Five Interviewing Mistakes Startup Bosses Make

Learn to Find The Best-Fitting Candidates to Grow Your Business

Hiring the first non-founder employees for a startup is an incredible step in building a business. These are the first contributors that you are trusting your dream to. They have to take your idea, nurture it, and build your vision.

You want your business to have the very best.

Finding that best fit takes a combination of skills and experience, attitude, and drive. Here are the five mistakes I see founders make time and again. Make sure you avoid the common traps that can derail your company.

I once interviewed a guy with impressive credentials. He’d worked for many of the big names. He knew his specialty (networking) inside and out. He’d be a great individual contributor. There was a catch of course.

He was rude and condescending to other stakeholders. He was dismissive towards the HR ladies, the receptionists. He was good at his skillset and absolutely knew it.

I passed on his application and hired someone more well-rounded.

New bosses, especially those at startups, seem to make this mistake time and again. They look for the top-tier candidate that they can attract, the one with the ivy league school and impeccable technical credentials. This is important of course — but it ignores the critical personnel aspect.

You can always teach technical skills. You cannot teach attitude or emotional intelligence. When hiring someone you are building a team. Consider how this person will integrate into the whole. If the candidate is abrasive during interviews with people he considers beneath him, realize this behavior will return under pressure. As your star candidate gets comfortable in the new environment he will make the workplace uncomfortable for your mid-level performers.

An abrasive new hire introduces the risk that you would lose valued employees and their institutional knowledge. Always consider how the whole person will impact your department.

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