So you founded a start-up. Congrats!
Now it's time to hit the stack of resumes.
A new era of tech events began
We're back in New York in November for the 4th edition of our technology event focused on growth.
You might think that you have better things to do as a founder, as raising funds, securing partnerships, and generally be the face of the company . But your job number is to build a successful business, and you do it by hiring the right people.
It can be intimidating. How do you know which are the right people? What if you hire the wrong people?
Some of these questions, you will know how to deal with, but other answers just have to come with experience. As someone who has lived before, I can shed light on some of the things you will likely encounter.
This is what I learned to build our team PolicyGenius.
Getting started will be difficult
No other party to found a start-up is easy, then why hiring be?
When you start you will not have an established reputation for working with. A huge customer base, growing from month to month income, celebrity endorsements - all those who will come later ... Well, except maybe celebrities
. 
But even if you do not have a road map, you have something to sell: a vision. And the kind of person you are looking for is someone who can see the big picture and look beyond where the company is now to where you'll be. It might be a struggle to get people on board, but the ones you end up with will generally those you want anyway.
While you are going through this difficult battle, you might be tempted to rush through the hiring process. The average time to hire a new employee is about 23 days, according to Glassdoor. This seems like a lifetime.
You will not be blamed for wanting to cut some corners - and between the telephone interviews, in person interviews, the challenges of the interview, and finally extending an offer, you end up with a lot turns to cut - but are not.
I know there is work to do and you need someone to do it. Sometimes it will feel like you need someone to do it. But resist that temptation. It will cost more money, productivity, and stress of hiring the wrong person, let them go, then go through the whole process of 23 days again.
Have a plan - but improvise
Like many Mike Tyson said :.
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face
Although there is not much pearls of wisdom you should take at face value Mr. Tyson, and I hope your startup experience will be a little less violent, it is good advice to take for your business in general and employment in particular.
You have a good idea of the immediate needs of your business. You know what you need to complete the first, say, six to twelve months to ensure you create momentum and stay on your path.
If you are lucky, you will come across excellent candidates for these positions. And if you are really lucky, you come across someone who is a strong candidate for a position ... you have not done.
But value is value, and if someone special can bring value, it is good to rotate and bring them on board - especially if they are an all-around athlete "rather than a player in position of responsibility.
When you are looking for candidates, do not miss the opportunity to use the good press for your recruiting efforts. An interview of coverage or new can shine much light on your business and attract many new candidates, and get good placement in publications can make all the difference in the type of people who ask. TechCrunch has a different audience from Business Insider, so be aware that people you and the message you send through different outlets located.
And although it's fun to be with practice that helped your business, hire an operations people as early as possible. You want (and need) someone who thinks in talent acquisition, development, HR policy, organizational best practices and culture all day, every day.
Some people will tell you that you only need that person after a certain size (such as 50 or 100 employees). I say this bad advice.
Do you want to establish your culture and expectations in a timely manner? Why would not you want the best practices in place soon to help make your current employees and attracting new even easier? If you get this wrong from the beginning, it's incredibly difficult to course correct later. Do not believe me? Just ask the management to Zenefits team.
tough love is your friend
Startups are like family, and you're mean to your brothers and sisters, we must not be afraid to take your potential employees, too. Ok, maybe not go that far, but do not go easy on them during the interview process.
You may be picky, and be hard on someone advance will save you having to be hard on them later if things do not work.
In addition to someone with the right skills, you need to find the right type of person for your business. This seems obvious, but someone who is good for a large company does not necessarily have the same qualities you are looking for a start.
It takes a different kind of motivation for someone to work in a small business without the safety nets that large companies, and they need to deal with ambiguity, volatility and uncertainty that has just been to a startup.
You can save yourself a lot of time asking what kinds of candidates looking companies. If they are not committed to start grinding from the start, you may ignore their motivation and expectation and hiring a bad fit.
One thing I learned from my experience recruiting at McKinsey is that you should not just go through a list and check boxes. This leaves you with someone who is perfectly adequate for a number of things but not great at anything. What you need is someone who is exceptional in at least one thing -. Someone who has a peak in a quality or skill
So how do you know where this peak is? Test them.
Ask prepare products work or plan of 100 days to their position. Sit them for a problem-solving session or, better yet, a case of maintenance - a favorite with McKinsey -. To see how they react to a scenario of real life
More important than the results is that someone how they achieve them, and these types of interviews really dig into it. Applicants are able to apply their skills in problem solving on display and highlight the what, how, and why of their past contributions. That's what makes these difficult conversations, but, ultimately, valuable.
The downside to hiring, of course, shooting, and that will be inevitable. You will make mistakes and hire people who are bad fit. If you find that to be the case, it is not good for both parties to put out separate ways.
as a dressing or a break, do it quickly. If you do not do it sooner than later, it could have a real impact on employees who should be there: morale, productivity, and take a hit. Moreover, it is not right for someone to be employed at a location where they will not be successful.
Use the resources that are available for you
Even if you are the founder of a startup, this is not where your story begins. You had this experience before, so use them to make your current turn as smooth as possible.
Believe me, you will find bumpy spots pretty easily. Recruitment does not need to be one of them.
If you have previous recruitment experience, interviews, or even make the final decision that are committed, take what you've learned and run with it.
Similarly, networks are invaluable references . They are your best sources for candidates, especially early and valuable to senior positions.
Think of the amount of work that cuts: If people you trust can vouch for the competence of a candidate, the work ethic, and so on, they are already verified. You can skip the examination of the formalities of a resume or a telephone interview introduction and get to the meat of what they can do for you.
must also take a board game and book page reference all your key hiring decisions .
what your competitors are doing in terms of titles and salaries? How companies you admire describe the roles you are trying to hire? If you need to hire a specific role - for example, the head of Widgets - Widgets go talk to managers to other companies so that you know what good looks (and, more importantly, it looks great) . Ask the chefs of Widgets you meet if people like them, they can see (and maybe they'll even join instead!).
Finally, hit the books . Many people who are better at hiring you shared their experiences, so read on what works and what does not. There are two in particular that I recommend.
- Who: Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street: It covers the nuts and bolts of hiring types of interviews you need to perform, how to define your mission and results so that candidates know what to expect and how best to judge candidates on their measurable performance -. the results compared to the dynamic activities I mentioned
- dressed to perform by Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor: It focuses on the things that feel more nebulous in the workplace - your organization, determination of culture fit, motivate your employees, and so on. These books form a pretty good one-two punch to the extent that setting expectations for what the hiring process should look like.
hiring for your own business is difficult to get the right time and the stakes are high. However, the gain is that when you do get it right, it is the most satisfying feeling you'll like founder.
My proudest moments one of the founders have nothing to do with fundraising or get press coverage or launching a product. These moments do not even make the top five for me.
My best moments all have to do with my employees: trainee who sweated and fogged his glasses during an interview on a brutally hot summer day that has since blossomed into a star contributor. The employee who just told me in his year-end review that this is the best job he's ever had. The employee who, in his first week, triple the bandwidth of his team.
This is why all the efforts you put in hiring are worth.