of what you are looking for, share it with others involved in the process. Do they agree that you have captured the essential requirements?

9. Check Legalities.

If you are not careful in setting requirements, you may be guilty of inadvertent discrimination. For example, if you set requirements that aren’t really necessary (such as a college degree for a clerical position), then you may illegally exclude a disproportionate number of members of a particular protected group.

Focus on meaningful requirements based on the position’s essential functions. Avoid any mention of age, sex, race, religion, disability, or national origin, or any characteristic protected by your state law (for example, sexual preference, marital status, or public assistance status).

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10. Get Real.

Finally, make a reality check. Managers get carried away in dreaming about the “perfect” candidate, and end up describing a superhero who is overqualified for the job.

So, ask one last question: Would the candidate you have described be attracted to—and succeed at—your job?

And that's it. Get these ten preliminaries out of the way, and you are set for a successful search.