Making Your First Hire – Don’t Be Nervous
So you are a small business and ready to grow – maybe you are currently the only employee or you have a few partners in your company. Or maybe you are building a HR department from scratch. Either way, making your very first hire can be daunting, here are a few things to keep in mind to make sure this first hire (and future hires) are a success.
Find the right fit
At ExactHire, we are firm believers in finding a person who is the right fit for the job, as well as for the company culture. Upon reviewing resumes and narrowing down your choices to a select few candidates, make sure to ask yourself, how will this person fit in the company? How will he/she adapt to the job at hand? This is key especially at small companies where employees “wear many different hats” each day on the job. Employee assessments can be a great tool to find out if the applicants are likely going to fit in with your organization, too.
Follow your gut
Do not downplay the need to trust your intuition. If you are part of a growing company, you need to feel comfortable with each hire and adapting that person into his/her role on the team. If your gut is telling you that it might not be the best choice for the position, then make sure to listen to that instinct. It can be expensive to have to rehire after the fact and start training over if you make a wrong hiring decision. Remember, no one is perfect either, at some point in your HR career you will probably make a hiring “error” but following your gut will help avoid a lot of this trouble.
Test applicants accordingly
Along with testing applicants for culture fit by using assessments, you can use job skill tests to make sure their technical experience is right for the job responsibilities at hand. This can be software-based testing such as Microsoft Office or Quickbooks; or, it can be skill-based such as basic math, spelling, data entry or telephone skills. It can also be job-specific, such as an IT programming language, accounting, legal, industrial or medical knowledge. Using a skill test will help narrow down your choices after you have found a good fit for the company culture.
Know HR regulations and laws
If this is truly your first hire, make sure you are aware of regulations and laws in your state. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can help with lots of topics on which you may have questions. Making sure not to discriminate in the hiring process as well as completing any reporting that is necessary, are important practices to keep your business compliant. This pertains to job advertisements, recruiting, application questions, pay rates, referrals and much more.
I know this may all seem overwhelming to think about, but in the long run it’s exciting! You are part of a growing organization – don’t make the hiring process a nerve wrecking one (for you or the applicant). Have fun and follow these simple rules to get the most out of it all.
For more information about assessments and skill tests, please contact ExactHire today.
Image credit: number one 
by frankieleon (contact)
