7 Essential Hiring Tips for Startups

The world of startup companies – unpredictable, flexible, thrilling, evolving, and gratifying.

Offering plenty of possibilities, it’s no wonder so many candidates are eyeing opportunities in the industry – recognizing a startup’s merit, placing trust in its passion and mission, and welcoming probable risks.

The initial stages of hiring can be challenging, but as we well know, the people in a company are its core foundation to success, perhaps more so for startup companies.

Hire Someone When the Need Comes  

Nathaniel Koloc, co-founder and CEO of ReWork, a mission-driven talent firm recommends startup founders to put away their reluctance of hiring just because they can’t entirely afford it.

An additional mind, hands and legwork that another person provides will be worth it given the right candidate. The rewards of hiring talent when the need arises will outweigh the costs of low-quality output that comes when employees are overstretched.

Hire Purposely While Looking for Potential

For startups, hiring is not just simply filling another position; every candidate it takes in will play a significant role in building the culture and future of the company. Can they align well with the startup’s ideas and missions?

Years of experience, graduate degrees and track records are not everything; an efficient hiring manager, knowing the clear purpose of where the company would like to be, will be able to make the first few hires successful.

It is also important to spot and tap into the underlying potential of a candidate – namely their potential to acquire and utilize skills, their potential leadership qualities, and their potential to grow with the company.

At the same time, take into account notable achievements from the past to evidence that a candidate can walk the talk.

Attitude Will Identify the Cultural Fit

A startup is a good place of learning. When the company is relatively small, it’s easier to instill new skills into employees. But while a good set of skills is noteworthy to begin with, there are also things that can’t be learned such as attitude and work ethics.

As motivation and willingness cannot be taught, a candidate’s attitude will decide whether they have the ability to make a productive work dynamic with different personalities in the workplace.

To do this, have all key people interview the best candidate using behavioral interviews alongside the standard kinds.

While knowledge is important, focus as well on personality, determination and emotional intelligence. Candidates who are self-motivated and keen to learn will likely be a good cultural fit in a startup.

Allow Applicants to Demonstrate Skills with Little Direction

It can be easy for some applicants to display confident answers in interviews, eventually winning the hiring manager over, but what’s more important is the demonstration of their skills to know how valuable they can be.

Have applicants undergo an actual work situation where they need to complete a specific task, with only few directions to guide them. Doing so will reveal how they will navigate tasks, whether they can take initiative, and if they will go that extra mile.

Making Them Feel Vital to Your Success

It’s important to recognize that your people are dedicating their skills and effort the moment they start with you. In return, as responsible employers, you should show that you care about their development and future with the company.

Your people are the ones that drive your company forward and it’s important for them to feel to that their efforts and contributions are not only being put to use, but also that they are treated as vital parts of the company’s success.

Build an Onboarding Process

The best way to show a company’s culture and goals is to have a proper onboarding process, as well as to ensure your new hire’s first weeks flow smoothly.

A week before a new hire’s start and after preparing all the paperwork, set up their workstation and the tools and tech they need. Create an office tour, team welcome, and session to discuss the company history, goals, culture, among many others.

As a startup, no matter how young the company, it’s also important to ensure the legality of your documents for your new hires so that they know they are legally protected.

Find People Who Can Roll with the Punches

In a startup, where coming onto unpredictable circumstances in the norm, creativity and flexibility should be hand-in-hand.

Ideal candidates should have a combination of innovative thinking and high flexibility, in order to solve problems efficiently, while being adaptable enough to take on tasks that may not be within their role.

Startups need people who can demonstrate resolve. They also need the ability to take ownership of their actions and turn a vision into reality.

With limited resources and the need to be fast, flexible and innovative, it is essential to hire candidates who can truly demonstrate their ability to adapt, turn words into action, and align themselves with the culture and mission of the startup — can they walk the talk?

The post 7 Essential Hiring Tips for Startups appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/essential-hiring-tips/