When I worked as a department head for one of the largest newspapers in the country, I often interviewed job candidates. It was one of those supervisors' tasks I hated, right up there with performance evaluations. Even though I was a journalist, I was a pretty lousy interviewer. I honestly don't know how my colleagues spent more than 30 minutes with prospects. Mine were in and out of the office in less than 15, and that included the small talk: "So, you want to be a copy editor, eh..."

Now that I run my own business, I hire even more. I'm too small to have a human resources department, so I do my own hiring and firing. Actually, I haven't fired anyone yet, though I have let some part-timers go for lack of work. I'm sure the firing part is ahead.

Two weeks ago, I interviewed someone who really wanted to work for me as an office manager. She called me out of nowhere one afternoon and asked if she could take a few minutes of my time to introduce herself. Initiative is a good quality, I thought, so I invited her in. A single mom, she wanted to get back into the workforce. She was very nice and interviewed well though I couldn't tell how she would work out because of her lack of new skills. I told her that I desperately needed an office manager, but I could not commit at the moment because of a lousy last quarter. Plus, we were moving, and things were a bit disorganized. My gut told me to hire her on the spot. My brain put a stop to it. I needed some time to think it over -- or so I thought. I may change my mind and hire her but it bothers me that I didn't do what my inner compass told me to do.

There are some entrepreneurs who hire like mad and worry about paying for it later. I haven't mastered that insouciant style yet. If I had, I would have brought her on board and worried about the particulars later. Hiring for your own business ties you in knots. If you make a mistake, you have wasted valuable time and money, and you feel defeated for not foreseeing the problems.

When you run your own business, the people you hire depend on you for a living, and you depend on them to do their job so the company can survive and even flourish. It's a nice formula, except when things don't go as planned.
As a supervisor for a large corporation, I was free to go after any talent I wanted since I was spending the company's money. And the human resources department did all the paperwork. Now I have to make payroll -- and make sure the employees earn their share of it. Nothing in my corporate life prepared me for the weight of that responsibility.

George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work. His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at george@staffwriters.com.