How to attract and hire talent for your startup

Hiring talent is essentially hard, but it’s even more challenging for startups. Since you’re in the early stages of your business’ consolidation, you need to have the right people that’ll follow you all the way to success. 

These candidates must understand your current state. Startups don’t always have everything figured out, so employees will relearn strategies as challenges arise. We have developed this guide to find the ideal candidate for your startup. In later article, we will also talk about how to manage talents, and how to keep them in your company. Read on to check some tips to attract and hire employees for your startup.

Make an honest and attractive careers page

Your career page is what most potential candidates see when they’re doing their job hunt research. Many startups don’t even have one that job seekers can easily find. An effective career page will help you attract more prospects and streamline the entire job application process. 

Ideally, it should have your company’s values, mission, background, a list of your managerial team, and honest reviews from your current employees. This way, they can have a clear look at your company’s dynamic.

Take care of your reputation as an employer

This is another crucial thing you should consider when attracting talent for your startup. Many employees visit pages like Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter to evaluate the company they’re trying to apply for. 

Maintaining a good reputation is key to hiring employees. According to the CareerArc Employer Branding Study, 96 percent of business owners believe that their company’s reputation can positively or negatively affect their revenue. 

Having your own profile as an employer is a very positive move, not only to attract talent but also to retain it. Your employees can provide honest feedback about your company as an employer anonymously. 

Different types of feedback give you insights into how your business is doing in terms of human resources (HR). You can use it as an opportunity to improve your reputation, attract talent, and affront any HR issue your company may be facing.

Handshaking with a potential employee

Offer competitive perks

If you want to draw attention to your organization as an employer, you must compete with other companies in your area. This means that you should offer attractive perks. To do this, you should conduct your research and find out what your potential candidates are looking for.

Workable conducted a survey called The New World of Work. This study revealed that 82 percent of respondents believe that work-life balance, remote work, and flexibility will be a top priority for potential candidates in the upcoming years.

You can also offer other perks such as health insurance, career advancement opportunities, or training. Many employees, especially the most motivated ones, value the companies that provide career development, and they’re more likely to stay there. It doesn’t have to be paying for a bachelor’s or master’s degree, you can pay for a coding bootcamp program or online course. For companies looking to hire international talent, working with an employer of record can help facilitate offering competitive benefits to remote employees in different countries.

Make a seamless application process

Sometimes, potential candidates take a step back from applying for a job at a startup because the application process seems too complicated. It’s highly important to have an easy-to-understand, efficient, and streamlined application process on your website. 

You can use a customizable job application form if you don't have the right coding skills to build a fully-functional job application system. These are drag-and-drop templates that you can completely personalize based on your prospective candidates and your company’s goals. 

Two people shaking hands during a job interview

Partner with an educational institution

Some companies often focus on the experience aspect of the hiring process and ignore excellent candidates starting to build their careers. They have the right skills, mindset, and tools but lack the experience. However, they can still be a great addition to your business. You can usually find these aspiring professionals in schools.

Many course providers, universities, and boot camps have partnerships with leading companies and startups. They offer a vast pool of talent with fresh and up-to-date skills. Institutions like Flatiron School can help you find the best candidate for your startup with their customized employment service. 

Wrapping up

Attracting talent for your startup can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. Treat your potential candidates like your customers. Create a strategy based on your goals and your prospective candidates’ needs and offer competitive perks. Keep in mind that you should keep the application process simple and make your values visible to potential prospects.