MightyRecruiterSmall Business Spotlight: How to Hire Great People in a Competitive Market
Talented employees are in high demand. As a small business owner, you need them to grow and expand your business, but you may not have the resources to draw them in like a larger corporation would have. However, there are ways that you can shine the spotlight on yourself and attract skilled workers. It just takes a little foresight and preparation.
Play to Your Unique Strengths
As you are posting listings for a job opening, you need to mention the things you have to offer that larger businesses cannot. At first glance, it may seem like there is nothing, but there are plenty of ways you can sell yourself to qualified candidates. First, an opportunity with your business means that employees are getting in on the ground floor of an organization that could prove to one day be a leader in the field. While that promise is by no means a certainty, it can be a rather enticing offer to prospective applicants.
There are also benefits to working within a small business that employs fewer people. For one, a worker will really get to know each and every person who works there. At larger businesses, you might only see the people who work within your department. Additionally, you might only work on one thing every day at a big corporation, but at companies that are still finding their footing, you may be taking on wildly different responsibilities from one day to the next. This also means that there are plenty of opportunities for advancement.
These strengths can draw in great workers. While larger businesses can probably offer higher paychecks and more benefits, you can attract people who are looking for something a little different. The chance to truly make the difference in the direction a small business goes into can do a lot in terms of finding great hires.
Know Who You Want
No matter what position you are trying to fill in your company, you need to know exactly the type of personality and experiences you need in a candidate. There should be a certain level of experience and education you are looking for, but as you are interviewing people, you should also see if someone’s personality stands out for you. Someone who seems genuinely passionate about their work is a rare find, and they should be heavily considered as you are making your decision. Hiring the wrong person is a lot more detrimental to a small business than to a larger one. If you have to fire someone shortly after hiring them, then you have to put in time and resources you may not have to interview more people, hire a new person and train them. Know precisely what you need out of a candidate before posting job listings so that the right person is hired the first time.
Keep Your Expectations High
The best job applicants out there will have high expectations for you just as much as you have high expectations of them. Show your interviewees that your business is worth working at and develop a rigorous, comprehensive interviewing process. For example, an interview that lasts for 10 minutes and only goes over a few basic questions is not going to be noteworthy in anyone’s mind.
Take the time to really figure out what questions need to be asked and have your interviews run a little long. The most experienced applicants will enjoy talking about their strengths and qualifications, and they will be impressed that you are devoting so much time to getting to know them. This will also help you in your final decision-making process because you will have plenty of information readily available to make your choice.
You can also give the interviewees a tour of the company in order to get them used to the people and culture they will be engaged with on a daily basis. You can also have a training period before actually hiring someone where you actually get to see them work. This is your opportunity to see how a potential new hire would interact with your current workforce and any clients that come in. People looking for work in a competitive job market will likely be applying to dozens of jobs, and there are numerous ways to get them to apply to your company. You may not be one of the big dogs yet, but by getting some great employees working for you, it is very possible you can expand and grow.
Small business owners can find additional resources for their company at Mighty Recruiter.