Thursday, December 18, 2008

Hire the best

Following on from my recent post on whether now is a good time for startups or not, I was reading this blog from Seth Godin about hiring the best people.

He is so right. I've seen so many examples recently of companies going for ease of hiring in these tough economic times rather than looking for the best people. They post a job, wait for loads of CV's to show up, and then try to match a CV exactly to the job spec they posted rather than looking for that unique person who will take their organisation to new heights.

During my career I have always found the best hiring approach is not to hire somebody making a sideways move (i.e. doing the same job in a different company) but rather to hire somebody looking for a new challenge. These people will want to prove they can do the job, they will work harder, they will have more loyalty to you and your company, and will be better employees all around.

Don't hire for mediocrity or average, hire the best.