5 Recruitment Mistakes that Startups Make

5 RECRUITMENT MISTAKES THAT STARTUPS MAKE

Latvia is a very small market and for many startups, it is a challenge to compete with big brands. On the other side, they offer more autonomy, ownership and provide you with an amazing experience. However, I have noticed that there are several important mistakes which have a big impact on the hiring process, overall business effectiveness and employer’s brand in general.
I have gathered 5 common mistakes which I've experienced:

1. Not making RESEARCH on available talent, skills, competitors and market in general. Especially, if you enter a new market, this is a must-have. I have seen how companies spend a whole month recruiting one specialist, but later they realize that they just can’t handle these costs and change the whole recruitment strategy. As a result, one month was only a waste of time and resources. Moreover, not only for a company but also for candidates who were excited about this job.

2. Not making clear WHO exactly do you need. Define the position as clear as possible. Otherwise, again you will spend the whole month searching for the wrong person.

3. Hiring too FAST. It is when you focus only on speed, instead of quality. Hiring needs to be a slower process because it requires analysis about who a person is, what they’ve done, and what they can bring to this team.

4. Hiring only for culture. This can happen when you have some idea of being open, breezy or dynamic and you hire only for people who fit these values. In this way, you reduce the diversity of people and diversity of ideas. Or when you decide to recruit only one particular nation that, in your opinion, will bring you much better business results. Hire for skills in those roles first.

5. Not communicating clear RULES and ROLE DESCRIPTION to candidates. It is when you want to sale your company and you tell only good things about a role and a company during the job interview. It is when you have not clarified what are candidate’s expectations from an employer, from a role and a direct manager. It is better to clarify all the duties, otherwise, this candidate can leave a company after several months. And again, you waste a lot of money in this way.

We all make mistakes and we learn a valuable lesson from them. Hire or outsource top-tier recruiters who can recognize these mistakes. Create the most suitable hiring process which will bring the right skills, the right ATTITUDE and will create a good employer brand. Recruitment creates your BRAND and is one of the most important HR processes.

“Whom you bring into a small team makes a significant impact on what gets done and how”.

‍