Recruitment 101: hiring your first person without making it weird
If you've never hired before, the steps look obvious until you're in them. Here's the friendly walkthrough — write the role, find candidates, run a fair…
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- Write the role description before you talk to anyone. Saves weeks of confusion.
- Same questions, same order, every candidate. That's how 'fair' actually works.
- Take notes during interviews; rate after, not during.
- Reference checks are not formalities. Two calls beats six interview rounds.
Hiring well is mostly being organised. The instinct is to wing it — talk to a few people you like, pick the best one. That works occasionally and fails predictably. The structured version takes one extra hour up front and saves you from the 6-month regret hire.
Step 1: write the role
- What outcomes does this person own in 6 months? (3-5 specific outcomes.)
- What skills do they need on day one vs day 90?
- What's the band — salary range, equity, benefits?
- Who do they work with? Who do they report to?
- Why is this role open and what failed before, if anything?
Step 2: find people
- Ask your network first. Best hires usually come 1-2 steps out.
- Post in 2-3 relevant places (job board + community + LinkedIn).
- Reply to everyone within 5 working days, even if it's a no.
- Phone screen of 20 minutes filters 80% of mismatches before anyone wastes an hour.
Step 3: run a fair interview
Use the same 5-7 questions for every candidate, in the same order. Score against the role outcomes, not against 'do I vibe with them'. The vibe check is real, but it should be one input, not the only one.
For each outcome, rate 1-5: 'How confident am I they can deliver this?' For each company value, rate 1-5: 'Did I see evidence?' Average across interviewers; talk about the deltas.
Step 4: make the offer
- Verbal first, in a real conversation, not via email.
- Written within 24 hours.
- Be ready for negotiation; have a band, not a point.
- Set the start date and the first-day plan in the same conversation.
Where to go next
Once you've hired your first 1-2 people, the next things to learn are structured hiring (a more rigorous interview process) and onboarding (so your hire actually succeeds). Both are in the Recruitment & Hiring and Onboarding categories of the Playbook.
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