Hiring the right IT specialist can help your company make it in the digital world. The right IT specialist can reduce your operational costs, enhance your data security, and provide you with much better IT services. They are also capable of boosting your productivity, revolutionizing your customer service, and solving any crisis as soon as it pops up. In other words, having such a professional on your team can change absolutely everything, however, picking the candidate to fill this spot is not an easy task. with that in mind and without further ado, here are several life-saving criteria you need to apply when hiring an IT specialist.

1. A list of essential skills

One’s IT skills and certificates are the natural prerequisite for the job, however, there are a lot of soft skills that you want in them, as well. These are things like organization, creativity, resourcefulness, etc. The problem is that making this kind of description seems like looking for impossible. Well, guess what, in a lot of companies the requirements list is actually a wish list. Also, just because you want all of these things this doesn’t mean that you want them all equally. Make sure that you prioritize in order to always know how to decide between two potential hires. 

2. Problem-solving skills

While it is crucial that the talent you hire has admirable problem-solving skills, how can you test one’s problem-solving skills? The short answer is, you can’t, not until the situation presents itself. The best you can do is ask a couple of specific questions regarding an imaginary scenario in order to see how they think off their feet but even this is not a guarantee. The closest you can get is to ask them about their work on previous projects. An abundance of experience increases the chance that they’ll stay calm when all hell breaks loose and act rationally.

3. Adaptability

Every company has a different work methodology (even within the same industry). This is why it’s so important that the talent you hire is adaptable and willing to work with your team. This will drastically boost the onboarding process and help you get everyone up to speed. Check their CV and give advantages to those who worked in at least two agencies before. Moreover, remember that while their primary role may be clearly defined, if there’s a chance for lateral movement, their adaptability will determine their flexibility. While this is not the main job prerequisite, it is definitely worth looking out for. 

4. Someone with people skills

When it comes to IT support services, the specialists working here are expected to be as communicative as they are skilled in IT. They will need to work with clients and your own staff members who are probably not that well-versed in technical terminology. This is why they need to be patient and communicative. Teamwork and empathy are amongst some of the most important soft skills needed for success in this field. Remember that while it is technical in nature, IT services are still a service industry. As such, they need a special type of approach. 

5. Look for someone responsible

An IT specialist has a lot of responsibilities. They need to install new software and update it on a regular basis. Assist with network administration tasks. Constantly reevaluate IT systems in order to make sure that they’re up to the highest standards, etc. This is why you need someone who is vigilant and meticulous. Having a talented coder is always a good thing but having a hard worker is always a top priority. A letter of recommendation is usually the way in which you can establish this. Also, watch out for their behavior during the hiring process. If they’re late for the interview, you’re definitely not off to a good start.

6. The role that you’re hiring for

The key part of your recruitment process is about being concrete regarding what you actually want. You need to put this in your job description in order to attract the right talent. It also serves as an unofficial checklist when considering their skills. Moreover, it helps them understand exactly what will be expected of them. Remember that there are two sides to this story. On the one hand, you want to hire the best but in order to do so, you must first attract the best. Offer something worthwhile to start with.

7. Prepare for the interview

While asking the person to tell you something about themselves and why they want to work for you, the truth is that these are generic answers that people prepare for. Therefore, the answers tend to be generic, as well. Instead, try to be more specific but for this, you’ll actually have to prepare. First, read their CV and take notes while reading. Then, ask a question or two about the specific agency they worked at or the project that they participated in. Moreover, ask them about their opinions about various industry-relevant trends.

8. Manage your expectations

In the first section, we talked about the idea of setting the bar too high. Well, this means that you are bound to be disappointed. Now, the key thing you need to understand is that there’s no such thing as a perfect employee. You need to hire potential and invest time and effort into training them and building up their loyalty. Most importantly, you need to manage your expectations. Salaries in this line of work are top-grade so if you’re not willing to pay top dollar, chances are that you’ll be forced to hire specialists with a bit less experience.

In conclusion

In the end, choosing the right IT specialist is like any other hiring process. You need to customize the role as much as you can so that the description fits the person that you want to hire. There’s also nothing wrong with being a bit more ambitious, as long as you manage your expectations and know what’s realistic. Lastly, it’s quite important that you manage your expectations as much as you can. Of course, trying to learn as much as you can about this job is a great start.