How to Hire Your First Employee

When is the right time to hire your first employee?

It’s a tough question to answer, especially if you’re a solo business owner and used to do everything yourself. But as your business starts growing, you’re going to need help, whether you like it or not.

There are three main red flags that show it’s time to hire your first employee:

·         You’ve acquired additional sources of revenue.

·         You’re making your product accessible to a wider audience.

·         The quality of your products is deteriorating.

If you’re a B2B company owner and you’ve noticed that you’re turning down clients because you’re slammed with your current orders, that’s a red flag, too, and you need to start expanding your staff as soon as possible.

But how can you make it right? What should you do to hire your first employee?

Here are some essential steps.

1. Decide on Recruitment Options

There is no doubt that you’re looking for qualified candidates only. And there are a few options to reach out to them:

·         Internet and social media. This option gives you access to a bigger market but can take longer to find the right candidate.

·         Traditional media. You can post a recruitment ad in a local newspaper, but it limits your choices only to your city or state.

·         Recruitment agencies. Agencies already have candidate databases, which can speed up the recruitment process. However, the agency’s services can be quite costly.

The best solution is to involve all three recruitment options for wider reach. But consider your recruitment budget to decide which option is the most affordable for you.

2. Determine Salary and Set Up Benefits

Before you interview someone for a job, you need to know what you can offer them. So, you need to figure out their salary and benefits first.

Regarding the salary, it should be based on the employee’s classification:

·         regular full-time employees

·         regular part-time employees

·         temporary full-time employees

·         temporary part-time employees

Decide on the salary based on the employee’s status in your company and consider the number of hours they will work. Also, pay attention to the current minimum wage. Most states have the minimum wage of $7.25, but pay attention to your state’s requirements.

Next, determine the benefits you will offer to your employees. These benefits usually include:

·         overtime

·         medical insurance

·         retirement benefits

·         profit sharing

·         vacation

The access to the company benefits also depends on the employee’s status. For instance, regular full-time employees usually have full access, while regular part-time employees can only get some of the benefits.

3. Prepare for the Interview

When you get your first candidate, it’s time to prepare for an interview. And you need to make sure that you ask the right questions to determine whether this candidate fits in your company.

Apart from asking general questions, also consider more insightful ones:

·         Did you make decisions that turned out to be a mistake, and how did you deal with criticism?

·         What excites you the most about this job position?

·         How would you tackle disagreements with your manager?

·         How would you describe yourself in one word?

·         What is failure to you, and how would you deal with it?

Also, think about your role as an interviewer.

First of all, you need to build a rapport with the candidate, which means you need to speak the candidate’s language, both literally and figuratively. If you’re hiring a Spanish-speaking person, consider learning basic Spanish words and phrases to build the connection. It will also show that you respect diversity as an employer.

But most importantly, let the candidate speak. There’s a wrong belief that a candidate should only answer the questions asked by the employer. But if you let them talk about their experience more, they will open up to you, and you’ll be able to learn a lot about their character.

Wrapping Up

Hiring your first employee is not an easy task to handle. You have to be prepared both legally and financially. And, you should have clear goals and expectations for your ideal candidate.

So, when you’re ready to start growing your staff, choose recruitment options, think about the status the employee will have in your company. Based on that, determine their salary and benefits.

Next, it’s time for an interview. Try not to follow a standard question-answer format. Turn your interview into an insightful conversation – it will help you determine whether the candidate is