Even after communicating properly, people don't show up for interviews - Most of the candidates are not serious about their career, profession and commitment. They set their own standard as non-professional. Which should not be. It is a simple courtesy , if any body unable to attend the interview for any reason should immediately informed the interviewer.

Finding quality (passive seeking) candidates on job boards is like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Building a relationship (candidate pool) takes time and effort. Todays ATS systems fall short in assisting keeping candidates warm and engaged and most referral programs are horrible. Creating a Candidate experience is key to attracting, engaging, sourcing and hiring todays top talent. I challenge any CEO who dare to try and apply for his/her own company and feel what candidates feel. Not able to apply by phone? Longer then 10 minutes to send in your resume? And the worst is did you or did you not get feed back after applying. 68% of candidates never hear back after applying and the other who do may receive a canned letter stating something stupid like "we get so many applications we may not respond back to you - unless we like you!" Try this with your customers and see who long it takes to kill you bottom line - then ask yourself - If we treated Candidates like Customers (with respect) would our hiring issues change? Even better if you don't believe me flip it and ask yourself IF I treated Customers like Candidates what would happen to the bottom line?

Finding the RIGHT People.....that's the hardest part of hiring based on my corporate experience, as a business owner, and with my clients. We use an "eHarmony" approach leveraging assessments and extensive vetting to identifying the RIGHT people to key positions. Studies have shown that with our tools and process, we increase the odds of successfully finding the best culturally matched, qualified candidates by 92%.

Finding the right candidates- people who have the right skills, but more importantly who fit the organization and culture. Businesses are having problems finding the right employees because they have removed the human connection. I find fabulous candidates because I search for people who fit in many different ways and who will bring value to the organization. I engage with candidates, invest my time and interest in the candidates and develop a relationship with excellent candidates to give them the best recruitment experience.

This is what made me decide to brand my own business. There are great candidates out there whom you cannot begin to truly know without building a connection. People have far more experience and worth than you can determine from a few sentences on a resume.

Sourcing, head hunting, making connections and building genuine and compassionate relationships with candidates is how I find and attract the top candidates for my clients.

Eric Groves, I found that when I used some different key words and switched around the priority of the job description, I received many more (what looked to be) qualified candidates. For two positions, I hired the first one on the spot (she seems to be doing great so far) and for the second position, I made sure to find the right fit out of all of the candidates who applied by matching key words in their resumes to my listed job description. I am a strong believer in conducting interviews in person for entry level positions because you want to be able to get a feel of what that candidate would be like in your work space. For strong candidates, I sometimes like to introduce them to current staff in the office to observe personalities and overall ability to engage in greetings.

I find, in the not for profit setting, that candidates often accept other positions offered to them and don't tell me about it until I confirm their interview. So, to answer the survey... Not showing up!

Yeah, I'd say none of the above! All of those things are a piece of cake compared to finding a qualified candidate ... even if they're not 'qualified' I'm willing to train them, more over by qualified I mean someone willing to actually step up and put in the effort it takes to become successful and add value to a company and in turn their own lives. The entitlement attitude is killing their chances of making the 'impact' they say they want to have.

I believe getting the word out to the right potential candidates is the most difficult challenge.

I look to employees and guests for recommendations.

Here is my long winded answer:) Having been in Staffing for 24 years I have watched the employee market change drastically in the last 5 to 10. A job fair used to bring in 40 to 60 people in one day. Today they bring in 3 to 10 on a good day. There used to be two markets in Staffing. It was either an Employers market (many quality candidates to choose from and less jobs) or Employee market (many jobs to choose from with less available candidates...because they were already employed). This was an off and on pattern for several years. Then it shifted and it has been the employees market for years. There are jobs and not enough people willing and/or able to work the positions. Many reasons for this which I won't go into. However, we still do have some good qualified individuals in the market today. I found they are attracted to feeling like they have a purpose. They want to contribute to something to see big and positive results. They want their work and ideas to be noticed. They also don't mind asking for a "more than fair" wage:) Something they can live on which is OK. If he/she can produce it's justified. I believe all of us struggle with finding the dependable non-skilled worker. They too are out there, just not enough. There are a vast majority who simply choose not to work and you can't train on that. We continue to ramp up recruiting and find and try different methods in hopes of attracting the people we need. Sometimes it works great and other times it doesn't. There is no pattern anymore so we just always hope for the best!

The specifics of what makes it difficult to hire and keep good employees vary somewhat by the industry and size of the business and the position you need to fill. It's not unusual for a contractor who does kitchen or basement renovations to find that people they have trained start their own businesses, and may actually go into competition with them. Local restaurants and retail stores have to deal with other issues – like scheduling and job hopping. A web developer's biggest problem hiring and keeping talented employees – particularly if they are within commuting distance to a big city- will have a lot to do with salary and benefits as well as things like cultural fit, and the ability to communicate well with clients.

The key, then to finding and keeping the best employees for your own business starts with a complete and realistic analysis of the job needs, required skills, your expectations, your willingness to train, your budget, and the benefits and pitfalls of working for your company. Put that information down on paper – don't just think about it, write it down! If you have employees get input from employees who will be working with the new hire. Use your analysis to help you decide what kind of person you should look for, where to look, how to write the actual job description, and if you advertise, the help-wanted ad/posting.

Hiring well is one of the most difficult challenges that business owners face. In reviewing all of the comments here, the problems are endemic to all businesses. We all suffer, as do the people who are searching for meaningful employment. There are ways to craft "help wanted" postings that will weed out those who should not even apply. There are ways to craft your hiring process to further weed out the "looks good on paper & presents well" candidates who are under-performers and can actually harm your business. There are different strategies that can be employed that may seem to be outside the box - but they work precisely because they can bring you candidates that you might not have seen otherwise.

And then there is the business itself. Are you making yourself as attractive as possible to a quality, qualified candidate? Ask yourself - would I want to "date" me? Because this is about making a match, and different employee types do better in different industries. It comes down to hiring for skill but hiring for attitude is far more important! We offer consulting services to employers who are struggling with making quality hires, and we can teach you how to overcome some of the most common errors you are currently making. Making a great hire takes time and effort - but it takes a lot more time, effort, and sometimes money to get rid of a poor hire. Where would you rather make the investment?