Will You Hire Me?! I Have Not Used Your Product.

I do not work in Human Resources.

That said, I have been a part of 15+ job interviews since joining Zaarly and have met some fascinating candidates along the way.

The one question that always creates the best conversations is remarkably simple:

“Have you purchased anything from our website?”

This is the moment that I can tell how passionate the candidate is about our company and how thoughtful the next 30 minutes will be.

Every e-commerce company should require job candidates to complete one transaction on your platform before a job interview.

If the candidate did not take the time to use your product, why are they sitting in your office asking for a job?

Tell Me What We Can Improve.

Our Director of Product, Shane Mac spoke with me about this hiring policy and had a very interesting perspective:

It’s awesome when the opposite happens - and the job candidate actually know everything about your platform and have used your product many times.

I love being caught offguard when someone knows all the ins and outs of the company from the outside and tells you where they think you can improve.

Your Current Employees Should Use Your Product Too.

This is an incredibly simple concept that many young companies overlook.

After candidates are hired, make sure that your active employees use your product on a regular basis, too.

If your teammates do not purchase from your website, how will you ever convince customers to spend money on your product?

Hopefully, you have built a product that requires no incentives for employee participation — everyone at your company will love it —right?!

Wrong. That’s not how the world works.

Employees have varying levels of disposable income and they won’t always be your target customer.

But you still need them to use your product.

To makes sure this happens, give your employees monthly credits to make purchases on your site.

It will make them happier at work and they will have a more informed opinion about your product.

Giving your employees your spending credits is just the beginning.

You should review the purchase history of your employees — and try to find patterns in their spending habits.

At the very least, you will figure out who isn’t your target customer so you can focus your energy and marketing dollars on other audiences.