5 Types Of People You Should Never Hire

A critical aspect of building a good and successful team is to hire the right kind of people who are qualified and can work well in a struggling company. Often times people who look good on paper don’t turn out to be the same in person. Hiring the wrong kind of people can negate any hard work you’ve put in building your company. Here are 5 types of people you should definitely avoid hiring.

1. The Nay Sayer
These are the types of people whose first impulse is to say ‘No’ to every question, solution, suggestion and option. They might be good at their job but nay sayers tend to bring down the overall enthusiasm of the team. It is easy to recognize a nay sayer at interviews. They tend to negotiate with almost everything, starting from interview timings to the work schedule. They are uncomfortable with the timings, can’t work extra hours and work better alone than in a team.

2. The Impressor:
They are people with an inflated view of their own talent or importance. They tend to be bossy, loud and overly eager to announce their own achievements. They dress to impress and sound pretty good in interviews but will drop hints of their achievements in the middle of the conversation. These self importance sentences can be anything like ‘When I was leading the team’ or ‘Under my leadership.’ They tend to ignore the juniors and focus only on the senior members of the team.

3. The Know It Alls:
These are the jack of all trades and the masters of none. They are the type of people who feel that since they have done it once, they can do it again. They tend to repeat every single detail of the work they’ve accomplished in their last job and have a ‘one size fits all’ approach to problems. Ask them any question and they will promptly reply with ‘We used to do this in my last place of work’ or ‘Our strategy in the previous company was.’ They lack creativity and avoid coming up with innovative solutions.

4. The Corporate Type:
These are easy to identify. They are a perfect fit for corporate cultures and love the 9 to 5 jobs with stress free environments. Startups are high pressure areas where employees are overworked and understaffed. They are part time nay sayers because they will never be able to work after 6, weekends are for relaxing and holidays are meant for family. They have generally only worked in corporate offices and enjoy the advantages of a safe job.

5. The Conformist:
These are the types of people who habitually conform to the rules, style and regulations of everything in life. They will give you by the book answers and don’t believe in innovation. They might meet the baseline criteria required in a potential candidate but will lack the ‘wow’ factor. In a startup where creativity is key, the conformist’s type will bring down the positive attitude and results of your team.

Now that you know what kind of people should be avoided, hire only the best for your team!