How to Hire the Right Employee for your Startup?

As a startup founder, one of the most important decisions you will make is who you hire. Your first employees will be cornerstones of your business success and they will also define your company culture. One of the most important challenges for startup founders is the fact that most of them don’t have the resources for a Human Resources department, so they have tot do it by themselves. If this is your case, how to make the right call? Here are some useful tips.

Do your due diligence

You don’t want to face fraud to learn that your perfect new accountant had a felony record. Due diligence is one of the most important steps of the hiring process. You need to have all the information that you can get before choosing someone to work for your startup. Invest in an employee background check. Call all their references, or ask for more if you feel you need more answers. Research how they have conducted themselves when leaving a position, and if they are currently employed, ask them how they plan to ease the transition for their current company.

Don’t Hire Yourself

A common bias when hiring a startup employee is to choose the candidate that is most like you. This is a big mistake for many reasons. First, you don’t need someone who has the same skills as yourself. A startup needs a diversity of backgrounds and styles, and duplicating the ones that you already have is a waste of money. Having a clear job description is a good way to avoid this. Understand your reasons for hiring and look for the candidate that’s going to solve your problems.

While you want to make an unbiased hire, it is very important to consider if your candidate will be a good fit for your company culture. A good way to ensure that you don’t make a biased hire is to have other people interview your candidates after you. Co-founders and board members are the best way to go, but if you don’t have them, other members of your team or even your clients are excellent alternatives.

Don’t Hire the First Person You Interview

While you may feel pressured to fill out the position, hiring your first interviewee is a big mistake, even if they seem perfect. For a major role in your startup, you need an initial pool of at least ten candidates and interview ALL of them before making a final decision. There are a lot of reasons why this is recommended. Startups face fierce competition for talent, and your perfect candidate may have a better offer, which will force you to start all over.

Look for a Balance Between Skills, Experience, and Potential

Hiring someone just because they claim to be fast learners is a huge mistake. You want to hire a candidate who is a fast learner, but also has the skills to get the job done. Understand the learning curve for the position you are trying to fill and look for someone who will be able to give you results fast. The best way to know if someone will be able to meet the demands of the position is to design a set of tests. These can entail asking them how they would solve a particular problem to a detailed plan of their goals for their first year in the position if they are employed. Think about the challenges that you are facing and try to find a way to determine if they are the best people to face them with you. Experience in a fast-paced, startup environment is a key characteristic that you should be looking for. While experienced candidates may expect higher pay, you can always negotiate equity in your company in exchange for starting at a lower rate.