How do I interview and evaluate candidates when I've never hired before?
The short answer
Skip trivia and whiteboard theatre, give a paid, real-world work sample that mirrors the actual job and watch how they think, communicate, and follow through. Always do reference checks and ask past managers the blunt question: would you hire them again? Hire slow and fire fast; a wrong early hire is disproportionately damaging in a tiny team.
Go deeper, your way
3 hand-picked resources, 3 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
🎧 Podcast
✓ Link checkedIndiaFreeIntermediate
Why we picked it
The Neon Show (formerly 100x Entrepreneur) is one of India's deepest founder-and-investor interview podcasts, covering pricing, SaaS, and go-to-market from operators who've built for both India and global markets. Real, unfiltered lessons for Indian founders.
Why we picked it
Battle-tested YC advice on landing your critical first engineering hire, from founders who've done it at scale. It reframes hiring as a founder-led sales and persistence problem.
Why we picked it
YC's full curated body of hiring wisdom, from when to hire to how to close and evaluate early employees. The best free, high-signal resource for founders hiring for the first time.
