Companies are gearing up to begin hiring again now that economic downturn is taking a nice upswing. The great news for employers is that many workers see now as time to consider advancing in their profession. Those people, along with some exceptional employees who lost their jobs to down-sizing during recession, mean that employers have more prime candidates from which to choose than they’ve had in years.

That’s good news. The bad news is, it can be difficult to separate wheat from chaff, especially for small businesses where management often wears many hats in addition to human resources. Reviewing dozens of resumes and interviews can be time consuming, and even after that grueling process, there may be up to five great potential employees. How can you make sure you select right person for job so you don’t have to go through this long, and costly, process again any time soon?

It could be worth your while to implement a personal profiling test, like DISC Personality Profiling Assessment, to provide another valuable piece of information for consideration when making hiring decisions. Many companies, both large and small, find personality profiling to be a valuable tool to discover, hire, and retain cream of crop.

The upper echelons of corporate America is where personal profiling got its start, but now many human resources departments implement profiling for all new hires. The tests range from simple online tests to in-depth interviews with psychologists. Prices are widely varied as well, depending on depth of test. Inexpensive tests mean that even small companies can afford to implement an assessment.

Personality assessments not only help you hire right employee, they can help you keep them. Long-time HR directors will tell you that if you hire candidate best suited for job, but also for work environment, you’ll retain employee longer. Employee retention saves companies money and valuable time due to lost productivity and costs associated with recruiting and hiring.

The tests consist of questions a job candidate answers to help an employer determine more about candidate’s personality and attitudes. Most personal profiles evaluate a candidate’s skills or personality. The DISC Personality Assessment provides information about both. I like that because it gives you even more of information you need to make a decision.

DISC is an acronym that stands for:

•Dominance •Influence •Steadiness •Compliance

Learning about these characteristics of a potential employee’s personality help employers determine if they’ve got right person for job, both in temperament and in candidate’s ability to adapt to corporate culture. If a company is looking for a chief executive officer, a candidate needs to show some leadership personality traits such as ability to persuade others to follow a vision and skills to determine a path to achieve company’s goals. A chief financial officer, however, needs to have negotiating ability and skills to work with details.

I actually took DISC Personality Assessment to see for myself how valuable a personal profile could be. The first part of test consists of a series of questions that candidate takes online. I got back a comprehensive assessment consisting of 25 pages. The results were remarkable – my friends and colleagues alike agreed that online test nailed every aspect of my personality.

The second part of test consists of an interview with an evaluator to review results. I learned how my personality works with other people, how I can communicate better with others I’m working with and what organizational structure would best suit me. The same information revealed in my interview would help an employer determine if a potential new hire will work well within organization.

A business making a critical hiring decision often relies on first impression that an interview provides. Often, companies need to look a bit deeper to determine true substance and worth of a job seeker’s skill sets and personality, and how combination of two will fit in to organization.

For example, a new hire may have best skills in world, but if he doesn’t have communication skills to work well with your current team, he may not be best candidate. It may be in company’s best interest to hire a good communicator with average skills that can be improved upon with training instead.

Let’s face it, most business owners' stick to tried-and-true methods. We’ve all discovered, by trial and often costly error, what works best for our companies. However, a business owner stuck in that mentality may be missing out on great opportunities just by keeping status quo.

That’s where a coach comes in. A business coach is a trained third-party professional who helps clarify a business owner’s goals and helps chart a path to meet them. A coach will offer a fresh perspective to your daily challenges and hopes for future.

Coaching may seem like a frivolous expense, but at least one study has shown otherwise. A study of 100 executives, primarily from Fortune 1000 firms, who employed coaches from Florida-based firm Manchester, Inc., found that return on their investment was nearly six times what each firm spent on coaching. Companies retained executives, had fewer customer complaints and saw more productivity from their coached employees. What business owner doesn’t want that?

So how do you choose right coach? The key is to find one you trust and who challenges you without having unrealistic expectations. Some business owners see stereotypical coach as a slick, motivational manipulator who will seek to turn them into a business mixer schmoozer. The truth is there are as many styles of coaches as there are people. Here are some tips to help you find yours:

•Know yourself and what you want. Before you even begin process of looking for a coach, ask yourself some honest questions. What do I want? What do I expect? Are there some things about my management style that probably need to change? Am I willing to consider making these changes? What am I willing to do? What am I not willing to do? Where do I want to be in five years? In 10 years?

•Call several coaching firms and individuals. Talk to others in your field to get referrals.

•Meet with at least five possible coaching candidates. Find out how they work.

•Don’t’ be too concerned if your coach candidates don’t “get” your business immediately. Sometimes it’s best to have a coach that knows absolutely nothing about your field so that you can get some fresh approaches and ideas.