Savvy business owners and managers understand the importance of hiring talented, skilled and devoted individuals to fill open positions in their company. Top talent can be difficult to find. You may receive hundreds of resumes for a single position, and you must narrow down your list of candidates to a few top individuals to interview. More than that, you must carefully vet each of your top picks to ensure that you are making a wise hiring decision. Consider taking these important steps to vet top candidates before making a job offer.

Verify the Candidate’s Educational Background

The unfortunate reality is that some individuals will lie or blur the truth about their background and experience. One of the easiest things for employers to check relates to the educational background of a candidate. You can easily contact the school the candidate attended to verify that he or she graduated and to confirm the degree that was obtained.

Request a College Transcript

Some candidates may have graduated from an elite school with a great degree, but they may have barely passed classes. Consider requesting a college transcript directly from the candidate, or order an official transcript from the school. Review the types of courses taken, and ensure that the course load was heavily relevant to the position you are hiring for. In addition, review the individual’s grades in relevant courses. It might even be good to ask how they earned their degree. For instance, if a candidate earned their bachelors of business administration online while interning at another company, you can trust they have a wealth of both knowledge and experience.

Talk to Previous Managers and Co-Workers

Education is important, but so is real-life work experience. You want to know how well the individual performed in his or her required tasks in previous positions as well as how well he or she got along with co-workers. You may want to know if this individual was a true asset to the team or if he or she was challenging to work with. When you contact previous managers and co-workers, pay attention to the words used to describe the candidate.

Complete a Thorough Background Check

A final step to take in the vetting process is to complete a thorough background check. This often includes a review of the individual’s credit report and criminal history. In addition, it may even include reviewing their social media accounts. Such information can be enlightening and may cause you to lean heavily toward or away from specific candidates.

From the point when you created the job opening and started sifting through resumes through to the time you make a job offer to the top candidate, several weeks may pass. Hiring the right candidate can take considerable time and effort. However, the end result can be an amazing asset that adds true value to your organization.