Apart from a good product-market-fit employees and recruitment are the lifeblood of startups.
But recruitment can often be a tricky process to nail.
Increasing applicant volumes, flooded mailboxes and crowded schedules stakes can easily overcomplicate the process for founders and the hiring managers.
I have taken the time to list the common pitfalls and some practical suggestions on how to avoid them in your next recruitment process!
Founders and startup leaders are already juggling many tasks, from managing operations to pitching to investors.
Your time is incredibly valuable, and getting caught in a lengthy recruitment process can be a major drain on resources.
Luckily, a bit of planning and help from the right tools can get you a long way in ensuring that your next recruitment process won’t break your back... or your bank.
First of all, get your act together with a clear and structured process.
Create a simple, repeatable framework for how you approach hiring – from writing job descriptions to interviewing.
Think of your hiring process as a checklist. ✅
By outlining the process upfront, you’ll save time and keep things moving forward.
Digital tools can also be a great addition to your setup by streamlining and improving processes for you and your applicants.
Even if you don’t have an HR team or a large applicant tracking system, you can still benefit from digital tools.
My recommendation is to look for pay-for-use solutions that let you pay for the value created rather than access to a platform you might only use from time to time.
On the flip side, rushing the hiring process can lead to hasty decisions.
A bad hire can cost your company morale, momentum and ultimately money. 🚨
According to a study from Danish Consultancy Azets, the cost of a miss-hire can be as high as 75-150%1 of the annual salary for the given employee.
So, take the time to evaluate candidates properly and allow enough time for a good number of applicants to respond to your job post – it’s worth it in the long run. ⏳
A good job post is more than a simple job description and a list of desired qualifications.
It’s your chance to attract the right talent and set expectations for the role. Be inclusive and informative.
Remember, clarity is key. If candidates know exactly what you’re looking for, you’ll spend less time sorting through irrelevant applications.
Plus, a well-crafted job post can help you stand out from the competition as the job sites are flooded with AI written job descriptions these days.
When you are pressed on time you can often feel tempted to outsource recruitment to third parties.
While external recruiters can be helpful, they’re also expensive.
Unless you’re looking to poach experienced managers or specialists, you may be better off handling the process in-house.
For roles where the right candidate can be found among inbound applicants, digital tools can often deliver the same value as external recruiters, at a fraction of the cost.
We’ve all heard it: "Hire for cultural fit!"
But beware of overemphasizing this. If everyone in your company thinks the same way, you may risk creating an echo chamber.
That said, cultural fit is still very important. A brilliant hire who clashes with your company values or team dynamics can undermine your culture and destroy productivity.
It’s about striking the right balance.
Look for candidates who align with your mission but also bring something fresh to the table in terms of personality, skills or background.
Another common mistake when evaluating candidates is over emphasising on the positives and overlooking red flags. 🟩 🤔 🟥
Hiring is too important to let optimism cloud your judgment. If a candidate’s weaknesses could cause significant issues down the line, pay attention to those concerns.
Sometimes the reasons not to hire someone are more telling than the reasons to say yes. ⚖️
You shouldn’t base your hiring on salary expectations, but salary discussions shouldn’t always be pushed until the very end.
Especially for startups with limited funds, it can be crucial to paint a clear picture of the compensation that you can offer as well as how it may develop over time.
Be transparent about growth opportunities, future raises, warrant programmes and other benefits.
Being upfront about compensation builds trust and helps you avoid the unfortunate situation of a candidate withdrawing their interest in the last second due to a mismatch between salary expectationsand reality.
Employer branding isn’t just about having an up-to-date LinkedIn profile or a cool office.
It’s about being consistent, transparent and authentic when telling the story of your company and employees.
According to LinkedIn, companies with strong employer brands see a 50%2 reduction in cost-per-hire.
The short-term effects may be harder too spot, but it’s a long-term play and should not be treated as a one-time event triggered when you publish an open job position.
I am no expert on how to strategically work with employer branding, but I think the guys at Hume Agency may have cracked the code. I highly recommend checking out their blog on 10 Steps to Building a Successful Employer Branding Strategy, and give them a follow on LinkedIn.
Imagine applying for a job and having no idea what comes next.
It’s frustrating.
Yet when scanning position on ‘the hub’ only 15-20% of posts include a detailed outline of the recruitment process (no, writing you will be conducting interviews is not sufficient).
If you’ve followed my first advice and created a clear plan for yourself, why not share it?
Transparency not only builds trust but also saves you time spent answering the same questions from applicants. 🕒
You’ve found the perfect hire – now what? Without a structured onboarding process, you risk losing them early.
A Gallup report found that only 12%3 of employees believe their employer did a great job onboarding them. And in a startup which is often lacking structured processes it can be especially important to pay attention to this stage.
A good onboarding process is complicated and probably should be the subject for another blog post.
But until then I recommend checking out Learningbank for some inspiration on how you can gamify your onboarding. 🚀
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Recruiting as a startup doesn’t have to be a headache. By avoiding some of these common pitfalls, you may experience that you have more success in finding the right match for your team!
[1] https://www.azets.dk/blog/rekruttering-hvad-koster-det-at-ansaette/
[2] https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_us/c/pdfs/ultimate-list-of-employer-brand-stats.pdf
[3] https://www.gallup.com/workplace/235121/why-onboarding-experience-key-retention.aspx
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