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Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers!
Today’s Question: Since starting your business, what’s one mindset shift you’ve made when it comes to hiring talent? How does this new mindset or way of thinking help you find the best fit?
These answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.
1. The Resume Isn’t Everything
Choosing the right fit is more a blend of the person’s attitude, willingness to learn, enthusiasm to participate in company ventures, and work experience. Having someone with the right resume is nice, but attitude is all. At the end of the day, daily motivation comes from within, and new hires must feel connected to grow in a place that seeks similar goals and will learn together. — Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME
2. You Might Not Be the Best Person to Hire Someone
I used to manage the hiring process alone. Now, I don’t. When you seek talent, you explore different profiles, and you can’t always be the right person to assess them all. For example, an expert marketer may not be the right fit to assess developers, designers, and software engineers when hiring. So, it’s best to onboard an expert in the respective field when seeking a particular talent profile. — Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
3. Your Time (and the Candidate’s Time) Is Valuable
One mindset shift is about valuing time. Yours is valuable, as you are putting many hours into building a business and maintaining it. A job candidate’s time is also valuable, and you don’t want to waste it during an interview. Set guidelines for hours and skill assessments, with deadlines and expectations. When you show that you respect schedules, it means a candidate will give their all. — Duran Inci, Optimum7
4. Referrals May Not Be the Best Resource for Finding Hires
One way my mindset has shifted around hiring since starting my business is in regard to referrals from current employees. In the past, I thought that hiring the referrals of existing employees was a great way to find new talent. However, I’ve found that hiring outside of this pool of candidates produces more diversity in thought, which is highly valuable for any organization. — Richard Fong, Disability Help
5. Specific Skill Sets Trump All-Around Knowledge
Since I started my business, one mindset shift I’ve made when it comes to hiring talent is to stop looking for all-rounders. Instead, I look for people who have a specific skill set that can complement the skills of the team members we already have. This new mindset helps me find the best fit because it allows me to build a team of experts who can work together to achieve our goals. — Abhijeet Kaldate, Astra WordPress Theme
6. The Talent Pool Doesn’t Have to Remain Local
I now think global instead of local when it comes to finding the best fit for my company. This new mindset has helped me find top talent from all over the world. It gives me access to a larger pool of potential candidates and finds the best fit for my business. By opening up my search to the global market, I’ve found great candidates at a fraction of the cost. — Pratik Chaskar, Spectra
7. Hiring Should Be About Filling in Your Weaknesses
There is a common misconception among entrepreneurs that they should only hire people who are like them. This could not be further from the truth! In order to create a well-rounded and successful team, hiring people with different skill sets, strengths and weaknesses are essential. By doing so, you will be able to create a more balanced and effective team. — Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz
8. It’s OK if Someone Has No Hands-On Experience
One of the ways my hiring mindset has shifted in recent years is that I’ve stopped putting so much emphasis on hands-on experience. I’ve found that specific personality types are better in certain roles, even if it’s their first time. I always interview people who seem like they may be a good personality fit for our team because I see the impact these traits have on our company. — Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
9. You Should Hire for Growth
When starting out, it’s easier to hire based on immediate needs, but it’s hard to plan long-term without a strong core team. Instead, you want to hire talent that can grow with you through various stages of the business. It makes it easier to problem solve and collaborate when situations get tough if they share your vision for the company. — Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep Mattress
10. Cultural Fit Is Key
Cultural fit is perhaps one of the most underrated factors anybody hires for. By defining a solid culture for your company from the beginning, you can ensure best practices will be used by your team, giving you the best shot at success. And, if you have a clear culture, it’s easy to weed out people who don’t fit it. Hiring is more than just talent. — Andy Karuza, NachoNacho
Learn More About How to Hire the Right Fit
If you’re interested in learning more about how to hire the right fit and make these mindset shifts, click here to read more about hiring. These tips can help you hire the right candidates for your company.
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