How Startups Should Go About Hiring New People?

Hiring new people can be a turning point for any startup founder. It also indicates that the startup is expanding and getting positive feedback. So, it is absolutely essential to find the right people who will have a positive impact on your startup, because otherwise, your entire business might be in danger.

Although this is usually a stressful, time-consuming and difficult process if done single-handedly, and without the application of certain filters, which can be crucial in finding the best possible candidates, it does not have to be so. You need to know who to look for, who not to look for, where to look, when to hire new people and how to conduct the interviews.

Who should you look for?

Hiring someone who is willing to work hard because they want to impress people, will not cut it. It is of great importance to find someone who, besides working hard, has momentum, is a kind person and a team player and gives attention to detail.

When it comes to the candidate’s knowledge, some people think people with a wide general knowledge are good candidates, while others think that people who specialize in one particular field are better. Actually, it would be better to hire someone with a wide knowledge in a variety of areas, and with deep knowledge of one particular area. You will have to act fast and beat your competition ,if you want to find such candidates.

Of course, young  talent comes with a price, but it is also a smart investment which you should make, even though your business is still a startup.

Who not to look for?

Having unsuitable employees in your startup, may slowly lead to its end. It is important to know who is who so that you can react accordingly and replace them with a better candidate, if possible.

You do not need someone who only knows how to lead a large group by giving orders. Instead, you need people who can come up with ideas and implement them quickly.

People who are only interested in money are bad for startups, because if the money does not come in fast they will lose their passion for the job. They need to be passionate in order to persevere and stay motivated until success comes.

The optimal way of building a team is to hire people with diverse skills, philosophies and backgrounds. Such a team will be exceptionally productive because of the mix of different ideas and opinions.

How and Where to look?

In order to target the right candidates, your job description needs to be intelligible and detailed. You should not include certain requirement in the job description because they are implied, such as “capable of meeting deadlines”.

You want to include particular requirements so that you can get a small list of candidates who are more than qualified. Also, you should describe your startup’s surroundings,  goals, benefits and anything that applicants could find impressive.

The best choice for posting your job opening are sites made particularly for start up jobs (Angel List, Underdog.io, VentureLoop). If you want to contact people yourself, you can use social media or online community sites which are full of talented, young people (GitHub, Slack, Behance etc.).

When to hire?

If you want to postpone hiring someone new to save some money you can give your employees more to do. But you will actually lose money if the quality of work drops, if your employees start to work slower to maintain quality, or if you find a new source of income but you do not have the workforce to handle it.  It can also be a problem if you require knowledge and skills that no one in your team currently possesses.  

How to conduct interviews?

To make interview last as short as possible you need to first screen applications, to filter out unsuitable candidates. Next, you can call people via Skype or phone or, hold in- person interviews. You should tell them why your startup is a good option for them and ask them why they want this job.

Some other things you can do are to include your entire team in this process, meet candidates in a social context or give them a trial task or a project.

Bad Leaders

Setting a good example, as a person in charge is critical for team chemistry. A boss just gives orders and depends on authority, while a leader generates enthusiasm, develops his employees and takes actions to show them how things should be done. A good leader listens to his employees and takes their ideas into consideration.

It is a process

It takes an enormous amount of time and effort to find the right people for your startup. But, it is worth the hassle, because such people will help you fulfill your startup’s full potential.

from Feedster http://www.feedster.com/blog/marcusjensen/how-startups-should-go-about-hiring-new-people/