Hiring new staff is a taxing, time consuming task with no guarantee of success. We talk to four startup founders to learn how they find the best candidate for a job.
Trying to choose a future employee in the space of a couple of short interviews is a skill honed only by considerable experience, so we talked to four startup founders to learn how they get past the well-prepared answers and perfected resumes to find out which candidate is really best for the job.
A few recurring themes were emphasised by the founders. The first was to hire a diverse team. Stray away from hiring people that are too similar to you, and remember that a diverse team equates to different perspectives and ideas, and ultimately increased innovation.
Secondly, remember that passion is essential but also analyse where that passion is stemming from—what is their motivation for wanting to work for you?
Finally, don’t ask generic questions that most candidates are already prepared for; instead ensure you pay attention to the minute details in an interview. How easily can they carry the conversation? How do they treat others when they are walking through the office? Are they interested in getting to know other team members?
Here, four founders delve into the biggest lessons they've learnt while hiring for their startups.
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Oon Tian Sern
Founder and CEO of mental health platform, Acceset
“The one thing I look for in a candidate is intrinsic motivation,” says Oon Tian Sern. Oon understands that for most young people, choosing to work at a startup comes with risks and oftentimes means a trade off when it comes to security and pay. So when a candidate shows considerable interest in joining his company, he asks himself, “What makes this person motivated?" It's easy to get initially interested in something but harder to stay motivated once the novelty wears off, he adds. It’s important to analyse: what drives this candidate? What is their underlying motivation? Will their motivations benefit the company in both the short and long term?
While passion is important to Oon, he believes it is not enough on its own. He warns that it's key to ensure your candidate also has essential skills they can bring to the role, otherwise they’ll need too much direction from others as well as considerable structure—which isn’t always going to be feasible, especially in a startup.
Hiring someone that can offer your company a different perspective is important too, Oon says. "I'm more focused on the big picture and tend to go into the non-technical details, so I always try to find someone that works differently to me, like finding that technical aspect, and therefore covering as much ground as possible."
Lastly, Oon emphasises it's not always about finding someone who is already perfect. "Instead, I look for potential. I seldom look for the finished product, because if you're coming in as a finished product then the company cannot add value to you, and then there's no reason for you to stay," he says. He is wary to hire people who are likely to leave quickly because he feels it causes poor team morale and takes time to rehire. "That's why I'd rather hire slowly and carefully than hire fast and wrong."
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