It is no surprise that the best team wins. This is true in business and sport, but it cannot be easy to hire and retain talented people. There are too many companies out that offer a variety of perks and benefits. Candidates can feel overwhelmed. Entrepreneurs can choose well from many applicants by casting a wide net and applying strict filters.
Brandon Nolte is an entrepreneur who has worked for over 500 people, from contractors to full-time managers and creatives. His Upwork rating is impressive at 4.96 stars out of 5. He has 338 reviews from his employees. Many of the people Nolte hired remain with him today, and they have helped to grow his companies to new heights. Stello is a company that produces mints with hemp extract. Nolte founded it. Nolte shared his top five tips for hiring the best talent.
Find the best job boards.
Your vacancy should be seen by the best candidates possible. This means that you are present at their place of work. The greater the more applicants, the better. More choice, more variety, and more competition. Everyone wins. Nolte suggests WeWorkRemotely as a job site for remote jobs. Nolte says that although he has used many job sites over the years, he prefers WeWorkRemotely for small jobs.
Nolte is fond of Upwork because it allows him to do a lot more hiring. This is especially true if he’s looking for contract work or entry-level positions. Nolte has been using Upwork since 2011, finding many talented writers, marketers, and developers. Bluetown, Jobrack.EU and Indeed are also options. Each has its pros and cons.
It is not enough for your vacancy to be seen. It must stand out from other similar jobs to attract top talent. Nolte suggests that job descriptions be casual and straightforward to attract great candidates. However, he warns that business jargon can sneak in if you’re not careful. People like to communicate with others, and I receive positive feedback about our relevant job descriptions and emails. Nolte suggests that entrepreneurs write “as if you were speaking to someone next to you.” Siri and other voice recognition tools can be a great help. There is a high chance that a candidate will skim over a large block of text.
You can manage the candidates.
Advertising in the right places will bring you more applicants. This can pose additional challenges. Inefficient hiring processes have led to many great candidates being overlooked. Emails lost, attachments hidden within threads, misplaced papers. There will be more candidates ignored if there are too many holes in the bucket. This is not an excellent way to find talent.
Nolte advised that software is essential for managing candidates. The software will allow you to store all information, including resumes, communications with candidates, and other information. Nolte recommends JazzHR’s monthly subscription to severe employers. JazzHR is excellent for managing large numbers of candidates. Upwork will collect your candidate list if you use them as your job board platform. The platform allows you to shortlist, message, and sort candidates in a variety of ways. This includes the best match and which is based on Upwork’s algorithm.
However, spreadsheets are great for startups as long as they’re well-organized and clear. “I used spreadsheets to manage my candidates the first few years of my company, just like many entrepreneurs.” This works well for applicants with smaller numbers (between 30-100), but I recommend HR software for anything beyond that.
Learn from their mistakes
Interviews are an excellent opportunity to talk about the future. Although it is easy to imagine a hopeful future, asking questions like “Where do I see myself in five years?” and similar questions about candidates’ hopes and dreams can give insight into their imagination and provide valuable information. However, this doesn’t always reflect their ability or suitability for the job.
Nolte suggests “who style interviews” to get answers that reflect actual ability and character. Who are they? “Examples from past and current behavior give better insight into a candidate’s tendencies. This interview style asks questions about the candidate’s history, including what they are most proud of and their highlights and lowlights. It also assesses the candidate’s past three jobs. Nolte said that you could see patterns emerging by asking questions about the candidates’ previous years. He explained that the Who website offers a few templates free of charge, including a complete list of questions to help you conduct a who-style interview.
Overcome your bias
It is not an excellent strategy to build a company out of clones. This creates vulnerability in organizations and makes it easy for everyone to have the same strengths and weaknesses. This can cause blind spots. Many hiring managers don’t realize how widespread bias is and how much it will continue to be if they don’t take proactive steps to decrease its impact.
Nolte warns that while this may seem obvious to many entrepreneurs, it is not valid for all. We all have biases when hiring. “Most people like to hire people like ourselves, and I have been guilty of this for a while.” However, there are ways to overcome inherent bias. The easiest way to overcome intrinsic bias is to have your teammates cross-interview the same candidate. My teammates always have a different view of candidates than I do and can pick up subtle personality traits that are not obvious.
Nolte suggests that you use personality tests to overcome bias if your decision-making tendencies are stronger. DISC tests help you identify your strengths and weaknesses so that you can make informed hiring decisions. DISC is divided into four primary communication styles: dominance (influence), steadiness, compliance, and consistency. Nolte used DISC to help her hire. “I am more reserved and analytical (compliance and steadiness), so I rely upon bringing in people who have more social and competitive qualities (influence and dominance) to balance out our team.”
Flip the coin
How can you be sure that the individual you hire will be the right fit for the job? You can’t predict the future, so you don’t have any. It is impossible to predict every outcome or anticipate how candidates will respond to each challenge.
Nolte explains that his business partner worked in Silicon Valley for great tech companies. “He had a manager who once told him that once it has been narrowed down to a few strong candidates, it’s just a coin flip,” Nolte explained that he was referring to Nolte’s business partner, who worked for some great tech companies in Silicon Valley. Too much analysis can lead to the wrong candidate.
Tell them the good news and flip your coin. Then, commit to make the hire a long-term success. It may be that flipping the cash, and finding out which candidate it has selected, reveals your true feelings about them. Whatever your feelings, don’t forget to listen to your gut and continue to evaluate someone’s suitability for the company, even if they aren’t there.
You will be able to find the best talent for your brand by filling your pool with the most qualified candidates, using robust processes for filtering them, and asking helpful questions. This is too important to ignore.
