Recruiting the wrong person often means 18 months wasted.
To put it simply, it will take you:
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- 3 months to find the right profile after posting your job offers everywhere on LinkedIn, Welcome To The Jungle, and others.
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- 3 months of notice period for the new hire to finish their contract.
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- 6 months of onboarding and work that proves to be of little to no value for your company.
And the vicious circle that is recruiting begins: back to 6 months before a new hire joins your team. And as a business owner, your time is valuable.
So what to do ?
Should you hire a superstar in their field and get your money’s worth, or a junior ready to be trained hard? After the recruitment’s vicious cycle, now’s the dilemma.
Fear not! Because in this article, you’ll learn how not to recruit your next collaborator, and how to onboard your next best fit.
How not to recruit your next collaborator
A poor hiring choice goes beyond HR’s headache. It drains resources, strains teams, and stalls projects.
While financial losses are clear, the real costs include missed chances, lowered morale, and the redo of the hiring cycle.
But why does it happen to you? Here are some probable causes.
You don’t have time
As a CEO, you juggle between all the roles your organization has, even HR. Sometimes, you’re even tidying the office on weekends 🧹.
Juggling these roles is time-consuming. So, to manage the packed schedule, you may often rush tasks.
You’re a problem solver, after all. one problem has one solution, you’ll just find it. Simple as that.
It’s the same thing with recruitment: we may not have a lot of time to find the right person to solve our company’s problems. So we look around us, and at the first somewhat interesting profile, we’re quickly tempted to say “Mkay, good enough.”
While this speeds up the hiring process, in 95% of cases, it backfires, almost as if it was predictable.
Your job description is misaligned with the role
Getting the impulsion that “We need someone new to the team to tackle x problem(s)” often happens when you and your company face one or more short-term challenges.
Many entrepreneurs tend to tunnel vision to said problem, and draft a job description misaligned with what the collaborator will provide during his time in your company.
This is a common pitfall many business owners fall into when hiring a senior to tackle a huge problem right after his onboarding. He becomes bored once they solved the problem you hired them for.
You look for the wrong people…
Yes between two big classes: generalist, or specialist.
The Generalist
Generalists have a wide-ranging knowledge, touching on various aspects of their field, like a marketer versed in growth hacking, SEO, and content management.
However, their breadth might not suffice for certain specialized roles or startup phases.
The Specialist
Contrastingly, specialists are masters in one particular domain. Their laser-focused expertise often translates to a faster onboarding time, steadier work velocity, and very good outputs from the get-go.
But do you hire him for that specific skill?
Choosing the wrong profile can derail your business’s momentum. Hiring a generalist when you need depth or a specialist when you need versatility can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
“As a business owner wanting to hire, it’s important to have the right expectations for the right people.”
Arik Azoulay, CEO, 26lights
…At the wrong time
In entrepreneurship, time is your enemy.
And recruiting also needs to be done following a momentum. Why ? Because the cost of someone new in your team has to be proactively calculated in order for him to bring value to your business first.
It’s important for us for this fact to have its own heading here, because business owners tend to forget how important strategic planning & timing is when recruiting new people.
How to onboard your next best fit for your team
Now that we under about strategically aligning talent with your company’s needs. Get it right and your business will thrive, but get it wrong and it could set you back significantly.
It’s crucial to understand the nuances of the process and make sure you align your talent with your company’s needs.
Find someone to challenge the status quo
For an unbiased perspective on your next hire, involve someone detached from the recruitment process—be it a business colleague, coach, or family member.
Their fresh insights can quickly identify potential mismatches, ensuring you select a candidate who truly aligns with your company’s vision.
Involving an external perspective can enhance your hiring choices, boosting productivity and minimizing turnover. It’s vital to invest time in seeking diverse opinions for well-informed decisions.
Ask yourself simple questions
The key to successful hiring? Knowing what you’re looking for.
Before making the decision to hire someone new, ask yourself the right questions:
Before bringing someone new on board, consider:
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- Generalist or Specialist: Which do I need?
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- What’s their role in 1 month? 6 months? A year? 3 years?
These simple questions will substantially help you narrow down on which profile you truly
Trying to understand what will be the evolution of your next collaborator before starting the hiring process will help you narrow down on the profile type that suits the job best. This is why we actually recommend writing at least 3 different job descriptions instead of one.
Leverage Employer Branding
Job seekers prioritize a positive work environment and experience. Without insight into your workplace, you won’t attract top talent.
Highlight your work culture, values, and team through Employer Branding. Leading companies leverage LinkedIn to display team events, office benefits, staff profiles, and other enticing aspects, prompting potential candidates to apply.
Improve your Own Leadership
You need to accept that people can and will challenge you. In fact, you need this to learn & improve as a leader. If A players scare you, you’re not ready to hire them.
Leadership goes beyond merely guiding a team—it encompasses inspiring, motivating, and nurturing a culture of growth. Effective leadership plays a pivotal role in the recruitment process. When potential candidates observe a leader deeply invested in personal growth, they’re naturally attracted to the organization, anticipating ample opportunities for their own professional advancement.
💡 Quick exercise to help you finding your ideal collaborator at the right time
Simply gather all your candidate’s current skills, and meet with executives of your company to draft a plan where you’ll define what they’ll do in 3 months, 6 months, a year, and 3 years.
Conclusion
A company is primarily about making money, but above all, it’s about people.
While a company’s bottom line is undeniably tied to its financial success, its true heartbeat lies in its people.
Every individual brought on board isn’t just a new set of hands to delegate tasks to; they’re a reservoir of fresh ideas, perspectives, and potential innovations.
The best hire doesn’t just fill a role—they challenge existing norms, introduce transformative processes, and amplify the collective strength of the team.
It’s up to you to enhance your hiring process. This not only provides candidates with a clearer perspective of your company but also ensures you pinpoint the ideal candidate more effectively.
And if you need help in your recruitment efforts, we’re here to help!
