No matter what kind of startup you’re running, you need to assemble a team that’s going to help you succeed. However, finding talent your startup needs is never going to be easy. In fact, the only way you’ll be able to do it is by putting a lot of effort into identifying the right candidates for your startup. Luckily, with the technology available, assembling a good team is now much easier than it was before. And to help you succeed in your mission, we came up with a couple of tips that should help you pick the best talent for your startup.
Find People who Fit your Culture
One of the biggest reasons why companies fail to find the right talent is because they don’t hire candidates who fit their culture. Still, defining your culture may not always be easy, so make sure you do it before you start interviewing candidates. For example, maybe you have a cool atmosphere and focus on hiring go-getters for your business. Or maybe you need someone who has the right mindset to do repetitive tasks on a daily basis. Of course, besides making sure candidates fit your company’s culture, it’s also up to you to create a good atmosphere for them to work in.
Use Social Media
It’s safe to say that we’re living in the golden age of social media and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t turn to some of the most popular platforms right now when choosing talent for your startup. With platforms like LinkedIn, you can easily check whether everything on a candidate’s CV is true. Also, if you think none of the candidates can aid your business, some scouting on LinkedIn could help you find someone who can. Other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can help you get a good idea about a candidate’s personality.
Don’t Hire your Friends
When starting your own company, the idea of hiring someone you know can be quite tempting. And even though having someone you know you can rely on can help your company, it’s still recommended that you avoid hiring your friends. This is the case because, if they fail to perform, you might end up having to fire them which is guaranteed to hurt your friendship. Moreover, if they fail and your business starts suffering because of their mistakes, your friendship will also suffer, no matter what. Hiring people you don’t know can help you avoid a lot of complications, both professional and personal.
Perform a Background Check
We’ve already said that you can use social media to do a background check on your candidates. However, once you’ve narrowed down your list, you might want to dig a little bit deeper. This means you should contact your candidates’ previous employers and see what they have to say about them. On top of this, it’s very important that the candidate you opt for gets a police clearance before they sign a contract with your company. Of course, giving the candidate a trial at your company is also an option.
Set Clearly-Defined Goals
Each of your employees needs to know exactly what their job is. If they start working for you without having any goals in mind, chances are they won’t try hard enough to complete them. Also, they might end up taking the job even though they simply can’t accomplish the goals you’ve set. Therefore, when interviewing the candidates, you need to take job descriptions seriously and give candidates a clear picture of what is expected from them. Recent studies in the USA and Canada have shown that a poorly written job description can scare away potential employees.
Know what Salary you can Pay
There’s no point in placing a job ad if you’re not sure what kind of salary you can afford to pay. So, this is something you need to work out before you start looking for talent. Also, bear in mind that you can’t expect to hire the perfect employee on a low salary. If you’re looking for quality, you’ll have to splash the cash or, otherwise, you’ll end up having all the candidates you like turn someplace else. Even if they end up working for you, you can always expect them to leave as soon as they get a better offer. Therefore, think about what you expect from your new employees and adjust their salaries accordingly.
With these six tips in mind, you should be able to pick the best talent for your startup. Don’t forget that hiring the right people for your startup is just the beginning. Once you’ve assembled a good team, you need to make sure your employees have the right working environment and are able to cooperate. Fail to do this and even the best talent out there won’t be able to help your company survive.
