THE PROCESS:
Identify each position that needs to be filled: Some could overlap, blurring the lines between a role or two but before commencing the hiring process, be sure to have these positions mapped out and ready to tick off. Ex.: sales, programming, SEO etc.
Side Note:
Consider hiring a partner: If you can overlap a couple of key positions and meld them into a role that compliments instead of satisfies, perhaps you have a partner in the making.
The benefit: A partner can provide different skills, expertise, and resources for your business that you lack, allowing your business to develop faster and more successfully than if you stayed in it alone.
The downside: Partners are liable for each other’ actions and have to agree on everything in their business for it to operate seamlessly – which is practically impossible. An incredible amount of trust is necessary in any partnership.
Connect with possible candidates: Reach out to those in (and outside of) your industry who inspire you and you can relate to. Grab coffee and chat and attend networking events with the sole intent of enriching your personal and professional networks with likeminded individuals. When the time comes, you’ll be able to dip into a pool of talented business people for recruitment, or just a referral. You might even make a friend or two.
Interview those candidates: Once the time comes to decipher whether a possible candidate is a sure one, the interview is the next step.
The Wall Street Journal highlights the importance the following parts of a successful interview:
1) Creative thinking questions based on the direction of business trends in the specific industry such as, ”what are the pitfalls ahead for our business?”
2) Problem-solving questions based on a solo or team oriented technical task.
3) Behavioral questions based on how the candidate would act in a certain, specific situation. Such as, “when you feel like management has made an unfair decision, how do you react?”
Test before sealing the deal: Never present a contract without conducting a test first. How do you know if your future employee cracks under pressure, or if they crumble within a team environment? You don’t, unless you present them with a test project first.
The hopeful result: Aside from technical qualifications and personal work ethic, the most important personality that you want to hire for is an individual driven by a passion to make a difference in the world. The candidate’s approach to success should be grounded by a macro rather than micro outlook.
All said and done, a dream startup team would be comprised of the following members:
One or more members who understand how to build technologies and systems to solve problems
One or more members who understand the human factors behind those problems, why they exist, what it takes to fix them and how to shape the experience
One or more members who understand how to reach, talk to and sell to the people whose problems are being solved – and keep finding more of them
