As the job market grows more competitive, so does the employer's quest to find the best talent. Company leaders have begun to realize that elevated employee talent leads to increased levels of productivity and overall profit. To improve and strengthen a company's structure, employees must be assigned positions that require specific talents.

Studies have shown that the most talented job candidates tend to display six characteristics that cause them to stand out in job performance:

• They show a record of having been at the top of the ladder in job performance
• They are creative and inventive
• They are decision-makers who follow through
• They have the capacity to effectively motivate others
• They can adapt to change
• They are solution oriented

In recent years, an abundance of helpful tools have been devised to assist in separating the real talent from employees or candidates who lack the qualities needed to make your company excel with maximum efficiency.

For example, software was developed to help HR professionals administer psychometric tests that examine such skills as verbal and numerical reasoning. There are also personality assessment tests that look at individual traits relating to job habits and organizational skills. These types of evaluative tools can help company leaders make speedy decisions about how to choose the cream of the crop.

In the actual search for talented workers, it is prudent to turn first to your company's own internal networks to ask for referrals to anyone who might fit the bill for the positions you are seeking to fill. Question shareholders, professional advisors and current employees who are close enough to your organization to ascertain the specific talents needed for a particular position.

If these referrals fail to pan out, carefully construct a job description that delineates the primary responsibilities of a position within your company. Then, consider the behavioral traits and talents required of the person you feel is ideally suited for the job. Finally, publish these criteria and use them to screen resumes for the most talented individuals to fill the positions.

Last, but certainly not least, a powerful tool in finding contemporary business talent is, of course, the internet. A well-placed ad on your business's web site, listing the advantages of working for your company, can go far to attract talented job candidates. Utilize social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to find talent. Social network participation has become an essential tool in this area. If the most popular social networking resources do not represent your company, your pool of talented candidates could be shallow. t

~ Written for us by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC. Copyright protected. All rights reserved.