Small business owners often struggle to recruit, hire, train and retain people. For good reason, most don't have a formal HR department headed with a professional equipped to navigate the modern personnel landscape.

There are a few things every small business owner can do to make the interview part of the process more impactful. Many owners have told me how they struggle during the interview. Very few have any formal or informal training. Most of us just learned on the fly. Sadly, we don't always learn how to make this very important part of the process benefit us and the candidate.

Let me begin by encouraging you to read 3 books on how to hire people. Go to Amazon and look for these based on whatever criteria you decide. Know this - they'll likely all be aimed at companies of size. You'll have to do your own work to make them applicable to your situation, but that's okay. You can do that.

I'm not going to provide you some step-by-step guide for interviewing because I don't know your situation or context. What I do know is the goal of the interview - especially the first interview - is to figure out if you want to move forward.

Think back to your dating days. And if you're dating right now, then this will be easier for you. ;)

You have some sort of criteria for people who may be suitable for dating. To each his own. It's no different inside your company. Only you know what you're looking for - what you're most attracted to.

Get that settled in your mind. Like most dating people, it may change over time. What you thought you'd like...it may turn out that you don't like that at all. That's okay.

You're searching for a candidate worthy of a first interview. People who tick most of the boxes in what you need and what you want. It doesn't mean they're perfect, but it means they may be worth pursuing further. You won't know until you have that first interview.

HINT: Don't make the first interview do too much. 

Too frequently we put so much pressure on the first interview we think we can figure out if this person is ideal for us in this first meeting. Don't put that level of pressure on the first interview. It's bad for you, and the candidate. Plus, it's a great way to run off a really great candidate.

HINT: The more the candidate talks, the better.

Small business owners tend to use the first interview for things other than seeing if the pursuit should continue. Many tell me they use it to sell themselves to the candidate. And most confess they do that before they really know if the candidate is suitable or not.

Listen, this isn't like top-level college coaches who have watched hours of game film on players and had staff members go watch the player perform in person. Those coaches set their sites on the players they want to recruit. Much of that meeting is the coach selling their program to lure the athlete to attend their university. That's not your situation. So don't waste your time selling yourself or your company. Not yet.

The first interview has one primary function - to figure out if a second interview is worthwhile. At the end of the interview you'll have one of three choices to make:

* Yes, this candidate seems like a good fit. A second interview should happen.
* No, this candidate is clearly not a good fit. There's no point in a second interview.
* Maybe this candidate is a good fit. I don't yet know so a second interview is warranted so we can figure this out.

Two of these outcomes will warrant a second conversation. As you prepare for this initial interview remind yourself of this important hint - the more the candidate talks, the more you'll learn about them and the closer you'll come to figure it out.

Now, think about the questions that can not only help you lea...