You've hired your first employee. As soon as you hire, call or write the applicants who didn't make the cut and tell them you'll keep their applications on file. That way, if the person you hired isn't the best or is so good that business doubles you won't have to start from scratch in hiring your second employee. For each applicant you interviewed, create a file including your interview notes, the resume and the employment application. For the person you hire, that file will become the basis for his or her personnel file.
Federal law requires that a job application be kept at least three years after a person is hired.
Even if you don't hire the applicant, keep the file. Under federal law, all recruitment materials, such as applications and resumes, must be kept for at least one year after the employment decision has been made. Especially for higher-level positions where you narrow the field to two or three candidates, put a brief note or memo in each applicant's file explaining why he or she was or wasn't hired. The hiring process doesn't end with making the selection. Your new employee's first day is critical.