When launching a new startup, there always seems to be a million problems and tasks that demand your full attention. The last thing you want to worry about is trying to hire new people for your team, but there comes a point when performing the roles of Founder, Publicist, Problem Solver and Admin is just not feasible for one person anymore.
Hiring new employees is one of the most critical steps needed to grow and expand your company, but it’s not going to be easy trying to recruit for these positions on your own. It takes a dedicated resource to locate, recruit and ultimately hire the best talent for your position.
There are three signs to help you determine when you should hire a recruiter to assist you in your search. Each new hire at a startup is critical and can ultimately impact the future of your company so it’s important to get it right.
How much time are you currently devoting to recruiting?
Evaluating how much time you’re currently spending on recruiting is a good indicator of whether or not you need a recruiting to assist in your search.
Are you not spending little to no time on recruiting?
The this is definitely a sign you should hire a recruiter. Finding top talent and getting them interested in a position is a full-time job. In this candidate-driven job market, candidates have more opportunities to choose from and not as many people are actively searching for jobs. For example, if you speak to a great candidate one day and then wait two weeks to reach out to them again, they aren’t going to be there.
Are you spending too much time on recruiting?
If you’re spending a lot of time you don’t have on recruiting, then it’s also time to hire a recruiter. Finding top talent is a sustained effort that needs to be done every day, and if your time is limited, then it may not be worth it. Every hour you spend recruiting takes away from the time you could be developing a new product or spending time making sales. You really have to evaluate where your time is best spent and if it makes more sense to hire a dedicated recruiter to locate new employees.
Are you hiring for very specialized positions?
Next, you need to assess which positions are needed immediately and if they are specialized positions or not. While you may be able to hire an excellent admin through networking or job boards, you may not get so lucky trying to find a technical position like a web developer. Also, revenue generating jobs like sales and marketing that are critical to your company’s success are best found using a recruiter.
How many people are you trying to hire?
Finally, the number of employees you’re trying to hire makes a big difference in how your approach the recruiting process.
Do you need to hire one to two positions over the next 6 months?
If you only need to hire one or two people, then you may be able to perform a search without a recruiter. However, as I mentioned above, very specialized positions are best found when using a recruiter.
Do you need to hire ten new people a month?
This type of high-volume hiring should definitely be performed by a recruiting firm, or you can even consider hiring an internal recruiting team. It takes a lot of work to hire ten new people a month, and with a new startup, it’s important to get the talent you need to stay ahead of the game. For example, if you needed ten new hires a month, you might need to make 1,000 phone calls to candidates, narrow it down to 100 people for a second interview, and then eventually 4 people to come in for face to face interviews just to make one single hire. That is a lot of time and effort going into that process and will need an external or internal team of people to make it happen.
It’s true that hiring a recruiting firm to help you is going to cost money, but it will eliminate the headache of trying to find talent on your own or the turnover cost of making the wrong hire. Consider the amount of positions you’re looking to hire, what types of positions, and if it’s worth your time to have some assistance in your search. Contact us today to learn more about how hiring a recruiter for your startup can ultimately save you time and money.
