The July 7 issue of Business Week Magazine has an opinion column from Jack and Suzy Welch. At the time he was promoted, Jack Welch was General Electric's youngest chairman and CEO. He is widely known for his innovative management strategies and unique leadership style. Every year he fired the bottom 10% of his management staff. In his 20 year tenure as CEO, he took GE from a market value of $14B to one of more than $410B. You can bet he made many hiring decisions along the way as well. In this column, he talks about the danger of rushing to hire and the pitfall of being so tired of interviewing that you just want to pick someone and get going on the work that needs to be done. Here are some of the mistakes to avoid when you're trying to pick the right candidate for the job:

• The candidate who seems too good to be true but has one major blemish or omission on their resume. Dig deeper to uncover whether this blemish is a show-stopper.
• Hiring a person for their prestige experience or credentials. Just because they have a degree from a top University or experience in your industry doesn't mean they are a good fit for this particular opening.
• The candidate who is "just like you". They have the same social background or language or favorite sports team. You may miss their shortcomings because you thought you knew them based on your common bond.
• The candidate who has too little runway for growth. If they've seen it all will they quickly grow bored in the assignment without an option for upward movement?
• The candidate who has no Emotional Intelligence. Someone who is not self-aware or compassionate with others won't make a good teammate or leader.