The businesses which become giants have one thing in common – they never stop innovating. The key lies in the talent that they hire which obviously is due to the recruitment strategies which focus on hiring the right people. These ‘right people’ are mostly the ones who are entrepreneurial by nature. They can work with restricted resources, look for solutions beyond the rulebook and confidently face setbacks or challenges. They are an active part of the decision-making team and hence are real assets for a company.
However, hiring people with entrepreneurial spirit isn’t easy and their successful hiring depends on how they are nurtured post recruiting. So here are some of the tips which can help you in successfully hiring entrepreneurs:
- Be Clear About Your Requirements
Make sure you are aware about the type of role for which you are hiring. It may seem tempting to hire candidates who are entrepreneurially inclined. However, if it isn’t the requirement for the post for which you are hiring, then you will waste valuable resources in acquiring high performers. For instance, if your company is a startup in its early stages, you need to hire candidates with entrepreneurial potential. But, if you want a candidate for data entry, it makes no sense to hire such high-performing candidates.
- Search in Right Places
You are less likely to find candidates with entrepreneurial skills on common job platforms. They tend to frequent sites which are associated with startups. Besides, think about networking. Attend entrepreneurial meets, ask for referrals or be a part of an entrepreneurship class. Increase your visibility at the right places for hiring the right people.
- Assess Thoroughly
To know whether the potential candidate has entrepreneurial traits or not, look for the answer to these three questions.
- Have they spearheaded any initiatives in the past?
Candidates may not have necessarily founded startups, but they should at least have leadership qualities. For instance, they might have spearheaded certain initiatives in their past career. Ask about such initiatives and try to know whether they had an efficient way of achieving their targets in those situations.
- What is their method of dealing with challenges?
People with entrepreneurial talent are hired because they can handle tough challenges effectively. Ask the candidates about their past experiences in such testing situations and try to gauge their attitude towards dealing with them. If the candidate is incapable of facing challenges, he or she is not the type of talent you are looking to hire.
- Are they confident or overconfident?
Check the confidence level of candidates you are considering. The key here is to identify whether they are confident or overconfident. This is important because arrogance has counter effect and can poison the workplace.
Apart from the above mentioned factors, keep a lookout for candidates who have the capacity of ‘maximum performance’. A majority of companies have a stable and secure environment which demands normal performance. If you want your company to set new benchmarks, hiring entrepreneurs capable of delivering maximum performance in a high-stakes environment is what you need to do.
- Give Them Freedom
Individuals with entrepreneurial talent will always want to work in environments which are less controlled and offer more freedom. They thrive if they have autonomy and decision-making power, are allowed to take risks and are rewarded accordingly. They need to feel trusted to take risks on the behalf of your business and know that any resulting failure will be mitigate or managed accordingly. Hence, once you hire such driven individuals, leave them alone.
The process of hiring such candidates is demanding. It requires creativity and perseverance. You might need to use some entrepreneurial skills to recruit such individuals who dare to go beyond the rulebook and create value for the organization.
Guest Author Bio: Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager for Jobsoid – Applicant Tracking System.