Hiring Your First Finance Team Member: What New Finance Managers Get Wrong
Hiring your first finance team member is a big moment for a new Finance Manager. It is also where many make their first serious leadership mistake.
They hire someone just like themselves. Or they hire the most experienced candidate, who gets bored within months. Or they rush the process because they are drowning in work, and end up with someone who creates more problems than they solve.
A good first hire can transform your role, freeing you to focus on analysis, business partnering and leadership. A bad one can cost months of time and money. This article explains what new Finance Managers get wrong and how to recruit well for a small finance team.
Start with the work, not the title
Before you write a job ad, list the work you need done. Be specific. Accounts payable processing, bank reconciliations, payroll, month end journals, debtor follow-up, reporting support.
Then think about what you want to hand over now and what you might hand over in a year. That tells you the level and skills you need. It may be an Assistant Accountant, a Payroll and Accounts Officer, or a Management Accountant. The title follows the work.
Mistake 1: hiring a copy of yourself
Many new managers look for someone with the same background and strengths as them. That can leave the team with the same gaps.
Think about what the team needs. If you are strong commercially but weaker on detail, hire someone who loves accuracy. If you are strong on reporting but less comfortable with systems, hire someone who enjoys automation.
Mistake 2: hiring too senior
It is tempting to hire the most experienced candidate. But someone overqualified for the work may become bored and leave quickly, or clash with you over direction.
Hire for the role you have, with some room to grow. A capable person who can grow into more responsibility is often a better choice than someone who has already done it all.
Mistake 3: rushing
When you are overloaded, the temptation is to hire the first reasonable candidate. That often leads to a poor fit.
If you need help quickly, consider a temporary or contract worker while you run a proper process. A few weeks of temporary support is far cheaper than a bad permanent hire.
Mistake 4: vague job ads
A vague ad attracts vague applications. Be specific about the work, systems, team size, business and what success looks like. Include the salary range if you can. It saves time for everyone.
For ideas on what candidates read into job ads, see reading a finance job ad.
Mistake 5: only testing technical skills
Technical skills matter, but they are rarely why a hire fails. Attitude, reliability, communication and fit with the team matter just as much.
Use a mix of methods. A short practical test, such as a reconciliation or Excel exercise. Behavioural questions about deadlines, mistakes and working with others. A conversation about what they want from their career.
Good interview questions
Tell me about a time you found an error in your own work. What did you do?
How do you organise your work around month end?
Tell me about a process you improved.
How do you handle a manager who asks for something urgent when you are already busy?
What do you want to be doing in two years?
Check references properly
Reference checks are often rushed. Ask specific questions. How reliable was this person at month end? How did they handle mistakes? Would you hire them again? The answers to that last question can be very revealing.
Plan the onboarding
A good hire can still fail with poor onboarding. Plan the first month. What will they learn first? Who will train them? What will they own by the end of month one, three and six?
Document key processes before they start if you can. It speeds up learning and reduces your dependence on memory.
Working with recruiters
If you use a recruiter, brief them well. Explain the work, the team, the culture and what success looks like. Ask them to screen for attitude and reliability as well as skills. A good recruiter can save you a lot of time.
Using it for your career
Hiring and building a team is strong leadership evidence. Record what you did and the result. “Recruited and developed the finance team’s first Assistant Accountant, who took over accounts payable and payroll within six months, freeing me to lead monthly business reviews.”
Lines like that show hiring managers you can build a function, not just run one. For more on showing leadership, see leading a small finance team.
Permanent, contract or outsourced?
Before you hire, think about the best way to get the work done. A permanent hire suits ongoing work you want to build over time. A contractor or temp suits short-term peaks, projects or cover while you recruit. An outsourced provider, such as a payroll bureau or bookkeeping service, may suit transactional work that does not need to be in house.
Some Finance Managers combine these. A permanent Management Accountant supported by an outsourced accounts payable service, for example. Choose the mix that gives the business the best result for the cost.
Writing a clear job ad
A strong job ad for a small finance team usually includes:
A short description of the business, its size and what it does
Who the role reports to and who else is in the team
The main responsibilities, in plain language
The systems used
What the person will learn and how the role can grow
Hours, flexibility and location
The salary range, if you can share it
Candidates respond well to honesty. If the role is hands-on and busy at month end, say so. You will attract people who want that kind of role.
Making the offer
When you find the right person, move quickly. Good finance candidates often have several options. Make a fair offer based on the market, explain the development opportunities and confirm details in writing.
If you are unsure what to pay, check current salary guides or ask a recruiter. Underpaying may save money now but often leads to early resignation.
The first 90 days
Set clear goals for the new starter’s first three months. Check in weekly at first, then less often as they settle. Give feedback early, both positive and constructive. Problems are much easier to fix in month one than month six.
By the end of 90 days, you should both know whether the hire is working. If it is not, deal with it promptly and fairly.
A worked example
“Built the finance team from one to four people as the business grew from $20 million to $55 million, recruiting an Assistant Accountant, a Payroll Officer and a Management Accountant, and introducing structured onboarding that had each new starter owning their core processes within three months.” That line shows planning, hiring judgement and leadership.
A simple candidate scorecard
When you interview several people, it is easy to be swayed by the most recent or most confident candidate. A short scorecard keeps you fair and consistent.
Before interviews start, choose five things that matter most for the role and score each candidate from one to five. For an Assistant Accountant role, the list might look like this:
Accuracy: how they performed on the reconciliation test
Systems: comfort with your accounting system and Excel
Organisation: how they describe managing month end deadlines
Communication: how clearly they explain their own work
Growth: interest in learning and taking on more
Write a one-line note next to each score while it is fresh. When you compare candidates, you will be comparing evidence, not memories.
Warning signs in interviews
Every mistake they describe was someone else’s fault
They cannot explain the reconciliations or reports they say they owned
They show little interest in your business or the role
They are vague about why they left their last two roles
They are dismissive towards the recruiter or reception staff
One warning sign is not always a reason to say no. Two or three together usually are.
Questions good candidates will ask you
Strong candidates interview you too. Be ready with honest answers to questions like these.
What does a typical month end look like, and how late does the team work?
What would you want me to own after six months?
How do you give feedback, and how often?
Why is this role available now?
Clear, honest answers build trust and help the right person say yes.
Common mistakes
Hiring a copy of yourself
Hiring too senior for the work
Rushing the process
Writing vague job ads
Testing only technical skills
Skipping onboarding planning
Your next step
If you are about to hire, write a list of the work you want to hand over now and in a year. Then write the job ad from that list, not from a template.
If you want your resume and LinkedIn to show your growth as a finance leader, my Gold package covers your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn and positioning strategy.
If you want an outside view on building your team or your career, book a complimentary Clarity Session.
