3 Solid Tips for Startup Hiring Success

One of the most difficult things for a startup is to hire the right person. But why do most startups avoid spending time on quality hiring? Simply because they’re busy with many, many other things. Yes, it is a fact that you need to focus multiple things to make a startup success. And one of them is hiring. What do you do?

#1: Build Your “Employer” Brand

Not many startups have proper brand recognition. You’re new and you’re non-existent to most people, especially if you’re running in ‘stealth mode’. Yes, some startups are lucky enough to have star founders with their previous success stories backing them up. They can leverage their existing name brand to push their startups brand. But if you’re not them, then you need to build your employer brand – which is nothing but how your startup is perceived both externally and internally.

The power of a good brand goes beyond marketing/selling products. It also applies to your startup’s recruiting. Building a real brand isn’t rocket science, but it does take time. In order to build a brand you can do basic things like using a rubber address stamp to customize envelopes and business cards with your company’s logo/website address. You can customize pens for your employees and clients to write with. However, you shouldn’t limit yourself to the basics. Go beyond and be active, authentic and communicative to create a strong brand that potential employees can connect with.

#2: Recruit Constantly

One thing that you should understand as a startup entrepreneur is that if you’re not going to recruit constantly, you will fail. You along with your team should always be looking for fresh new talent. After all, you want to be in the position to hire top talent when it shows up on your door. The more you focus on this one factor, the better it is for your startup.

Now, this certainly doesn’t mean that you have to keep spending gobs of money regularly or have recruiters on retainer. Just make sure you have the word out there that you’re “looking”. Your website should be informative and as well as interesting to keep readers engaged. See to it that you are marketing open positions to your talent pool regularly. Find more about recruiting options and agencies as they can help you market your positions.

#3: Focus on Cultural Fit and Personality

Startups thrive and survive only when they have the right people backing them. The quality of the team of people behind a startup determines how far it is going to go. This is why you should hire only those people who fit in your startup culturally. Things such as “lack of experience” can be overcome with time, but how do you fix poor team spirit and broken culture?

Hiring one person who doesn’t go with the culture and doesn’t have the right personality for your startup can derail everything. In order to hire the right person, get everybody involved in the hiring process. The more people involved, the more clarity you will have. This is one factor that you should never compromise on.

In conclusion, creating a successful startup depends on how much you focus on creating a great team. The above hiring tips are only the tip of the iceberg, which is why you should keep experimenting and learning as you move forward to keep hiring the best people for your startup.

Article contributed by Jenna Smith