Startup Hiring
Startup hiring is tough. I've learned a lot along the way. This is my continuously updated field guide for what's currently working vs. what I've learned not to do.
There are probably more phases of hiring than this, but here are the ones I've learned strategies around.
Phases of hiring
Note - There is a step here that I'm not listing sequentially because it happens throughout the entire process: Selling
1. Recruiting
Recruiting is basically networking, but strategically for hiring. You always need to keep track of the best people you meet because you never know when you might get a chance to hire them. Recruiting is often a long game and for the best candidates, it can take years!
When recruiting, don't push too hard. Build authentic relationships with them and build trust bi-directionally. Invest in their success, even if the person isn't the perfect fit for you today or ever.
I'm constantly staying in touch with great people, inviting them to the office, and assisting where I can. I've seen this pay off.
2. Calibrating
If you're hiring correctly, you're hiring for people better than yourself.
How do you know they are better? You need to learn what excellence looks like and define it for everyone else that's participating in hiring.
Calibration Steps:
- Talk to people who you've been told are world-class to understand what it looks like.
- Write out what a great profile looks like - Characteristics, strengths, types of work, etc. Go beyond the job description.
- Find a correlation between great profiles and other organizations (this will be what you source from). An obvious example could be that Figma produces great product designers and that MIT has engineers with strong math foundations.
Note - when you figure out the non-obvious examples, you'll have a hiring advantage - Write the job description
- Check your thinking with those world-class people from Step 1.
Note - Calibration is iterative. Often, you'll meet new people that make you question your thinking. Talk to more world-class people to sort through it.
3. Sourcing
I've found that the best talent doesn't come from job postings. This is because the best people often aren't looking for jobs (they already have them) and their current company wants to keep them. In the earliest days, sourcing will be a very manual effort, but there are ways to scale it with technology and people.
Sourcing when you don't want to spend much money
A lot founders say "just go grab the best people you know". I didn't work at a major company and my startup is in a different space than what I had worked at in the past. I had to build my network from scratch. Here's how I've approached it with some success:
Cheap Sourcing Steps:
- Add 1000 people to a list - based on your calibration in Phase 2, use every tool available (Linkedin, AI recruiting tools, Github repos, etc.)
- Reach out to 50 people a day until you exhaust the list.
- Start back at step 1.
Note - One message isn't going to cut it. You'll likely want to setup a sequence that reaches out to people at intervals. You'll want to tweak this based on open rates and responses. If you have a warm intro - even better; use it.
This is EXHAUSTING. It will take up most of your day. But again, hiring is the most important thing you could be doing so it's worth it.
Sourcing when you have some money
You can find an "embedded recruiter" (aka expert sourcer). You give them a list, they handle outreach and get those people on your calendar.
This is different from an external recruiter which will only send you candidates from their list that they can make a commission on. You don't want that.
With the right embedded person, you can increase from 250-ish outreaches a week to over 400.
Finding an embedded sourcer is difficult. You need to vet them as hard as you would a full-time hire. Make sure they are up to your standards and will keep the process smooth.
4. Scheduling
Self explanatory, but coordinating interviews is time consuming and important. The smoother and more polished this phase is, the better experience the candidate is going to have.
Candidates should walk into each interview prepared, engaged, and aware of next steps. Prior to hiring an embedded person or team, you'll want some AI tool or auto-calendar tool to help you with this. After hiring an embedded person, scheduling becomes much easier.
5. Interviewing
This is going to be a long one so I'm still writing it up. However, here are some fundamental components of good interviewing.
- Consistency is important. It's hard to measure candidates against each other without it.
- Trick questions don't teach you much.
- Make sure your interviews are well rounded. Cover behavioral, technical, and trajectory. There's a good book called "Who" which teaches these in more detail.
- Ask what their references would say about them in advance. Helpful when you call references later.
- Don't bring everyone to the interview. It's counter intuitive, but you don't want your hiring panels to be too large.
- Ask follow-up questions. Some people are great at interviewing. Ask 2+ follow-up questions per answer to really get to the truth. References will also help here.
- Ask logistical questions in the first interview. Salary, equity, remote vs. in-office, start date, what are their expectations? Nothing is more frustrating than getting to the end and realizing you're not on the same page.
6. References
You have to call references. It's non-negotiable. You learn so much.
How many do you need to do? I've learned that the more you do, the better. Some of the best people at hiring in the world perform more than 15 per candidate and that the number of references you need to call scales with seniority and risk of the role. In general, I never do less than 4.
Make sure they are good references. You can't only speak to their peers & friends. If they aren't willing to give you a former boss or mentor, this is a red flag.
The questions you ask a reference require some special thinking. You'll need to ask in a way that gets to the truth. In addition, you'll want to spend time using each reference to dig into questions or concerns that came out of the interviews.
7. Closing
So many people forget this step. Closing is an art as much as it is a science. Here are the most important lessons I've learned.
- The hire is not done until the person starts their first day and is working. This might not even be enough (see onboarding).
- The candidate is often not the only person you're closing. Let's say they are married and their spouse will need to move with them. You need to close them as well.
- Show a candidate your commitment. This is a huge advantage when you're a startup. Fly there in person, fly them to you, spend time with them in-person. Respond quickly to their requests.
8. Onboarding
If you do everything right and the candidate shows up for their first day; great, but there's still another step. You need to make sure they are onboarded effectively and efficiently.
I recommend having a 7 day plan, 30 day, 60 day, and 90 day for every person who joins and then help them see it through. Great employees leave when they can't make an impact - make sure they get there as quickly as possible.
Selling
You should be doing this at every stage of the hiring journey, but you have to be careful not to oversell. The best people want to work on really tough problems with high impact. They also want to be told the truth.
If a candidate is actually interested in the role, give them a chance at the end of each interview to ask you questions. This is a good chance to sell with context.
Things that don't (usually) work
- External Recruiters - Yes, hiring is painful and time consuming, but it's the most important thing you could be doing. Using an external recruiter means you're outsourcing the most important part of your job. At the early stages, hiring should be founder/team led.
- Job Postings - The best people aren't looking for jobs and their current company is usually wanting to keep them. You have to go seek them.
Resources
- Who: A method for hiring
A good book with a well-thought out interviewing plan. - https://joincolossus.com/article/graham-duncan-talent-whisperer/
An eye opening piece on how hardcore people hire.