Hiring people for the first time, so exciting!

[alekhine]

Hi everybody,

My name is Manny and I've been an entrepreneur since I was 16 when I found the Internet. I can't believe it's almost 10 years since then!

Anyway, I don't want to bore you with my life story, so here's the brief:

I moved to Los Angeles from South America this year (I have a legal permanent resident status btw). I moved my company here as well. It's an internet marketing company where I'm the only employee (everything else is outsourced).

I really feel 2007 is going to be my year. Business is good and I've saved enough to start hiring employees and move to a nice office. In fact, I want to get started this December.

This is a big step for me though. I've always worked alone, and I'm a little anxious about the idea of working with other people. I don't know where to begin. Should I rent the office first, then post job ads? or viceversa? How can I convince people to work with me, if they can only see a young dude with a strong foreign accent? Should I design processes for all the tasks I need help with in advance? Whould I hire highly qualified people, or inexperienced people that I can teach?

How exciting is to be an entrepreneur!

Manny

[RichFromYourHome]

Wow, congratulations on your success so far!

If you know that you will definitely be hiring in the near future, why put off getting your office? Plus, having an office space may help potential employees see that your business is serious.

You may need to "sell" your business to prospective employees, perhaps via a short 5 minute presentation. Do your best to speak clearly and slowly so that you can be understood.

The quality of people you want to hire should be in relation to the difficulty/experience requirements of the job. If the job is very entry level, you may not need someone with tons of experience... On the other hand, if the job is complicated or requires special skills like programming, teaching those skills will take up a lot of your time - that would be a poor investment of your most important resource - time.

[Newton]

Regarding processes, develop some, but given that you're a small business, don't devote too much of your valuable time. Processes work best for mass replication or for when you want to step away from the business.

Regarding qualified/unqualified etc. that really depends on the demands of the job.

[alekhine]

OK guys, I got you an update. Today I went to see 3 places, and I think I found the one. It's relatively close to UCLA, so it will be easier to lure students. I may move in next week.

Now it's time to start posting those job ads!

[RichFromYourHome]

Congrats! Keep us posted on your progress.

[norom]

My advice:

I was once in your shoes, deciding how and how many employees to hire...and who to hire once I found possible candidates. I'm 24 now and have four companies at the time with more than 12 employees (12 F/T).

Run a classified ad in your local paper and post on CL. Prior to this, know what type of person(s) you want helping you run and grow your company, in the end you want someone who is dedicated and wants to see your company grow as much as you do. Start with just one employee, see how much they can handle, and give them a average wage...after a 3 month evaluation, give them what they are worth and what you can afford...the more you appreciate them and the more you communicate with them your goals and needs, the more they will help you.

DONT for get to say THANKS to each employer EVERYDAY. Appreciation means more than a hirer salary for a small company for most...but when things are good, reward them with raises and bonuses.

After you run the ads, setup one or two days to do interviews (if you are not in a office space yet, meet at a resturant or public place such as a library). Has at lease 20 questions ready for them including: 1. Why should we choose you? 2. What work related experience do you have? 3. What are you willing to do to help this company grow faster? ...etc. *Make sure you study your questions, look them in the eye, etc. Be firm and confident in your tone of voice...etc

Good luck

Shern

[funk]

I'd love to be in a position to hire people -

I'd be so racist haha against all guys - just hire all hot girls

Can't wait

[Nigami Enterprise]

Have you looked into outsourcing the work or employing someone through an employment agency. The only reason i say this is as at a guess you might be a sole trader and you workers comp will be very very low but as soon as you employ someone that will rise a heap.

Good luck with it and enjoy it

[Sam Barona]

Hi Manny, where in South America do you come from? I am from Colombia.

Recruiting new people is always tricky, but good processes and procedures should inprove your chances of success. Look to us ethe following:

1- Job description: this should point out the tasks that the job entails, the methods of reporting, how you will meassure productivity etc. This hould make it easy for you to explain what the job entails, which should make it easy to explain to the interviewee what is expected from them and how you will monitor their productivity.

2- Person specification: this should include things like experience required (use tick boxes of: minimum - adequate - good - ideal to add weighting to your decisions), knowledge of systems/technologies/software/ et al. a good person specification should make your job of recruiting the right skills a breeze.

3- Culture questionnaire: this should start with a statement of what type of company you're looking to develop, if its work hard play hard, then its useless employing people who are layed back in their approach. This is critical, despite the interviewees' expertise or job fit, emplying people who fit yoru company's culture will be of utmost importance. The questionnaire should be based on open ended questions that are designed to elicit information about their tendencies/habits. What you're looking for is for people that match YOUR way of doing things.

Processes/procedures: start by:
a) looking at CVs for job-fit matches; short list at least 5 CVs to ask in for an interview per position;
b) bring them in for a first interview (infomal) where you can ascertain their culture-fit and close any gaps in their CVs/ qualm any concerns, etc.
c) bring the ones that fit (no more than 3 per position) both, job and culture fit and take them through scenarios of the job you're recruiting for; do role plays, etc. make these as realistic as possible. If your company is a high pressure environment, ask them to do an IQ test in a busy room with phones ringing, uncomfortable chairs, etc. You're looking for people who will perform best under the normal environment that you will expect them to work in.
d) offer the job to the winner depending on the results from their references; CHECK these! too many people lie at interviews. Your resources are precious and you cant afford to employ someone that just does well at interviews and not at their job.

Watch out for two things: the Halo effect and the Horns effect; i.e. someone from a similar background as you, with similar interests and wearing a low-cut top revealing an ample bussom might very well not be your best candidate. By the same token, someone who is nothing like you, and who likes things you dont might be the most productive employee choice you'll ever make. THe key is to be as impartial as possible and do not let personal feelings/preferences cloud your judgement. You are not recruiting your next beset friend or girl friend, your making a business choice based on economic factors.

Also, people are looking for jobs that excite them, share your enthusiasm about your company with them, but dont try too hard, as this just has a negative effect. share your vision of your company and allow them to see how they willl fit into this great future in months/years to come. having said all this, DO NOT oversell. Unrealistic expectations at teh recruiting stage are responsible for the majority of employee churn. Employee churn costs money, which eats into your profits.

Employing the right people isnt easy, you will make mistakes, but hopefully, by adhering to the above advice you will make less of them.

Buena suerte

Sam

[alekhine]

Gracias for the advice Sam! This is very valuable stuff.

I followed your guidelines and I posted and ad in craigslist and yahoo hotjobs.

Now I guess I'll just have to wait

[Sam Barona]

Mi placer. mandame el advert para el trabajo y te doy comentarios.

Sam

[Sam Barona]

Also, let me know if you need some resources on this; sample documents, etc.

Sam

[bluestellar]

Hi! you can visit my site and see what experts from different business field say about hiring somebody to work for your business. It is also nice to see what other people might recommend. You can easily see feedback from experts as well.