Is the growth of your startup so exponential that the workload is almost killing you? To maintain optimum levels of output, you need new employees. Like most employers, identifying the perfect employee is a mind-boggling quest.
An employee with impeccable educational qualifications is great. However, as a startup, you need more than that. A good employee tracks current trends in the marketing world to fast-track growth. This is irrespective of whether this falls in their field of study or not; simply put, they should be flexible. Here are some of the things to look for when searching for the perfect employee:
Relevant skills
A common reason startups fail is because they hire people to learn on the job. As an employer, you may jump at the chance to hire a “fast learner” since they will cost less in terms of salary. However, the consequences can be dire, since you will have to dedicate your time to teaching them the ropes of the business. This time could be allocated to other income-generating activities.
You will also have to contend with failures before the employee gains relevant experience. In the end, the positives of hiring an experienced employee over a “fast learner” are greater.
Drive
A popular feature on prospective employee’s CV is “self-driven.” Having it written on the CV is great, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t deliver on the promise. Your ideal candidate should be able to embrace challenging goals with a positive attitude. On top of that, they should be able to exceed the targets you set for them.
You should question your applicants on their previous achievements, how they achieved them and what sacrifices they had to make. Answers to these questions will give you insight into their character.
Demonstration
The Internet is both a blessing and a curse for hiring employers. It’s a blessing because you can get information out to loads of people, thereby guaranteeing a wide pool of people to choose from.
On the other hand, it can be a curse, since unqualified applicants can cheat their way to giving perfect answers. In short, prospective employees can fake their way to a job. In order to prevent this, you can create a task for the employees to perform. The test will be done once the candidate has passed the preliminary requirements. You will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff once this is done.
Flexibility
Chances are your new employee will have to do work outside his job description. An ideal candidate for your company should have a flexible character. The employee should be ready to work odd hours to fulfill the company’s goals and ambitions.
On top of that, your candidate should fully embrace the company and treat it like his own. It is, therefore, important to gauge your candidates’ characters and identify the ones who fit the bill. Flexibility goes hand-in-hand with reliability. A candidate with these two characteristics will be a match made in heaven for your business.
