One of the most stressful roles for most entrepreneurs is that of
Employer. Finding the right people with the right skills,
personality, and attitude is a challenge, to say the least. The
hiring process provides some opportunities to sift through the
candidates, but only if you know what you are looking for and how
to find it.

Before the hiring process begins, it is critical to define
exactly what you are looking for in a new employee. General work
responsibilities should obviously be defined in each job
description, along with any specific skills or experience
necessary to successfully fill the position. Writing job
descriptions for each staff position should be completed prior to
recruiting as this will help you target your help-wanted
marketing effectively. In addition, consider the personality
traits that will best fit in with the culture your company has
developed. New hires do not need to be just like everyone else,
but should be able to fit in and complement the staff you already
have.

The resumes and applications that come in are your first line of
evaluation. Some employers elect to use a checksheet, comparing
the resume information against the experience required in the job
description and selecting those with the highest score. Unless
the job requires identical experience, this is not the best way
to find the right employee. Instead, look for evidence of the
fundamental skills the job requires rather than someone who has
done exactly the same thing. For example, if you are seeking a
worker to sell widgets, the sales experience is far more
important than widget knowledge. A talented salesperson can sell
ice to Eskimos, so don’t reject a resume simply because they are
new to your particular industry. If the resume includes a cover
letter, read it. It is common for employers to overlook the cover
letter, but they can reveal quite a bit about a potential worker.
Misspellings or poor grammar may indicate a lack of attention to
detail…if they won’t put forth their best work on trying to
get the job, they aren’t likely to give much more once they are
hired.

Once the resumes are narrowed down to a few qualified candidates,
the next step is the dreaded interview. Interviews are tough from
either side of the desk. Both parties have a lot at stake and
both are trying to leave a good impression. Your questions should
be developed before you begin interviewing candidates. Only
include questions that are designed to elicit specific
information related to the job you are hiring for. Keep in mind
that the candidates are going to be slightly more anxious and
slightly more serious than normal, so don’t expect the responses
you see in the interview to be the final answer on that
candidate. Try to be creative in finding out what you need to
know, but don’t subject your interviewees to ridiculous
“tests” to see how they handle a situation. There was a recent
trend of leaving candidates alone in an office for a long time,
or staging catastrophes, or asking silly “what three items would
you want if you were stranded” questions that were supposed to
reveal some deep dark evidence about the candidates’ personality
or character. These methods are not only ineffective, but lack
integrity. Ask what you need to know and try to elicit a
conversational tone to the interview. Both parties will be more
comfortable and you are far more likely to see the “real”
person on the other side of the desk.

If the position you are filling includes any specific job
requirements that can be easily tested, consider requesting
samples of work from the candidate. If the job requires
communicating with customers and suppliers by email, shoot an
email to each candidate and evaluate the responses you receive.
If they will be writing ad copy, ask them to come to the
interview with ideas for improving your current marketing
campaign. If they will be joining the sales staff, ask them to
sell you an item from your desk. These methods can be very
revealing as to how the candidate gets work done and how they
will fit in with the established culture of your venture.

For example, one small business owner was looking for an IT
worker to revamp the company website. He asked each candidate to
review the website before their interview and tell him the first
three things they would do if hired. Several candidates listed
changing the image, adding content, and other basic site
alterations as their top three. One candidate said she would
spend a few days getting to know the employees, customers, and
products before suggesting any content changes because the
website should be a pure reflection of the image and culture of
the business. She got the job.

Finding the right employees for your startup is critical. They
will not only be representing your business, but they will also
be representing YOU. Never hire out of desperation. If you can’t
find the right candidate, consider hiring through a temporary
labor service to test out employees before you commit. Also,
don’t expect the perfect employee to just show up from off the
street. Keep an eye out for good employees of other businesses
and target any recruiting to the pool of people most likely to
fit with your image and culture. Most importantly, prepare
yourself for the legal and procedural issues that come with being
an employer long before you plan to hire.