Are you looking to grow your team? If you aren't quite there yet, hopefully you will be soon. Growing your team is vital to scaling up your business. There will come a time that doing it all yourself won't be realistic. If you've never hired someone before, perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed by the idea. Keeping a few key things in mind can make all the difference to helping you overcome this feeling.

You are the expert on your business, so think about what makes your business unique.

• What values are important to your company?
• What tasks or roles would you rather not do yourself?
• How are you sharing your company's story?
• Do you understand what type of employee to hire to accelerate your business?

It is important when screening candidates to understand your needs. I believe it is key to hire people who have a blend of the right attitude, skills, and experience. You may think that cultural fit trumps all, however, you want to hire people that are going to propel the business forward and not just agree with you.

Remember, when starting out your team will be small. Convey to potential candidates that they may or will have to perform multiple roles. You can use that to your advantage as a way to sell them on having a lot of influence in the direction of the venture.

Download our free Quick Screen template to jump-start your hiring process. This isn't intended to be a complete solution for screening candidates, rather a quick check to see if they meet the minimum criteria for a second round interview. We welcome feedback and questions about the document.