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What A Nightmare Employee Taught Me About Hiring
“I quit. I’m in Miami and leaving the van with the keys here.”
That was the call I received one weekend not long after launching my first business. To exacerbate the situation, the van referenced was full of valuable merchandise, and I was 11 hours away in South Carolina.
And so started my long history of terrible hires.
Some background. I had started a business with a partner, and we were already stretched to the limit with time and money and stress. The van in question was in route to Miami to deliver merchandise to new clients, and needless to say, it never made it to the clients. Immediately, after receiving the call, I drove with my business partner overnight to Miami to retrieve the van.
Of course, like every entrepreneurial story, this one was more complicated. The deliver drive who abandoned our van and merchandise was actually on his third stint with our company. Yes, third.
When the driver originally applied for the position, he was a well-spoken and ambitious and genuinely seemed enthusiastic to join our gritty startup team. The first time we hired him, however, he did not show up for his first day, though he did call later and had a reasonably good excuse for missing. He demonstrated remorse and continued to express enthusiasm to be part of our…
