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== The hiring problem for startups ==
Small business owners many times hire people they know and trust, especially during startup and early growth years.  This can include personal friends, family members and relatives.  It is common to encounter several problems with this hiring practice:

*These friends, family members and relatives may or may not be qualified for the position they fill in the organization.  They were hired based on knowledge and trust by the owner, not necessarily because they were matched by their skills and experience to a job description.
*The owner may find it awkward and difficult to objectively and transparently manage these people due to their historical personal relationships.
*If for any reason a friend, family member or relative needs their position or responsibilities changed or even let go this is very difficult for most owners.

== Hiring 101 - Best Practices ==

#Write a job description before you hire:  
#*KISS (keep it simple stupid) job description - Downloadable Template
#*More in depth information on [[Effective Job Descriptions]]
#Always have more than one choice before you hire.
#*More choices help you think through better what you really need to fill the position.  You learn from reviewing resumes and interviewing multiple candidates.
#If you are going to hire a friend, family or relative ask yourself these questions:
#*Has your relationship included working on a job with this person and does that lead you to believe this can work?
#*If you had to manage poor performance or mistakes would you be able to do that as you would other employees?
#*Would you be able to fire this friend, family member or relative if that was important for the company to move forward?
#Match the right person for the right job.
#Use multiple people in your organization to do interviews (may be especially helpful deciding on friend, relative or family member).

== Other Wiki Resources ==

*[[Hire your first employee]]
*[[Hire a Contractor or an Employee]]
*[[Hiring and Interviewing]]

== Other Resources ==

*[http://www.absolutehrsolutions.com/samplejobdescriptions.html 50 free sample job descriptions]
*[http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/job-descriptions/sample-job-descriptions.aspx Monster.com] has many standard job descriptions on their website
* [[Businessballs]] has extensive how to resources on [http://www.businessballs.com/jobdescription.htm writing job descriptions].

== Author ==

The author of this article is Terry Gardiner.

{{Template: Terry Gardiner}}


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