Tips for Hiring Your First Employees
Who you hire makes a huge impact on company culture, reputation, and ultimately, success. That’s why it’s vital you hire the right people — especially in your small business’ early days — because it takes great people to build great organizations!
Here are 4 useful hiring tips for finding the right people to help your business grow:
#1: Know Who You Want To Be
Before you start hiring, think about where (and what) you want the company to be “when it grows up”. Then, start looking for people who can help you get there. Think of the following two buckets:
Product: If you’re building a product, what type of talent will you need to build it successfully? Answering this will help you identify the skills and experiences you absolutely need in your earliest hires.
Culture: You also need to identify what you stand for and what you aspire to be. Start by articulating your company’s core values. Once this framework is in place, it’s easier to identify applicants who not only have the skillset you desire, but also match the culture you’re looking to build.
Remember, you can teach skills, but it’s very difficult to change attitude or temperament.
#2: Job Postings Are Sales Pitches Too!
When advertising a role, try to avoid the “one size fits all” template where you simply list the desired work experience and daily responsibilities.
When you’re an up-and-coming small business, a lot of people may not know about your company just yet. Your job listings are a great opportunity to change that.
Focus on what makes you unique. Talk about your values and goals. Use exciting language and show your personality. When you properly showcase the uniqueness of your open positions and your company culture, you attract individuals who are both qualified and motivated!
#3: Create A Positive Experience — With All Candidates.
Not every person you interview will be the right fit for the role. But the way you treat them will have a lasting impact on each applicant and on your reputation as an employer.
Did a candidate show real potential, but you ended up going in a different direction? Here’s an opportunity for you to leave that door slightly open — you want them to be willing to explore other opportunities with you in the future.
If a candidate is not a good fit, then treat them in such a way that they leave you as a brand advocate and with learnings for their own journey.
Whether it’s a hard ‘no’ or a ‘not at this time’, it’s important to lead with kindness and develop goodwill with each candidate. It really is a small world and you never know which connection can have a lasting impact on you or vice versa.
#4: Hire for Potential, Not (Just) Track Record
The best way to unlock an employee’s full potential is to marry their skills and their passions. If their experience, interests, and goals align with the direction you’re looking to take your company, then you likely won’t find a better synergy.
So, if a candidate’s past success has caught your eye, don’t base your decision solely on that.
Identifying that particular blend of potential and skill set relies as much on experience as it does intuition. A few things to keep in mind are your company’s team dynamic and culture, the expertise of any existing team members, and of course, the capability gap that you’re trying to fill.
Truly Tip: Communication skills, teamwork, creativity and adaptability are easy to overlook when interviewing multiple people — but these are just as important as the practical skills required for a role.
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