Even your most talented employees have room for growth in some area, and you're doing your employee a disservice if the sum of your review is: 'You're great!' No matter how talented the employee, think of ways he could grow towards the position he might want to hold two, five, or 10 years down the line.

Kathryn Minshew

Categorized in : Thinking Years Two

Understanding your employee's perspective can go a long way towards increasing productivity and happiness.

Kathryn Minshew

productive-work leadership inspirational

Starting a business isn't for everyone, and it's not what you should do if you aren't sure what else to do. It requires thick skin and the willingness to carry a great deal of stress, sometimes alone. It's more often a life of failure than a life of success, and the majority of successes came after a long road of disappointment, and often shame.

Kathryn Minshew

stress disappointment long

For almost the first year of The Muse's life, I would do 5 to 8 networking events a week. And I don't necessarily think that's the right path for everyone, but I realized that as an entrepreneur, one of my strengths was finding the right people who could help us. I didn't come into startups with any network.

Kathryn Minshew

people years thinking

The best cover letters I've read are from people who have a passion for my company, and can make that passion come to life on a page. The letters that make me say, 'Yes! This person really gets it.' Because, at the end of the day, I want to hire people who already get it. Most hiring managers do.

Kathryn Minshew

the-end-of-the-day passion people

My first company failed completely. And it failed at about ten months old. I had about 12 months of savings, so when it failed I was thinking: 'Do I go back to work?' And at that point I believed so deeply in what I was doing that I couldn't imagine anything else other than trying to make this business work.

Kathryn Minshew

saving trying thinking

For those working menial jobs or putting in 100-hour weeks for corporations, the lure of starting your own business can seem like a great way to get more flexibility, upside, and ownership.

Kathryn Minshew

corporations jobs way

Call it nature or nurture, there are differences in how men and women approach professional conduct, and facing these issues head-on will make us all more equipped to succeed.

Kathryn Minshew

issues differences men

As we've grown 'The Daily Muse' and met contacts who want to collaborate with us, knowing who does what has helped us be clear on who we want our partners to connect with - and makes us look buttoned up, too. SEO firm? Talk to our COO. An editor from the 'Huffington Post?' Meet our Editor-in-Chief.

Kathryn Minshew

editors knowing doe

You know, as most entrepreneurs do, that a company is only as good as its people. The hard part is actually building the team that will embody your company culture and propel you forward.

Kathryn Minshew

entrepreneur team people

Done right, a performance review is one of the best opportunities to encourage and support high performers and constructively improve your middle- and lower-tier workers.

Kathryn Minshew

support done opportunity

So many of my rookie mistakes could have been avoided by first-hand exposure to other, more experienced technology entrepreneurs.

Kathryn Minshew

technology mistake hands

Have a go-to pump up song. Mine is Shakira's 'Waka Waka' from the 2010 World Cup (don't judge). Play it only when you're ready to turn into your most badass self.

Kathryn Minshew

badass self song

We knew when we started the Daily Muse, we wanted a recruiting-focused business model rather than an advertising-focused one. We felt like publishers were being forced to go to more and more extreme lengths to monetize through advertising.

Kathryn Minshew

muse length advertising

Sure, it's fun to chat with people with interesting backgrounds who seem to have a passion for your company. But a job interview is not a friendly chat. You need to determine whether candidates, can they really do the job. So ask them to prove it.

Kathryn Minshew

passion fun jobs

When you start a new company, you have to do it all. Yes, all of it.

Kathryn Minshew

new-company company

One of the top causes of startup death - right after cofounder problems - is building something no one wants.

Kathryn Minshew

building-something causes want

I had been a veteran of pretty challenging job searches, so I knew firsthand how frustrating, confusing, and demoralizing the job search process can be. Even after you get a job, many people join companies and discover in the first couple weeks that they aren't a good match with the personality and values of the company.

Kathryn Minshew

couple jobs people

Get your product in front of actual, living, breathing strangers. Your college roommate's approval does not mean there's market demand.

Kathryn Minshew

breathing college mean

Thinking big is only one part of being a successful entrepreneur.

Kathryn Minshew

entrepreneur successful thinking

What do I want to do with my life?

Kathryn Minshew

want