Small Business Recruitment: Hiring Your First Employees

By Hannah Whittenly

Share on: 

As a business owner, the first employees you hire could mean the success or failure of your company. You must know what type of employees to hire first, what qualities to look for and what weaknesses you have. Hiring managers across the United States still find it difficult to hire a quality work force, but using the following tips will help you find the right talent to take your company to the next level.

Use Referrals from People You Know

Friends and family members always make good judges of character. Ask around to see if anyone has a friend who is looking for a job. Tell them what type of person you're looking for and see what they come up with. If you already have one employee working for you, ask them to refer a friend or two. People always surround themselves with like-minded individuals, and if they enjoy where they work, they'll recommend someone who won't let you down.

Browse Social Media Profiles of Your Applicants

Social media can tell you a lot about the people you're considering for a job. Who they have as friends, what they post on their feeds and even their work history will let you know if a person is trustworthy or not. Using social media is also a great way to gain insight into a person's history. Verify their resume with what their social profile says to make sure the candidate is telling you the truth.

Don't Compete With Big Corporations

Small businesses often complain that they lose quality candidates to bigger corporations. This is often because larger companies offer more benefits, better pay and a more stable work environment. The best way to avoid competing with larger companies for the same employees is to avoid these candidates altogether. Focus your energy on entrepreneurial-minded individuals who thrive in a challenging environment. Starting a business from the ground up isn't for everyone, and that includes your first round of employees.

Take Security Measures

Many small businesses start off in equally small workplaces. Oftentimes, small business owners have taken little to no precautions when it comes to security by the time they start recruiting. In these cases, owners must ensure their workplace is secured once they begin building their staff. This is especially important for small businesses operating out of the owner's home. Though most employees can be trusted, important data, records and funds should be kept safe after hours, as these can make tempting targets for dishonest staff members. A specialist with Atlanta Xfinity Home Security recommends that small business owners invest in a top-notch security system, especially if they operate out of their own homes. It takes time to build a team of trustworthy employees, during which it is best to take all necessary precautions to protect your business from theft.

Listen to Your Gut

As with many of life's tougher decisions, listening to your gut is often the best thing to do. When going through interviews, if you have a bad feeling about any of the candidates, simply pass them up. Continue to place ads in online classifieds and ask for referrals from friends until you come across the perfect person for your company.

Hiring a quality team of employees will be your greatest challenge as a small business owner. You'll likely spend countless hours sifting through resumes that don't even relate to the position and talking to dozens of nervous candidates who aren't looking for a career, but a paycheck. Treat recruitment the same way you would treat sales: the more candidates you interview, the better chance you have of finding the perfect fit.

 

What does our team do?

The team at Social Hire never just do social media management.

Do you have a desire to increase the engagement of your business by utilising digital marketing, but can't work out how to begin?

Our specialists are a company that assists our customers further their presence online by giving online marketing on a regular basis.

You might like these blog posts Get Your Marketing Act Together, Why Job Seekers Are Turning To Social Media, 5 Content Marketing Mistakes That Will Kill Your Small Business, and 8 Benefits of Cloud Based Software for Small Business.

  Back to Recruitment blogs