11 Creative Ways to Hire Top Talents for Your Startup
Tags: Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Talent Management System, Hiring, Talent

are the core and the essential element of every company, which is why recruiters generate a myriad of methods, strategies, and techniques to find the best ones.

Well-performing, inventive, and productive hires are even more significant for startups, especially in their early stages. Hence, seeking, identifying, and hiring the most compatible person is critical.

About Startup Companies

Startups are usually young companies only entering the market, and the limited finances make their position more challenging.

They have challenging competition, demanding industries, and a small number of workers. Hiring someone who doesn’t match the startup’s values, goals, and mission could hinder its future business.

If managed well, nurtured, and developed, a startup can even become a larger company or an enterprise.

According to Forbes, that often happens when they open more than one office, generate revenues bigger than 20 million USD, or have more than 80 employees. In the end, it is always about the workers, because they drive a startup’s growth, often taking him to greatness.

How to Recruit Top Talent for Startups?

Unfortunately, only two in five startups are profitable, while others will either fail or experience continuous loss of money. That challenge is even higher in a post-pandemic world where, without the right formula, plan, and people, businesses can break with ease.

The seamless hiring process and unique ways of candidate engagement are, therefore, of paramount importance. If you do it properly, most of your employees are likely to stick for around four years. So, here are the eleven creative ways to recruit top talents for your startup team.

#1. Give the candidates a reason why they will want to work for you

The times of careless, average, and detached hiring stays in the previous decade. It is time to get all on, be creative, and leverage all the features your startup has. One of the most remarkable advantages you have is your employer brand. You might be new, but there is no one else like you. Use that.

Develop a captivating, beneficial, and visible company culture that articulates who you are and what you can offer in its every action, trait, and online platform. Take your brand and prominence seriously because 84 percent of job seekers say the reputation of a company as an employer is crucial. Thus, 9 out of 10 candidates would apply for a job when it’s from an employer brand that a company actively nurtures and updates.

#2. Offer outstanding employee benefits and perks

It is not all about the wages, especially for the largest generation in the workforce, millennials, and their younger counterparts, generation Z. These professionals care deeply about their experience, development, and what they can learn in a company. So, they will highly appreciate employee benefits that encompass these concerns.

Unsurprisingly, for 60 percent of people, employee perks are on top of considerations when deciding whether to accept a job. If you think which benefits matter the most, keep in mind that we’re living in a post-pandemic era.

Hence, 45 percent of people find that health perks are the most important, with paid-time-off following right after ( 38 percent). The second one is especially significant for millennial working mothers, which have a hard time to get ahead at work.

#3. Treat candidates like future customers

Many employers fail to see job applicants as humans who, even if they don’t match the company’s requirements, could be valuable to the business in the future. Even though profit shouldn’t be the main drive of providing people with a seamless candidate experience, it is an incentive for many leaders.

That means, first of all, always be respectful with all your candidates. Keep continuous communication, update them, and don’t ghost them. Also, try not to bomb them with the unnecessarily complicated job application process.

Make the process as smooth as possible and avoid demanding from job applicants to fill countless blanks, requirements, and questions. Instead of that, add a simple Apply button on your career website or social media networks that allow them to send their resumes and cover letters.

#4. Employ your whole team as recruiters

One of the startups’ perks is that they are usually small, and everyone knows everyone. Besides, they probably don’t have big recruitment teams or envious amounts of HR resources. That’s why, as a young startup, you should leverage the close connections in your workplace and encourage every employee to participate in recruitment.

Try not to make it appear like a chore or another responsibility. Highlight the benefits of doing it, such as getting to know each other better, taking part in choosing the next coworkers, or trying different job roles. These are the people that know best what it is that your startup needs and who is an ideal profile for the vacancy.

Make it easier for them to engage by defining the tasks and roles for each of your hires. That way, you will also help them track the progress and know their activities.

#5. Use technology (But you don’t have to go for the costly ones)

Many startups make the mistake of either not using any tech to hire or investing too much in complex platforms that are better for larger companies. Startups are usually not large. Especially those in early development phases. They don’t require robust, multifunctional, and expensive recruitment systems.

For startups of small sizes, even Trello will do to help with job applicant tracking. It is an outstanding tool that allows using a shared public board where the whole team can check the latest updates. If you still have more trust in platforms designed for hiring, seek those that fit your needs, number of employees, and goals.

Whichever option you choose, make sure that you use it and that you track the progress of the hiring process. That way, you can analyze conversion rates and decide if there is a phase or step where you should add extra effort and improvement.

#6. Be where your ideal candidates are

Every hiring process starts with an ideal employee persona in mind. Have a clear-cut perception of that person, their skills, experience, and where they could be. Otherwise, you will lose your way, spread efforts in incompatible places, and waste time on the wrong candidates.

So, think. Where are your perfect developers, designers, programmers, sales managers, and copywriters? Create a list of the most relevant places where they could be looking for jobs or presenting their talents and abilities. Is it Behance, 99Design, Dribble, or Github? Ensure that you are also there, ready to make the first contact and approach your rockstar potential candidate.

Attend conferences, meetings, events, and industry-related gatherings, or even better, be a host. Search for compatible job candidates on LinkedIn, ask your employees for referrals, or pay a visit to freelance platforms.

#7. Make your projects interesting

Even though this is not always possible, try to come up with projects and vacancies that people will find engaging, fulfilling, and challenging. Seek ways to add a unique edge to every opportunity. If the work itself isn’t immersive, think about the benefits a person would have from working in that role?

Consider what skills your future workers will gain in that position? What are the connections they will make, talents they will grow, and chances they might get in the future? Most people don’t want to work on boring, mediocre, and frustrating jobs. So, invest a bit of time in considering how to present the project and make it more appealing to your ideal candidate.

#8. Get creative with your job ad

People who work at startups are usually not the average Joe and Jane. The proven, outdated, and dull formulas won’t appeal to them. When hiring top talents, you need to stretch your imagination and find ways to make your job descriptions sound anything but boring.

Go even further. Come up with clear, but different and compelling job titles. Make your job description sound that immersive that the candidates will be eager to apply and hear more about it.

#9. Think about hiring remote workers and freelancers

A startup’s culture is more dynamic, flexible, and open than in most of the big enterprises. Perhaps a regular contract isn’t what you are looking for, and an independent worker would be a better fit. The world of freelance is a source of a myriad of talents and skilled people that can meet your needs.

Besides, you might encounter remarkable candidates who want to work remotely or with a flexible schedule. Think about allowing that option because more and more people will expect the possibility of working from home.

#10. Ensure a fast decision process

A great candidate experience doesn’t end with choosing the most compatible talents and making the shortlisted candidates wait for too long can turn them in the direction of your competitors.

Use online platforms that showcase talents to help you in making the final decision. They can demonstrate who is the most skilled person. Thus, you can also add games or challenges your shortlisted candidates have to solve to get the position.

#11. Improve your interviews process

Interviews are not just a task you need to tick off from the list. They are valuable and can help you determine the best match if you have the right questions, a well-trained interviewer, and challenging case studies.

Ask the candidates how they would enhance your products or what they want to achieve with the job position. Create conditions in which shortlisted talents will get a genuine opportunity to show why they are the right person for the role and why your startup is the best workplace for them.

Conclusion: Add Authenticity to your Hiring Process

As startups, you should foster unique, innovative, and advanced solutions, approaches, and culture. The recruiting process shouldn’t be any different, and your strategies can demonstrate that. Add a creative edge to every procedure, show who you are, and how employees can grow in your startup.

If you show authenticity throughout the hiring process, you will attract compatible talents and ensure their retention.

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