Hiring your first employees is an initial step to put your business on the road to successful growth. It can be an interesting experience as well as a great responsibility for you as a business owner. Taking the time to make some preparations will help you avoid most mistakes.
Simple Keys to Hiring Your First Employees
- Define what you want
When your business is young, it may be reasonable to look for ambitions and commitment in a candidate rather than huge experience and proficiency. Write down beforehand the most important points you expect to figure out during the interview.
- Make up clever questions
You can find the answers to the most of the typical interview questions in the contender’s resume. So why don’t you spend the time to find out something new? Think of the challenging questions that will show different sides of your potential employee’s nature and abilities.
- Know what you can offer
Being clear about what you can suggest to the contenders will make you feel more confident around them. Take your time to reflect upon the benefits of working with you and think up the ways to present them nicely. For instance, you can emphasize that it’s a chance to participate in the company’s success and make a difference.
- Consider personality
Some of the applicants may look like a perfect fit having the right experience and skills. However, you should trust what you feel and proceed to the second stage of the interview only if you’re comfortable with the candidate as a person. If you already have some staff members, you may want to invite them as well since they’re going to work with this person every day too.
- Ask for references
When you’ve decided on the candidate you want to hire, it’s important to ask for the references. Making a few calls after the interview to check them out won’t take a lot of your time but will save you money and effort in future.
- Prepare to say no
Learning to say no is one of the necessary skills in the business world. When being too polite to refuse and giving second chances, you are in danger of ruining your company entirely.
Few Useful Suggestions
- Consider the options
Ask yourself if you need to hire someone at all. Having a complete team is a right direction to move on, but it may be troublesome at early stages. As a reasonable alternative, you can turn to freelancers’ help as they can do the same job but don’t need to be paid a full salary.
- Ask for advice
If you’re still firm about your decision to find the employees, addressing your friends who may have some connections will be an excellent idea. People know people who know other people so you should check for the personal references from someone you trust and respect.