Working at a startup can get very busy. New team members are often needed quickly after landing a big project or after funding. But, finding the right hires for startups takes time, so it is essential to have an effective recruitment strategy for startups.
Leonne Dieleman is a talent propositions manager of the YES!Delft HR Services and helps startups at YES!Delft to find, employ, and keep talent. In this article, she explains the ins and outs of effective startup recruitment strategies.
Having a solid team is crucial for accelerating your venture. We facilitate finding good hires and keeping them.
The importance of effective recruitment strategies for startups
According to Leonne, there are several reasons why hiring skilled employees for a startup often takes more time than anticipated. Here are three reasons why thinking about an effective recruitment strategy for your startup early on is essential.
It takes time to hire
Startups often overlook how much time it takes to find a hire due to the dynamic nature of many startups. But it would be best if you had time to find the right employee for the right job. The new team member must be able to do the job and fit into the startup’s culture simultaneously. So, writing and sending out a job opening is just the first step of startup hiring. Harder-to-fill vacancies, such as software developers or sales talent for technical solutions, can especially take some time.
Startups should realize that initial hires can take roughly six months to execute successfully. From posting vacancies to collecting candidates, conducting interviews, negotiations, up to notice periods.
It is a complex market
Getting your vacancies noticed as a startup can also be challenging. Firstly, the job market for startups is complex and fragmented. There are many different initiatives, support systems, and organizations that will help to publish vacancies. However, it also makes the market more fragmented. It can be unclear where to find vacancies, and the right persons may not see the job vacancy at all. Secondly, it costs money to be seen, for example, on LinkedIn. However, effective recruitment strategies for startups should be relatively inexpensive, as startups often have a limited budget.
Competition from big corporates
Then, there is the competition from the more prominent corporations. With more money and brand awareness, their job vacancies will often be at the top of the listings. It can be hard to stand out as a startup, especially since many job seekers could be persuaded to work there instead of in a startup because of seemingly better benefits.
HR services
To enable startups to find skilled employees, YES!Delft HR Services can help. They teach you effective recruitment strategies for startups and provide an online job board and workshops where talent and startups can find each other. They provide 1-to-1 coaching for YES!Delft startups, to help them get hire-ready.
Our goal is to help startups and talents connect. To put startups in the spotlight and show they are a good choice as employers, maybe even better than a large corporation. A startup offers many opportunities and creates an impact. Those two things are valuable considerations when looking for a new job.
Startups often find new hires via our job board, both interns and full-time employees. The service is valuable in effective recruitment strategies for startups like AgriData Innovations, DeNoize, and Smart-Ship. With our help, startups are now growing their teams with high-quality employees with an entrepreneurial mindset.
The future of recruitment strategies for startups
Many startups are increasingly focusing on the importance of making an impact, such as climate impact. Many job seekers also find this very important. The work-life balance is also a new trend; unlimited vacation days are given more often.
I see a trend towards a fragmented landscape in startup job postings, which ironically makes them harder to find, and filling these jobs with talent is also harder.
One way to counter this is to centralize job offerings and create one place where all organizations and startups join. According to Leonne, the ideal situation would be a platform where job searchers play a key role: a pool of talents looking for a startup job where founders can find them. So, it is the other way from strategies nowadays, where you usually wait until someone responds to your vacancy.
YES!Delft is currently collaborating to create a digital platform for startups in the Delft region, the whole country, and the nationwide startup ecosystem.
Huge potential hires are everywhere, and you need multidisciplined teams, so it is important to involve as many relevant parties as possible to facilitate startups in their search for talented team members.
Conclusion
In conclusion, effective recruitment strategies for startups can be extensive. Remember the most important takeaways of this article, such as timing, how to build a strong team, making sure your vacancy is visible, and tackling practicalities such as insurance, salary, and benefits.
If you need help with your recruitment strategy, please contact us. With our experience and way of working, they have all the tools to help you succeed in hiring your first employee. Or, if you have a vacancy, make sure to share it with them so they can put it on their website. Good luck with hiring new team members and growing your startup.
