How to research a role before hiring: ask someone who has already done the job
Research a role before hiring by listing the work that keeps going wrong, then asking someone who has done the job what it really takes. Write the job after.
The best way to research a role before hiring is to talk to someone who has done that job at a company like yours. Their experience helps you choose the level of hire and spot problems no new employee can fix alone. Before that call, list the work you actually need done.
1. Start with what keeps going wrong
Which tasks in the last few weeks were late, repeated or left to the founder? Write down what happened, how often and who handles it now.
"Improve customer onboarding" is too broad. It could mean setup help, writing instructions or fixing the product problems that make setup hard, which could be different people.
Pick the work before the title. OPM's job-analysis guidance uses the same order: tasks first, then the abilities they require.
2. Ask someone who has done the job at your stage
Find someone who held the role at a company at your stage. If your hire will work alone, someone who recently did that beats a person who has always run a large team.
Explain your situation, then ask:
- What did you spend most of your time doing when you first took the job?
- Which parts required previous experience, and which could you learn as you went?
- What did you need from your manager to do the work well?
- What would make you hesitate to take the role I have described?
Push on anything vague. "I needed support" could mean a weekly meeting, another employee, a budget or permission to make decisions. (Those cost very different amounts.) Find out which one you would have to provide.
3. Turn what you learn into a specific job
For a first implementation hire, you might decide the person plans customer setups, explains next steps to customers and flags problems to the product team. The founder keeps contract changes and promises about future features. Put that split in the job description.
A good first few months, in plain words: customer projects have clear next steps, customers know whom to contact, and the founder no longer coordinates every setup.
Separate what they need on day one from what you can teach. Handling a difficult customer project may require experience; learning your internal tracking tool probably does not. OPM's structured-interview guide uses knowledge of the actual job to decide what interviews should assess.
4. Have someone who did the job attack the draft
Show them the draft. Ask what is missing, what seems unrealistic and where the new hire would get stuck. Settle those points with whoever will manage the hire.
If you need someone to talk to, search Instant Expert for professionals who have held the role and invite them to a paid 30-minute call. Share the work you need help with and ask them to pick it apart.