When you’re building a startup, especially in the early years, every hire is critical. And, so are the strategies you put in place for recruiting. Seekho.ai has created a Talent Acquisition Bootcamp (TAB) curriculum for the HR’s and startup founders, where multiple C-Suite level recruiters and mentors have distilled lessons gained from their professional years. The purpose of this bootcamp is to help startups hire the right talent by making hiring aligned, practical, experiential, and most of all, relevant.
Here are some of key takeaways from the bootcamp on building out and staffing the talent needed to reach startups' greatest potential.
Build your brand - Employer Branding
You have to realize that hiring is marketing. Everything you do or say on social media is a step towards building your brand. The way your product is marketed, the way your employees talk about the company and the problem that you are solving says a lot about you. Smart people want to solve interesting problems. They’re not looking for a job, they’re looking for a company with a mission. Simple steps like having blogs, AMAs(Ask me Anything), why you’re worth working for and what you’re trying to do can help in hiring.
Include hiring strategy in your business
Establish links between your startup’s vision, values and business growth with your talent strategy. Consider your business goals for the next one to five years, and tailor your acquisition strategy around those objectives. This vital step feeds everything from a recruiting and hiring perspective, such as defining KRAs, your culture and vision, employee referrals, finding networking opportunities, events and other such hiring practices
Avoid same old automated Job Descriptions
How are job seekers supposed to spot that you’re offering a dream job when your job description looks automated. You are competing against quick attention spans and the first thing to catch attention is the job title. Make them catchy, clear. Start writing job descriptions that build businesses. Sell your company in a simple, engaging manner. Highlight what makes working for your company special. Your job posting needs to be aspirational, yet personal so that candidates can relate to it.
Find people who are culturally fit
A startup is literally synonymous with its team. Punch above your weight and go for the people you believe are hard to get. Include pre-interview assignments in the hiring process to know the candidate's seriousness. You have to like a candidate before hiring them. Go for people who are a good company-culture fit, are honest and clearly know their likes, dislikes. While knowledge is a metric, the holy grail is to hire based on personality.
Workplace benefits and compensation
Job seekers worry less about swanky offices but more about why people work for you. You don’t need a big budget to create an employee friendly and energetic work space. Candidates are usually looking for workplace flexibility, insurance benefits, compensation, leaves and perks when choosing a job. For earlystage startups,rewarding your employees with equity can help them bind with your mission.
