????有一種人叫做創(chuàng)業(yè)者——他們會(huì)創(chuàng)辦新公司。還有一些人，會(huì)在事業(yè)發(fā)展壯大之前冒險(xiǎn)加入這些新公司，成為創(chuàng)業(yè)者的第一批員工。

????初創(chuàng)公司的早期員工也許不像公司創(chuàng)始人那樣直接承擔(dān)著直接的財(cái)務(wù)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。但他們無疑也都秉持著強(qiáng)烈的信念，充分信任一家稚嫩的、隨時(shí)都可能垮臺(tái)的新公司。這些員工對(duì)全世界的初創(chuàng)公司和小型企業(yè)都起著至關(guān)重要的作用。

????一家新公司招聘的第一批員工絕不僅僅是達(dá)到“職位描述”上寫的那些條件就足夠了。因?yàn)橐患页鮿?chuàng)公司與一家已經(jīng)有經(jīng)營(yíng)基礎(chǔ)的成熟公司有著天壤之別。

文化契合度

????職業(yè)技能固然很重要，但如果團(tuán)隊(duì)規(guī)模很小，文化適應(yīng)性則更加關(guān)鍵。在一個(gè)小型團(tuán)隊(duì)里，每個(gè)人都無處可藏，大家都共同面對(duì)著一個(gè)初創(chuàng)公司會(huì)面對(duì)的各種強(qiáng)大壓力，良好的士氣不可或缺。這些初始員工將構(gòu)成企業(yè)文化的基石。

????布萊克?赫爾是華盛頓哥倫比亞特區(qū)一家初創(chuàng)公司TroopSwap的創(chuàng)始人，他講述了自己的經(jīng)驗(yàn)：“我認(rèn)為對(duì)于一個(gè)創(chuàng)業(yè)團(tuán)隊(duì)，有五個(gè)方面的核心素養(yǎng)是非常關(guān)鍵的：完成任務(wù)的激情、職業(yè)倫理、敢于冒險(xiǎn)、奉獻(xiàn)客戶以及從容面對(duì)失敗?！?/p>

????一家新公司會(huì)隨時(shí)面臨起伏波動(dòng)，所以員工也需要做好坐“過山車”的準(zhǔn)備。有些時(shí)候，在筆試中成績(jī)最好的應(yīng)聘者未必最適合新公司。

創(chuàng)業(yè)的激情

????大部分的初創(chuàng)公司都不能為員工提供有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力的薪酬或福利，所以，它們必須能提供另一些東西——足夠有吸引力的愿景和故事，讓員工愿意投身其中。公司的初期員工必須相信公司的前途，充滿激情地去追求把它變成現(xiàn)實(shí)?！俺跗趩T工必須將公司的核心愿景當(dāng)成自己的信念，甚至有時(shí)候不惜為此挑戰(zhàn)創(chuàng)始人的權(quán)威，”meshin.com的創(chuàng)始人克里斯滕?加利亞尼說。

????新員工就像潛在客戶一樣，如果公司無法清楚地將愿景和價(jià)值觀傳達(dá)給他們，就很難說服他們與公司站在一起，踏上新的冒險(xiǎn)旅途。

????除了對(duì)某種愿景或者理念的激情和信仰，公司還需要員工能承受“創(chuàng)業(yè)生活”。“世界上有許多聰明勤奮的人。但你要尋找的那些人，需要能夠戰(zhàn)勝未知的艱險(xiǎn)，與你一起度過跌宕起伏的創(chuàng)業(yè)歷程，”Yapp的CEO、聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人瑪利亞?賽德曼說。“錄用一個(gè)人之前，我會(huì)將所有的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)都講清楚，甚至說得比他們能想象的創(chuàng)業(yè)階段更糟糕。然后，我會(huì)密切注意他們的面部表情。”

????但激情也同樣關(guān)鍵。“如果沒有對(duì)目標(biāo)發(fā)自內(nèi)心的激情，很難熬過創(chuàng)業(yè)初期的漫漫長(zhǎng)夜。”

判斷力和應(yīng)變力

????在文化適應(yīng)和激情之外，成長(zhǎng)中的初創(chuàng)公司需要有執(zhí)行力的員工。Mediaite的創(chuàng)始編輯、TheLi.st的創(chuàng)始人瑞秋?斯科拉認(rèn)為，理想的創(chuàng)業(yè)員工需要有良好的判斷力和應(yīng)變能力。“你可能需要在各種領(lǐng)域執(zhí)行任務(wù)，沒有明確的工作描述能概括出你要面對(duì)的任務(wù)。你得靠自己弄明白何時(shí)何地、如何處理這些事情。有時(shí)候一些幽默感也會(huì)有幫助?！?/p>

????There are people who start businesses -- entrepreneurs -- then there are the ones who take the risk of working for those entrepreneurs, before the companies are established.

????Early startup employees may not have the same direct financial risk in the business as a company's founders, but they are certainly taking a leap of faith and putting their trust in a young entity that could crash and burn at any time. These people are critical to startups and small businesses around the globe.

????The first employees of a new business must be up for more than just what's written in a job description, because a startup is not the same as an established business that already has a foundation.

Cultural fit

????While skills are important, if the team is still very small, cultural fit is essential. Within a small team, there is nowhere to hide and good morale is an essential ingredient when you are dealing with all the many stresses a startup faces. These first employees will become part of the company's cultural foundation.

????Blake Hall, the founder of DC-based TroopSwap, can speak from experience. "It is vital that I feel comfortable about a core addition to the founding team with respect to five areas: passion for the mission, work ethic, risk preference, dedication to customers, and comfort level with failure."

????New businesses are filled with ups and downs, so employees need to be ready for the rollercoaster ride. In some cases, the best candidates on paper may not be the best fit at a new business.

Passion

????The majority of startups cannot offer competitive salaries or benefits, so they have to offer something else -- a strong vision and story that people can really get behind. Early employees must believe in that vision and have the passion to follow. "Early employees have to believe to their very core in the vision, even if that means sometimes challenging … the founders," says Kristen Galliani, founder of meshin.com.

????Just like with potential customers, if the company cannot articulate its vision and value to potential new hires, it will be very difficult to persuade them to come along on this new adventure.

????Aside from passion and belief in a vision or idea, it takes a certain kind of person to stomach the startup lifestyle. "There are plenty of smart, hardworking people out there but the people you need to take the long bumpy startup ride with you need to be survivors in the face of ambiguous obstacles," says Yapp CEO and cofounder Maria Seidman. "Before hiring someone, I explain to them all of the risk factors and make them sound even worse than they already are for an early stage start up. Then, I watch their facial expressions closely."

????But passion is critical as well. "It's hard to take the long slug of a startup without an authentic passion for the mission."

Judgment and flexibility

????Beyond cultural fit and passion, a growing startup needs people who can get things done. According to Rachel Sklar, founding editor at Mediaite, and now founder of TheLi.st, ideal early startup employees can exercise good judgment and keep things flexible. "You're going to be needed everywhere and no job description can capture all you're going to have to do. You'll need to know where and how to do it all. And a sense of humor couldn't hurt."