Startups often face challenges while hiring candidates, which can be blamed on two major factors.
Firstly, they tend to use outdated recruiting strategies that fail to attract great talent. Secondly, they keep making some common mistakes that affect recruiters hiring for practically every sector. If you’re hiring for a startup, the good news is that there are some easy solutions too.
Top 5 recruitment mistakes made by startups, and ways you can avoid them
Not Understanding the Impact of Poor Hires
Quality hires are important for any business, especially for the MVP development process, but weak hires can do more financial damage to a startup than most other firms. Since the success of your business relies on a smaller team, every individual in that team needs to be a strong link in the chain.
If not, they’re costing you! Not only does each employee need to do the job for which they are hired, but their ability to deliver results will also be directly connected to the additional funding and growth your startup enjoys in the future. Weak recruits will not just cost you time, but may also cause significant economic damage over the long run.
Not Analyzing Why Hiring Quality is Low
Successful recruiters have adapted the marketing funnel for hiring and screening candidates as well, but startups often fail to do so effectively. By breaking down each stage of the recruitment process and analyzing problem areas, it’s possible to improve hiring speed and quality.
An applicant tracking system can help you understand the effectiveness of different activities at every step of the recruitment funnel. If you know where major problems are taking place, it becomes much easier to take corrective action. Also, thinking of quality candidates as customers helps you sell your brand to them.
Not Conducting Market Research
You spend a lot of time and energy on attracting customers, so why don’t you apply the same techniques to recruitment? Some of the best people could be employed already, but that doesn’t mean there’s no chance of recruiting them for your startup. You have to try, at the very least.
Most startup recruiters fail to focus on the huge talent pool of passive candidates and lose out in the process. If you understand what these targets are looking for, which platforms would get their attention, and the factors that might cause them to accept or reject an offer, you may just be able to get them on board!
Not Making Job Applications Easy
In an increasingly mobile-dependent marketplace, you have to simplify the application process for a better candidate experience. No one is going to spend more than a few minutes on applying for a position, especially if they can’t complete the process through their mobile device.
Make sure that your company website is mobile-optimized, with an online application form that can be filled out quickly. Use mobile recruiting software that integrates with social media, job boards, and your careers site, to automatically pick up candidate information from their LinkedIn profile or online resume.
Not Selling Your Advantages
Many startup leaders don’t realize their recruiting advantages or leverage them while hiring. Employer branding isn’t just for large, well-established companies. You have a lot to offer as well, and understanding your strengths is the first step toward using them in your recruitment strategy.
For instance, startups offer a challenging and dynamic environment that will appeal to young professionals who like to be seen as risk takers. They also offer greater opportunities for decision-making, flexible work structures and operating without a strict hierarchy. These appeal to more people than you’d think.
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To improve your hiring success, focus on fixing these common issues and exploring modern techniques and tools, like Jobsoid. Our ATS is designed to help businesses of every size, so try it out now!
