3 Must-Follow Hiring Tips Every Business Owner Should Know
When done right, hiring becomes more than a function, it becomes your competitive advantage.
Hiring the right person isn’t just about filling a role, it’s a business-critical decision that can drive or hinder growth. Whether you’re running a startup or managing a growing business, each hire directly impacts your performance, productivity, and company culture. Getting it right from the start saves you valuable time, money, and frustration.
Having worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and business leaders on solving their hiring needs, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.
Here are three practical and proven tips to help you hire smarter and faster:
- Post Your Job Where the Right People Will See It
Sounds obvious, right? But many businesses post a job once and expect results. That’s not how hiring works anymore. You need to maximize your visibility and reach. Use job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter, but don’t stop there. Share the job post across multiple platforms: your company’s social media pages, Facebook and WhatsApp communities, local networking groups and most importantly, your personal network. The best hires sometimes come from referrals or someone in your network who knows someone perfect for the role.
But visibility means nothing without clarity. Your job post must be well-structured and transparent.
At a minimum, it should include: • Job Title • Company Overview • Position Summary • Clear Responsibilities • Required Skills • And most importantly: the salary or salary range
I get it. Many business owners hesitate to list compensation, but here’s the truth: the data is clear. Job posts that include salary information receive up to three times more qualified applicants (LinkedIn Hiring Insights). It also saves time by filtering out candidates whose expectations don’t align with your budget.
- Use Screening Questions to Filter Candidates If the platform you’re using allows for screening questions (LinkedIn does), take full advantage of it. You’ll save hours by only reviewing candidates who meet the core requirements.
For example, you might add screening questions such as: • “Do you have at least 2 years of hands-on experience using [insert software or CRM]?” • “Do you meet the minimum required years of experience in the [insert industry] industry.”
If a candidate doesn’t meet these, they won’t show up in your shortlist. This one step can immediately eliminate 70% of unqualified applicants. It’s a simple way to ensure you’re only reviewing serious, qualified candidates, and it keeps your process efficient.
- Give Finalists a Short Task Once you’re down to your top 3–5 candidates, assign them a short task. Not something that takes hours, just something small, relevant, and tied to the actual job. It shouldn’t take more than 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
Examples: • For a Graphic Designer: “Create a simple flyer using our brand assets.” • For a Project Manager: “Organize a sample project in monday.com.” • For a Customer Support Rep: “Respond to a sample customer inquiry email.”
These micro-assessments give you insight into their real work, communication style, and attention to detail. It’s one of the best predictors of future performance and it shows who’s really invested.
Final Thoughts
Hiring isn’t just about resumes or interviews, it’s one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make as a business owner. When done right, hiring becomes more than a function, it becomes your competitive advantage.
I hope these three tips will help you!
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