If you’ve successfully launched your startup, you may be grateful that you will never have to sit through an interview again – as an interviewee, that is.
As a startup founder, there are certain qualities you look for in future employees that will be crucial to successfully running a company. It’s okay to empathize with those who are in need of a job; you want to do what you can to give back to your community, but at the same time, you must look for particular traits and qualities in your future employees to guarantee your company’s success.
Curiosity
One of the most important portions of the interview is asking the potential employee if they have any questions or concerns. This is a chance for them to bring up any of their concerns, suggestions or even what it is they may be looking forward to when working with your company.
As a startup founder, you want to hire someone who is going to ask questions; someone who has the curiosity and interest to expand their knowledge and grow by working for you.
Confidence
It may be a little overwhelming and even annoying when you interview someone who thinks they know it all, but having confidence is crucial to making successful contributions for a startup. It may be a little harmful on your ego to hire someone who is smarter than you or takes bigger risks, but in the long run, their confident decisions will probably benefit your startup. It can be difficult to train someone to have confidence but you can always teach someone how to handle their confidence appropriately.
Knowledge
You may be willing to take on many tasks as a startup founder, but hiring someone else who has knowledge in more than one area will help relieve some stress off of your shoulders. Don’t be afraid to hire someone who is flexible and willing to work in more than one aspect of your startup. This can save you the costs of hiring too many unnecessary employees and together, you can all put your heads together to come up with a solution.
Boldness
“Tell me about one of the riskiest or scariest things you’ve ever had to do in your life.” This question can provide you with a lot of insight to the type of employee you will be hiring. If the scariest thing your employee has ever done is ride the escalator, you may want to think twice about hiring. You want an employee who is fearless and bold; someone who will not need you to hold their hand while they are working, but won’t be afraid of you to share their ideas, suggestions or ask any questions. A bold employee is not afraid to take chances and can prepare themselves in the case of a failed startup – they may also be able to help you pick your startup back up.
Motivation
Ask the potential employees to share some of their life stories, obstacles and successes or failures; the key is to listen for their failures. If someone has tried something, failed, and then tried again, this speaks volumes about their motivation. You want an employee who is willing to get back up after they have fallen. You want to hire someone who is going to take your ideas or suggestions and expand them for your business.
The interviewing process can be difficult, but if you make a checklist of characteristics you’d like your employees to have, it doesn’t have to be so tedious. To get other information and advice exclusively for startup founders, sign up for your free subscription to Successful Startup 101.
