Mastering the employee search: Recruiting tips for startups

Is recruiting a new topic for you or is there no one on your team who is dealing with it?

Depending on the phase, the need for new team members can increase dramatically. The main challenges in recruiting for startups include a shortage of skilled workers and excessively high salary demands from applicants. Startup salaries usually can't compete with those of large corporations. But the overall package counts.

And this is your opportunity, because many job seekers are looking for exactly this complete package. They appreciate the variety, the atmosphere, and are enthusiastic about implementing your idea. However, it is important that you address the topic of hiring early on and establish an initial personnel plan. When planning personnel, you are directly aligned with your business goals and determine how many staff and what qualifications are needed.

Orient yourself on these key questions:

• How many staff and what qualifications are needed?
• What kind of corporate culture should prevail?
• Which positions need to be filled?
• Do you prefer long-term staff or high turnover?

Then you go to the individual positions.

The job profile: Who you are looking for and how to create your startup job advertisement

It's clear that you're looking for people who are a good fit for you and your idea. The tasks to be completed are often diverse, and your team members need a proactive mindset and a broad skill set. But what criteria are important when selecting your personnel? Are you looking for all-rounders or specialists? Is technical expertise or personal quality more important?

At Workwise, for example, we value personal and cultural fit, as well as a strong willingness to learn – but less so on specific qualifications. After all, many of the things we do are things most companies haven't tried before. A lot of knowledge can and must be acquired on the job. When recruiting for your startup, you can, as with us, rely on a broad range of interests. But specialists in their field can also significantly influence the success of your startup.

To make this clear to you, Requirements profile It is a detailed description of the personal and professional skills required to successfully complete the tasks of the open position. You can find a template here. hereThis will lay the foundation for the job advertisement and the interview, making your decision easier later on. It's worth investing some time in the following steps:

1. Research the core and secondary tasks of the position based on your business goals.
2. Derive social skills and professional qualifications from the tasks and values you defined in the key questions above.
3. Create a weighting of the individual tasks and factors so that you can make an objective selection later.

A detailed requirement profile makes it easier for you to write the job advertisement

With a detailed job profile, writing your job advertisement will be easier. If you receive a lot of unsuitable applications or no applications at all, it's often related to the job advertisement. For example, important information is missing. Especially if your startup is still unknown, the job advertisement represents the only point of contact where candidates can assess whether you're a good fit. So avoid clichés and get straight to the point about what it means to work for you. Make sure you include the right amount of information. Excessive expectations are particularly likely to put off young professionals.

The contents of your job advertisement are:

• unique title
• Short description of your startup
• Area of responsibility and job description
• Requirements and qualifications
• Job details and benefits
• Explanation of the application process

Once you've written the content, you should consider the design. For example, add compelling photos of you and your team or your workplace. You can find the detailed guide to the perfect job advertisement here. here.

Incidentally, the most common areas in which startups are looking for employees are sales and product development. On the Workwise recruiting platform, 40 percent of the job openings advertised by startups are permanent positions, about 28 percent are looking for interns, and 23 percent are looking for working students. Less than 2 percent of startups advertise theses, temporary positions, and other positions.

Advertise your job and reach suitable applicants

Posting a job posting on a job board is the most common way to find employees today. There are specialized startup job boards, as well as location-specific and subject-specific ones. You can find a comparison here. here.

When making your selection, be aware of who you're looking for. This is your target audience. A broadly distributed job posting won't do you any good if you don't reach the right people. So research where they are and compare the costs of the different channels. With many channels, you pay a fixed price upfront for your job posting. Workwise For example, a bonus is only due upon successful hiring.

We'd also like to draw your attention to your own careers page. This may seem obvious, but many small businesses don't have one at all to begin with. However, it's important that job openings are also available on your own website. This way, applicants can check whether job openings they've seen on other channels are still current. You can create a free careers page with Workwise and then integrate it into your website.

Founders become employers: The application process and personnel selection

Based on the requirements profile, you can select suitable applicants. If an application leads to a direct rejection, send it promptly and ensure that it is worded appreciatively and adheres to the AGG.

You can design the application process individually and in several stages:

1. Application
2. Telephone interview: Some companies first get to know applicants in a short telephone interview. This is a good option if you receive a large number of applications that appear to be suitable, but it can also be an additional burden on you.
3. Interview: In the interview you ask all Questions about personality, motivation, working methods and skills and the expectations of the job.
4. Trial day: This is useful if you want to get to know the person better.
5. Rejection or termination

Not only do you have to make the right choice, but your interviewer also has to be convinced. One way to achieve this is through a smooth application process. Because that's your biggest advantage. Due to lengthy coordination processes, large corporations sometimes need several months to receive the first response.

Your decision will ultimately be based on all the information gathered during the recruiting process: application with all documents, personal contact points, and interview questions. We'll search for the best match for the requirements profile.

All steps and their relation to Candidate Experience We have summarized this for you again in the following diagram:

Conclusion: Other founders are asking the same questions as you. The best way to benefit from their experiences is to actively engage in dialogue or seek support with your recruiting. To be prepared when staffing needs spike, early personnel planning is crucial. Create a requirements profile as described above, based on which you will write the job advertisement. Then, focus on marketing and an effective application and selection process. This way, you will achieve your goals with the right team and master the challenge of recruiting.