Entrepreneurs: What Do You Say?
by Miki Saxon
An article in the Canadian Globe & Mail listing ten realities of working for a startup sparked a discussion with a group of entrepreneurs.
Everyone agreed that ‘what do you tell candidates during interviews’ is too general a question, so here are some of the specific questions they voiced.
- How safe is it to assume that everybody who applies to a startup has read/heard enough to know the pitfalls?
- How much of the “down side” should be mentioned during an interview, especially with highly desirable candidates.
- Should you bring up the need to pivot—often more than once—when the end result may have little relationship to the candidate’s stated interests?
- What if the pivot is already on the drawing board, but not yet public?
- How do you respond to questions about how company failure would affect their career?
- What do you say to someone with desperately needed skills who is willing to start in that area, but wants to learn new areas in a reasonably short period?
- What do you say when the candidate questions the option package and asks about option pool, investment rounds and dilution?
- Should you hire if you still have some money, but your investors have lost interest and are recommending closing the company?”
- Should the fact that the candidate would be resigning from a current position to join you make a difference?
How have/would you handle these questions in an interview you were conducting?
Come back next week to see responses from the group.
Image credit: arte_ram
October 21st, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Hmmm… how much of a downside should be brought up?
If someone is at an interview, hopefully they have a little bit of an idea of what they’re getting into. I am of the mindset that details of the company could be discussed after initial interviews. Maybe after someone has had enough time to digest who they will be working with.
-Noah
October 21st, 2011 at 8:13 pm
That’s valid, Noah, except these are direct questions asked by the candidate during the interview. Do you think they can just be ignored? If not, what would you say?
October 25th, 2011 at 12:10 am
I suppose that mine is a general comment. Since the ‘How much of a down side…’ was kind of a general question as to how much of a downside should the interviewer show rather than a specific question asked by the candidate. Or, at least, that’s how I took it.
I just mean that if candidates need to do their homework and can’t really depend on an interviewer to tell them that the business is a startup.
October 25th, 2011 at 10:00 am
Hi Noah, you are right about the need for candidates to do their homework, but these questions are more about how candid interviewers should be.
Join us Thursday to see responses from the group.