Hiring your first employee is an important step. This is the first person you’re letting into your closely guarded domain and exposing to the inner workings of your startup, fueled by your passions – however organized, chaotic, or quixotic they may be.
Avoid stumbling out of the starting gate. Here’s how to hire your first employee.
Create a compelling job description
Before dwelling on how to hire an employee, think about where your business is today and where you want it to be tomorrow, and a year from now, says Bryan Janeczko, founder of Wicked Start, an online portal for budding entrepreneurs. Even if you’re not consciously thinking of “tomorrow,” you expect to go somewhere, or you wouldn’t be hiring someone. Determine how you expect this first hire will fit into your strategy. Whether the role is an administrative assistant, an operations director, or a sales manager, this person will be your partner in building your business.
Give some serious thought to the kind of talents needed for the open position. Will the person need to create order out of chaos? Remain calm and cheerful when faced with angry clients or customers? Be able to analyze situations quickly and turn on a dime? Write down a few of the necessities for the position, remembering that if you can find the person with the talent, the training you provide will produce a much more valuable employee, explains Sue Thompson, a business consultant and coach with Set Free Life Seminars.
To stand out from other ads and attract top talent, start your description with why your business is so amazing, why you started it, and why you need to make this critical hire. Then, write the job duties and responsibilities followed by requirements, such as educational experience.
Turn to trusted hiring sources
Posting your job is an important part of the hiring process. Casting too wide a net will yield lots of noise and wasted energy. Reach out to trusted friends and business associates first. Consider paid postings in industry journals, resumes from Monster.com, Yahoo!Hot Jobs, advertising on craigslist.org, among others. If you still haven’t found your gem, you can hire a recruiter, though it won’t be cheap (25 percent or more of the first year’s salary!), it can help you your first time around.
Avoid legal minefields
Once you’ve rounded up promising candidates and are ready to start the interviewing process, legal issues abound. Ideally, the employment application form has been reviewed by your legal counsel to assure it passes legal muster, says Philip Mortensen, a partner with the law firm of Barton Barton & Plotkin. Whether on the application itself or during the interview, a general rule of thumb is that the employer (you!) may not ask any questions the answer to which might reveal the protected class (age, religion, sexuality, etc.) of the applicant.
For example, consider possible age discrimination. The employer cannot ask the applicant’s age, but the employer is also forbidden to ask questions that might reveal the applicant’s age. Tread lightly; asking what years someone attended various schools could reveal an age range.
If a candidate starts talking about things like ethnicity, religion, age, and disabilities, don’t ask specific questions about those elements, says Catherine LeBlanc, a recruiter with Spherion Staffing Services.
It’s probably a good idea to consult legal counsel to develop a series of standardized questions. See what resources your state has. For example, the New York Pre-Employment Inquiry Guide published by the New York State Division of Human Rights spells out what an employer can review with a candidate, as well as permissible and impermissible forms of questions.
You don’t have to be shy about asking certain things. LeBlanc says,
You do want to be sure the applicant is eligible to work legally in the United States. You can ask about their last position, reasons for leaving, reliable transportation, salary expectations … have they ever been convicted of a felony? …Say that the position requires X, are you able to perform the duties?
Make sure the person is a “fit”
Although some people focus on whether or not they “connect” with a candidate, it’s imperative to remember this person is here to do the job you outlined in your description, and ultimately help build your business. You are not seeking a new best friend. Stay objective. Have an advisor or mentor interview the candidate as well, suggests Janeczko.
Craft some questions for your interviewees that require a specific answer to the kind of talent you need. For instance, if you need a receptionist who is unflappable, professional, and smart, ask candidates to describe a time when they had to deal with an irate visitor, suggests Thompson. If you need an assistant who you want to manage your entire life, ask candidates to explain a previous position or situation where they did the type of tasks you describe.
“They should respond immediately with an example that satisfies you. Don’t let answers such as ‘Oh, I do that all the time,’ or ‘I did that frequently at XYZ Company.’ The folks with the talent love to tell you how they worked things out, and they’ll provide you with information. Choose from these candidates,” says Thompson.
She adds, “Know that a candidate doesn’t necessarily have to have the perfect resume and background – seek the talent. All the other stuff will come with training and on-the-job training.”