I should have known better than to hire you in the first place.
"I made a mistake hiring him in the first place," he said.
They should of never hired him in the first place.
After all, if you think the person can't make it, why hire him in the first place?
Why on earth was she hired in the first place?
He never would have been hired in the first place.
He was the one who hired us in the first place, remember?
"The sister was the one who hired me in the first place," I said.
"Isn't that why he was hired in the first place?"
It would seem to make sense to avoid hiring the wrong people in the first place.