How to Hire for a

Start-up?

When to hire?

⧫ When you need smarter people than you for specific tasks.⧫ When you have resources to afford that.

Depends on the Urgency of Hiring❖ Urgent/ Quick Hiring

⧫ Pros:● Dont need to invest too much● You know the urgent need and can hire according to that.

⧫ Cons:● High percentage of getting wrong candidate● Have to select more candidates than needed

On urgency of Hiring❖ Not so Urgent ones:

⧫ Pros:● You can actually test the candidate pretty well before● Campus placement may be a very good option

⧫ Cons:● You need to have a view of at least more than a year on how your

company will be like after 1 year● Require more resources

Attracting a potential Hire

Why should they work for a startup over any other established firm?

Marketing your startup to potential hires.

Sell what you already have

Sell Credentials and growth● Credentials of founding team● Credentials of early employees● Growth of early employees● Company Growth

Work culture● Sell freedom and flexibility of

work● Flexible work timings● No steadfast office rules● Freedom to define your work● Lack of Hierarchy

Appreciation of workSell direct impact and recognition of work

● Always aware of the big picture and not just modular work

● Direct interaction with users and customers irrespective of any role

● There is no small cog in a big machine; you are the cog and you are the machine

Ok, This is great.But How do I take these points to the right people?

Make some noise before hiring● Online promotions and engagements● Contribute to online media in your area of

expertise● Establish thought leadership through

surveys, infographics and blog posts.● Conducts webinars and hangouts in your

area of expertise● Network or sponsor at relevant offline events

Encourage Referrals

Know thy enemy

● Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing.● See if you can do it better.

● Personal Networks● Alumnus-College● Past employees● Extended networks

Now I have got 100s of applications.

I don’t have resources for this.

Creating a Task● Use a task as a filtering mechanism● Make sure the task is relevant to everyday operations of your company● Make the task as specific to the job description as possible

Note: This is a good filtering mechanism as most people do not take the task seriously.

Interviewing● Make a panel of 3 people● Judge candidates between a strong no, a weak no, a weak yes

and a strong yes.● Keep a criteria like- No strong No’s and at least two strong Yes’s

Note: The parameters can vary based on your requirements and preferences.

Remember to make a good impression as a good candidate will always have other good options as well.

How to Hold Someone After Hiring● It takes time to get used to the culture of a

company● Don’t accept mediocrity. It sets a bad

influence on the growth of a firm.● Openly appreciate good work.

Parting Notes● Hiring is easier with a good network● Go to as many networking events as possible and try speaking at some of

them● First few members should not be freshers● Hire fast and fire faster