Your company has limited space for new hires due to budget cuts and downsizing, yet every job seeker is pounding at your door begging to work for you. You receive hundreds of applications and resumes everyday, spending countless hours sorting through multiple emails and papers in hopes of finding that one gem: the most qualified candidate to fill that gap in your company. This process of sorting through applicants is daunting, but its the one task all hiring managers and human resource professionals must face on a daily basis.

While most hiring managers are successful at narrowing the playing field and choosing the right candidate, some employers face high turn over in their candidate selection. These employers are exhausted from trying to find the right people to fill their vacancies. Finding the perfect candidate is not a luck of the draw, its just a process that simply needs fine tuning. Thats correct. If you are struggling to fill a vacancy in your company, you are probably spending your time on erroneous tasks instead of focusing on your key objective: Hiring the right person.

Your task to hire the right person is overwhelming and difficult, agreed, but there are ways to focus your time and energy. Ready to get down to business and become productive? To gain some insight, I spoke with a successful hiring manager at. Here are the top 5 insights I gleaned from my conversation:

1. The hiring process is a funnel. Your company probably receives more applicants and resumes than you are able to interview. The ratio of individuals who typically apply for entry level jobs to individuals brought in for interviews is roughly 3:1. Candidates applying for higher-level positions are interviewed more frequently. Prepare to disregard unqualified candidates immediately. It is a waste of your time to consider applicants who do not have relevant experience and qualifications. For instance, OpenSesame received many applications for several specialized vacancies in the company and offered the position to the most qualified applicants.

2. Qualified candidates stand out. If the applicant did their homework, they should have presented in their application how their relevant experience matches the vacant position in your company. If no one appears qualified in the stack of resumes piling up at your desk, move on and take a new approach. Network within your company to find out if anyone has an unemployed colleague. With the amount of qualified people out of work, chances are someone in your company knows someone who can do the job.

3. Check references, including LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter! Bad hires will cost your company a considerable amount of time and money. Move two steps forward by verifying qualifications and experience with the candidate’s listed references. If you do not check social media sites, get out of the dark ages! There is a lot of information to be found out about candidates on these sites. If candidates have content that is profane or otherwise inappropriate for work, pour them out of the funnel. When in doubt, conduct a background check, because the last thing you want is a sexual harassment lawsuit from hiring a convict.

4. Make your candidates demonstrate. Most applicants present savvy resumes…now put their skills to the test. Have your candidates prove they possess the skills they presented. Depending on the vacancy you are looking to fill, ask candidates to provide you with writing samples, software demos, and other supplementing materials in support of their qualifications. Professional and excellent portfolios are sure to translate into a qualified candidate.

5. Interview with intent. While interviews vary based on your company, make sure to have your candidates talk about their background and relevant experience (Click here for Frequently Asked Interview Questions). Think of interviews like dating. Look at personality and identify enthusiasm. When a positive and professional relationship forms during the interview, chances are high it will continue on in that direction. You interview a lot of candidates. To avoid every candidate following up with you, make sure you state an exact time you will correspond with the decision. The last thing you want is hundreds of phone calls asking about a decision.

Once you chose the perfect candidate to fill the vacancy, cross your fingers and hope for best.