As you are well aware, there is quite a lot at stake with a startup business. This is mostly because you essentially have an equal chance of succeeding and failing. As such, it is important to try and put the odds firmly in your favor.
Well, believe it or not, one of the best ways to do this is to hire the right individuals for your company. Now, this can often be easier said than done. After all, how can you possibly discern whether a particular candidate will be a good fit for your business?
The good news for you is that you don’t have to bank on luck alone. Rather, it is simply a matter of honing your interview, selection, and hiring strategies properly. It will then be more straightforward for you to pinpoint the best people for the job.
If you are curious about just which techniques and approaches take, you will find everything that you need, below:
Know What You Need
The initial step is actually entirely up to you. Before you can go looking for the ideal candidate, you must first identify what such an individual would look like. So, stop for a moment and think about the essential skills that a particular position will require. Make a list of these.
Then, focus on the personality traits or work ethic that will benefit both that position as well as the company in general. Note these requirements as well. Now, depending on your business, you may feel that there are a few other attributes that you need to include to the list. Go ahead and do this.
At the end of this exercise, you should be able to narrow down precisely what skills, qualities, and mindset you would like your employee to have. In turn, picking the best possible individual becomes less complicated for you.
Draw in the Right Talent
As a startup company, one of the biggest obstacles that you have to deal with is competing with larger companies for the same talent pool. Unfortunately, well-established businesses have the advantage of being able to offer more attractive packages. Therefore, many candidates will naturally gravitate towards them.
Take heart, though, because you could have a few tricks up your sleeve as well.
Emphasize Advantages
To make sure you are attracting the top candidates, you will need to learn to highlight the benefits of working for a startup. This includes features such as more opportunities, greater responsibilities, and the chance to own your successes. People who are looking for experience and to spread their wings will be drawn to such an opportunity.
Create a Company Culture and Sell it
These days, people aren’t looking to work for a faceless, nameless corporation. Most individuals prefer to participate in an organization that has similar goals as them. This is why one of the first things that you need to do is to figure out what your company culture is. What is most important to you and your brand? Once you’ve narrowed this down, it is time to elaborate on these values to potential candidates.
Consider Alternative Enticements
So, you can match the salaries offered by some of the larger companies. However, is there any way for you to offer other financial incentives? One of the great things about running a startup is that you have the chance to offer people a small stake in your company. Thus, if this is something that you feel comfortable doing, it can be a useful lure.
Identify What You Should Be Looking for
Once you have managed to entice the suitable candidates, you will then be faced with the interviewing process. It is during this time that you will be more likely to weed out the good from the bad. It is also when you will actually figure out if someone is a good fit for your company.
Understandably, this can only be managed if you are aware of what attributes to look for when interviewing a candidate. The list you made earlier should certainly help with this but there are also a few characteristics that you should keep an eye out for as well.
Personality vs. Non-essential Skills
You may be quite shocked to learn that some of the top corporations in the world value personality over skills. One of the easiest explanations for this is that skills can be taught – personality can’t be. Of course, the candidate should have the most important abilities for that particular position.
However, when it comes to some skills that aren’t as necessary, their personality should take precedent. If you feel that someone’s character is a good fit for the position, team, and company, then this is a good sign.
Enthusiasm for Learning
If a candidate doesn’t have all the skills that you need but does check all the personality boxes, then they need to be eager to learn. In fact, even if they do have all the attributes that you require, a thirst for knowledge is always vital.
Remember, a startup is constantly growing, which means that employees need to take on new tasks and roles. This will only be truly possible if the person that you are hiring is capable of learning new things. More importantly, they should be interested in searching out solutions and new information for themselves.
Self-Motivation and Creativity
As the owner of a startup, you will not have too much time for handholding. This is precisely why you should look for workers that are able to motivate themselves. They should take pride in what they are doing and want to better themselves.
On a similar note, these individuals should also possess the ability to think outside the box. In order for your startup to grow quickly and efficiently, you will need employees who are willing to test out new and unchartered avenues.
Ability to Cooperate
It is unfortunate but some of the most intelligent and talented individuals simply can’t get along with others. As you can imagine, it makes little sense to have such a person on your team. One of the key components of growth and success is a team’s ability to communicate and cooperate with one another. Therefore, look for people who are able to work with others well.
Dependability and Integrity
Last but certainly not least, the person should have a moral compass. This is both in terms of loyalty to the company as well as business integrity. Keep in mind, every person you hire will be a representative of your company. So, if you want people to know that you run a company that is above board, then you should first hire people who have high standards.
Vet the Candidates
A problem that many employers have had is that soon after hiring the perfect candidate, something changes. Either new information about the person comes to light or they begin to behave in a completely different way. Thus, all your hard work will have been for naught.
Now, if this is something you want to avoid at all costs, then you need to vet your potential employees. Sure, this step may be time-consuming but it will end up paying off in the future. So, let’s take a look at what you need to do and know when searching for information:
Speak to Previous Employers
One of the simplest ways to check up on a potential employee is to speak to their previous employers. This is why you should always ask for contact details from the person you want to hire. By speaking to former employers, you will get a better idea of what that individual’s strengths, weaknesses, and work ethic is like.
Verify Qualifications
Let’s face it, you will automatically accept most people’s qualifications at face value. As a result, most candidates presume that their potential employer will not actually check out their academic accreditations. To avoid getting tricked, always verify any qualifications that have been mentioned.
Run a Background Check
Fortunately for you, running a background check is easier than ever before thanks to people lookup sites. Use one of these services and you should be able to have access to any and all public records related to the individual.
Now, when running a background check, be careful about toeing the line. While you have the right to access public records about someone, the same can’t be said for private records.
So, make sure that you don’t cross any boundaries.
Check Social Media Accounts
People tend to be less filtered (figuratively speaking) when it comes to their social media accounts. Therefore, they may readily share unpopular opinions, habits, and more on these platforms.
So, if your company adheres to a strict moral code, it may be worthwhile to go through old tweets and posts. You may just dig up something that may change your mind about a candidate.
As you can imagine, social media accounts can be tricky waters to tread. On the one hand, it can offer you a greater boon of information. At the same time, you will learn a bit more about your candidate than you need to.
So, if you do decide to go this route, only look for information that is relevant to the candidate’s position within the company.
You will need to ignore all other content. If this isn’t something you think you can do, then avoid this step.
This concludes the list of strategies you should consider when hiring for your startup business. Hopefully, these tactics will enable you to hire the best possible people for the position as well as for your company.
