Thinking About Hiring? 5 Interview Questions to Ask Your First Employee

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Before you hire someone, you want to make sure they are a good fit for your organization. Read on for five interview questions to ask to help you decide. 

Around 80% of small businesses do not have any employees. But, sometimes as a business owner you will need to bring in some extra help. Hiring an employee can allow you to scale up so you can provide more goods and services and, ideally, grow your business bank account balance.

You want to make sure you hire the right person, which can be hard to do if you’ve never brought an employee on board before. To help you find the right staff member to add to your team, be sure to ask these five important interview questions.

1. Have you ever worked with a startup before?

Working at a brand-new company that is just getting off the ground is different than working at an established business. Your first employee will likely be helping to establish their own role within your organization and will play a key part in helping you develop your company culture.

Hiring someone who has worked in a startup in the past and who has an understanding of what it takes to succeed in a growing business can be a big benefit. While a lack of startup experience shouldn’t necessarily be a dealbreaker if you find a candidate who is otherwise perfect, this is still something to keep on your radar.

2. Why are you well-suited to the job?

You don’t want to hire someone who just wants a paycheck — you want to hire someone who is excited about the work and who will be a perfect fit for the role. And the best person to tell you whether they’d be a good fit is the employee themselves.

Asking someone why they are well-suited for the job gives you an opportunity to make sure they see the job in the same way you do and gives you the chance to see what skills they think are essential for success. It also helps you understand what their strengths are. All of these things will be important in hiring the perfect candidate.

3. What was your favorite job in your past?

Asking about a past favorite job can give you insight into the kind of working environment a candidate likes as well as the tasks they excelled at. You can make sure you’re bringing someone on board only if the specific position you are offering is one they will thrive in.

4. How would your prior coworkers describe you?

Asking about strengths and weaknesses will often get you generic answers, but asking someone how others think of them can provide more insight into their character. You’ll get a glimpse of how the candidate wants to present themselves at work and what they think makes them a good coworker. This will help you decide if the person is someone you think you’d like working closely with.

5. What are your pay expectations?

Finally, you want to make sure you are able to meet the salary expectations of the new employee — especially once you take workplace benefits and payroll taxes into account. Finding out how much they expect to get paid can help ensure you can afford to hire them.

By asking all of these questions, you can hopefully find the perfect person to come and work at your organization. If you succeed, your new employee may be an invaluable asset who plays a fundamentally important role in helping your business grow.

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