You just do not know if a employee will be right for you and your business till they start and often that is months after they start…
I have recently been through recruiting staff and it does not get any easier, I think most importantly you need to go through the same structured process with each candidate, have a objective idea of what you staff you want, let them know what your business is, why it is good for them, rely on your intuition and hope for the best.
1. Set a high bar for quality. Before you start recruiting, decide what attributes you want and define as a group what great looks like. A good rule of thumb is to hire only people who are better than you. Do not compromise. Ever.
2. Find your own candidates. LinkedIn, Google+, alumni databases, and professional associations make it easy.
3. Assess candidates objectively. Include subordinates and peers in the interviews, make sure interviewers write good notes, and have an unbiased group of people make the actual hiring decision. Periodically return to those notes and compare them to how the new employee is doing, to refine your assessment capability.
4. Give candidates a reason to join. Make clear why the work you are doing matters, and let the candidate experience the astounding people they will get to work with.