Should I HIRE HIM??? Employee with Entrepreneurial Experiences

[rexxkai]

Hey guys,

I am really freaked out and suspicious about whether i should hire this person.


Here's the situation:
I am currently hiring a door-to-door marketing/sales representative (just to work with me for a couple of hours and to test out if the business model works) and I am interviewing an applicant which is probably at least 50 years old and he has lots of entrepreneurial experiences. He says he is semi-retired.

He has owned a restaurant, build houses, wholesale distributor, selling ice cream and a ton of a lot more random experiences.

My question is -
1) Is he trying to steal my business idea and get an idea if the business works?
2) Since he has owned and sold his businesses - why is he still looking for this type of entry level job?

Should I hire this guy??

 

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[treinjapan]

You could just ask him those questions directly. Or if you're really uncomfortable about it and don't have any solid feelings, might be a good idea to pass on him.

Any time you're looking for someone to get something started you will have these worries!

 

[rexxkai]

You could just ask him those questions directly. Or if you're really uncomfortable about it and don't have any solid feelings, might be a good idea to pass on him.

Any time you're looking for someone to get something started you will have these worries!

Thanks for the reply!!

He is the only applicant I am worried about because he just has so manyy entrepreneurial experiences...

If I ask him directly, are there any specific responses I should be watching out for??

 

[Rawr]

IS HE BROKE? Why?!


I'd take a person who works hard and is humble and grateful over ambitious but entitled. Just 02 cents here but we had a guy who came in to work sales who was 50 and he quit 2 days later..he expected more and he didn't make 1 real sales call...

 

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[wadza]

I have had a number of retired / semi-retired older people who have worked for me... Sometimes they like to be able to work part-time or flexible hours. If they're self-funded retirees often it's just so they can make their spending / pocket money etc. Other times it's just something to do... Sometimes they do well, other times they don't work out.

Your best bet is just to ask him yourself and judge from the response.

 

[rexxkai]

thanks for the responses!! very helpful!!

 

[rexxkai]

wadza

hey wadza, i see you also like da c63 lol

 

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[100k]

Well, don't hire him if you don't trust him. Simple as.

You could ask him why he wants the job and what his plan for the future is.

And finally make him sign a Nondisclosure!

 

[DennisD]

Last summer I was trying to get an entry level job and my interviewers and I ended up chatting about management, marketing, etc.
I never got the jobs, they all ended up calling me up after and asking why I "really" wanted the job. Based on my previous experience, skill-set, and personality they didn't believe that I would be looking for an entry level job. When they asked me why I wanted the job:

My Real Reason: I'm broke and need cash and I don't care how I get it
Reason I Gave Them: I love the industry and I love what they're doing in the space (me struggling on the spot, trying to make it look like I'm not going to be gone the moment a better opportunity comes along)

People aren't always up front with their explanations of things like that. If there's an agenda (getting the job, stealing private information, scoping you out as competition) then he'll tell you what he thinks you want to hear.

I do know from working with ambitious people in their 50s, that they just can't stand still. They'll take the right job because it makes them mentally stimulated and they're familiar with the sector landscape.

 

[rexxkai]

Well, don't hire him if you don't trust him. Simple as.

You could ask him why he wants the job and what his plan for the future is.

And finally make him sign a Nondisclosure!

thx for the reminder and tips, i totally forgot about nondisclosure!!

 

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[rexxkai]

Last summer I was trying to get an entry level job and my interviewers and I ended up chatting about management, marketing, etc.
I never got the jobs, they all ended up calling me up after and asking why I "really" wanted the job. Based on my previous experience, skill-set, and personality they didn't believe that I would be looking for an entry level job. When they asked me why I wanted the job:

My Real Reason: I'm broke and need cash and I don't care how I get it
Reason I Gave Them: I love the industry and I love what they're doing in the space (me struggling on the spot, trying to make it look like I'm not going to be gone the moment a better opportunity comes along)

People aren't always up front with their explanations of things like that. If there's an agenda (getting the job, stealing private information, scoping you out as competition) then he'll tell you what he thinks you want to hear.

I do know from working with ambitious people in their 50s, that they just can't stand still. They'll take the right job because it makes them mentally stimulated and they're familiar with the sector landscape.

thanks for the info and heads up!! i will see how the interview goes with him!!

 

[jon.a]

Sounds like me

Just ask him. Maybe he's in transition.

Talk to him, if you click and his answers don't make you nervous and his skills meet your needs hire him.

If he's a flake, don't hire him.

 

[Astute]

Maybe he is just looking to fill some of his time up, so not sure how serious he would take it? Anyway best way like others said it just to ask him, you might be surprised and realise how pointless speculating about it is.

 

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[100k]

thx for the reminder and tips, i totally forgot about nondisclosure!!

No pra-blam brah.

There is also something called "Non-compete clause". Look into that as well and you should be well covered, if he does steal your methods/ideas/techniques you sue his pants off

 

[elclandestino]

it's a true hit or miss!

btw, i've found people like him incompatible with door to door sales and telemarketing more often than other groups

 

[liquidglass]

I think the nondisclosure and non-compete are great ideas as safegaurds, but to be honest I don't think you have much to worry over.

He's 50 and has had, as you stated, multiple random experiences. Firstly from your description of him he's not necessarily an entrepreneur but an employee for someone else most of the time (running a restaurant aka a manager, I've had people try to pull that job description). Either way at worst he's a serial entrepreneur meaning nothing he did has worked out for various reasons which are all his own but he may lay blame with others. You should be more worried about the 50 year old who has started one or two businesses that are still operational.

With these facts in mind forgetting the disclosures if he stole your idea he'd try to run with it for a while and end up the same as before, at square one.

 

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