How Do You Evaluate Candidates
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2025 3:43 am
In your startup’s early days, the entire purpose of hiring new roles is to remove something from your plate. If you’re too busy managing a new hire’s day-to-day responsibilities, you’ve only added work to your plate.
Luckily, some people are so excited and thrilled by a lack of structure and a lack of process, that when you hire them, they help the company find its footing, uncovering the most successful path the company has to take. Those are the people who will thrive at a startup.
In my opinion, you should focus on three main buckets:
Company culture. Culture is nothing more than the sum of south africa telegram data the people involved. What kind of people do you want at your business? Ambitious, self-starting go-getters? Will you tolerate a brilliant asshole? Remember that at your startup, you may have to spend long and frustrating days with these employees. Their mindset is going to rub off on your company and, one day, become your culture.
Team building. You’re not just recruiting individual contributors, you’re assembling a team. Sometimes, it may be better to hire someone who is really great at a few skills—but lacking in a few others—as long as the rest of your team is really excited about the skills they do bring. If they’re eager to learn and close those skill gaps, it can be worth taking a chance on them for the greater good of the team.
Core values in hiring. This is a concept that deserves its own post. But it ultimately comes down to what skills, talents, or traits your company values. And it’s not always about a qualification on a resume. To quote the first job posting at Amazon: “Familiarity with web servers and HTML would be helpful but is unnecessary.” The value Amazon did hold, however? “You should be able to [build large and complex systems] in about one-third the time most competent people think possible.” Their values were speed and competence. Think about what yours are.
To determine your values, ask yourself a simple question: What is your company’s DNA? What you value will eventually form that DNA.
Luckily, some people are so excited and thrilled by a lack of structure and a lack of process, that when you hire them, they help the company find its footing, uncovering the most successful path the company has to take. Those are the people who will thrive at a startup.
In my opinion, you should focus on three main buckets:
Company culture. Culture is nothing more than the sum of south africa telegram data the people involved. What kind of people do you want at your business? Ambitious, self-starting go-getters? Will you tolerate a brilliant asshole? Remember that at your startup, you may have to spend long and frustrating days with these employees. Their mindset is going to rub off on your company and, one day, become your culture.
Team building. You’re not just recruiting individual contributors, you’re assembling a team. Sometimes, it may be better to hire someone who is really great at a few skills—but lacking in a few others—as long as the rest of your team is really excited about the skills they do bring. If they’re eager to learn and close those skill gaps, it can be worth taking a chance on them for the greater good of the team.
Core values in hiring. This is a concept that deserves its own post. But it ultimately comes down to what skills, talents, or traits your company values. And it’s not always about a qualification on a resume. To quote the first job posting at Amazon: “Familiarity with web servers and HTML would be helpful but is unnecessary.” The value Amazon did hold, however? “You should be able to [build large and complex systems] in about one-third the time most competent people think possible.” Their values were speed and competence. Think about what yours are.
To determine your values, ask yourself a simple question: What is your company’s DNA? What you value will eventually form that DNA.