Last Thursday, we discussed about why hustlers are important for your startup. Today we will discuss about how to identify hustlers when you conduct interviews for your startup recruiting. The right talent could make or break your startup. But how do you separate wheat from the chaff? Here is how:
The devil is in the detail :
No idiom can be more apt than this one when it comes to hiring advice. Often you will see resumes flaunting superior positions at numerous companies. With so many startup sprouting up, you will also easily spot CEOs, VPs and what not claiming to know-it-all and applying for your job opening. The key is to ask them : “What did you do at XYZ position” and when they tell you about something, keep drilling them into further details. The more you go into conversation about how they actually executed the project at ground level, you will find that most of them will start dodging the question or give you incoherent replies or impractical solutions. The real hustler will know things inside-out and you will sniff it.
Give a real hands-on mini assignment:
Mini assignments reflect how the candidate’s actual job is mostly going to be. When you give him an assignment, he will get a taste of whether he is liking what he is doing or not. If he likes the work, it will reflect in the assignment. You will realise how much time, energy and thought he has put behind getting the piece together.
Look for pattern of accomplishments/ striving for accomplishments
Depending on what kind of role you are hiring for, you will need to look for this skill. If you are hiring a fresher candidate look in his resume on how he has tried to accomplish in different projects he has taken up previously — these could be extra-curricular projects, his internships, academics etc. If he has been a hustler, he should have surely tried his hands on something and would have given his best in that field. He would have stories to tell you about those projects.
If you are hiring a senior candidate, look for their pattern of accomplishments. A hustler will often work hard enough to get the job done. And if the candidate you are hiring is an experienced person, he surely would have had opportunities to prove himself in his previous roles. He would have helped get the team a new launch or close a new partnership or something else.
Do let me know if you have any queries on hiring startup talent on Rajeev@TBSPlanet.com