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Hiring.
It's hard and time consuming, but I like to think we've gotten much better at it over the past year at @investwithLEX
Short thread on some lessons I've learned and our latest win. Please share any tips below.
It's hard and time consuming, but I like to think we've gotten much better at it over the past year at @investwithLEX
Short thread on some lessons I've learned and our latest win. Please share any tips below.
First, growing our team is a huge priority for us in Q1. We just announced $6M in new funding ( https://bit.ly/3iDmSDo ) and want to build out the Eng team across the stack.
I've spent 60+ hours on hiring so far in 2021 alone, and @SWARTZcenter has spent quite a bit of time too.
I've spent 60+ hours on hiring so far in 2021 alone, and @SWARTZcenter has spent quite a bit of time too.
Lesson number one:
Hiring takes a ton of time internally, but for the candidate, the process needs to feel smooth, efficient, delightful.
We need to be able to move as fast as they want to drive their own candidacy forward...
Hiring takes a ton of time internally, but for the candidate, the process needs to feel smooth, efficient, delightful.
We need to be able to move as fast as they want to drive their own candidacy forward...
Do everything in your power not to slow a candidate down.
The reason is simple: someone looking to join a 20 person startup wants to move fast. They will *hate* being slowed down before they even get started.
Show that you are lean, free of BS and can get things done quickly.
The reason is simple: someone looking to join a 20 person startup wants to move fast. They will *hate* being slowed down before they even get started.
Show that you are lean, free of BS and can get things done quickly.
Learning number two:
A founder should own the communications with most candidates.
This definitely ends at some point in a company's timeline - and I am not qualified to say when that is. But I can definitively say that should be the case at ~20 employees.
A founder should own the communications with most candidates.
This definitely ends at some point in a company's timeline - and I am not qualified to say when that is. But I can definitively say that should be the case at ~20 employees.
The reason is also simple.
Someone looking to join a 20 person startup doesn't want bureaucracy. They want to move fast and get things done. They don't want layering. They want direct access to everyone at the company and zero internal politics.
Someone looking to join a 20 person startup doesn't want bureaucracy. They want to move fast and get things done. They don't want layering. They want direct access to everyone at the company and zero internal politics.
We lost a dream candidate for CMO recently, because he felt a layer between himself and the founders before he even started.
We didn't mean for it to feel that way - we thought we were just offloading some email and coordination work to save time. But how could he know that?
We didn't mean for it to feel that way - we thought we were just offloading some email and coordination work to save time. But how could he know that?
Lesson number three (s/o to @Madamelic for this one):
It's probably obvious to many, but not to people who are just starting to build a team...
It's probably obvious to many, but not to people who are just starting to build a team...
The manager/founder should step out for some of the interviews.
Give them a chance to ask deeper questions about how the team operates, so they can feel more confident that they're getting full honest answers from their future teammates, without the manager listening in.
Give them a chance to ask deeper questions about how the team operates, so they can feel more confident that they're getting full honest answers from their future teammates, without the manager listening in.
All these pillars don't just make the prospect more likely to join us over competing offers. If we nail all of these, they'll already be pumped about how we operate, and they'll bring that energy to the team on day one.
So, onto our latest win. We set a new bar with our latest hire at @investwithLEX
We went from Twitter DM to signed job offer in 7 days!
1 week, 7 interview calls/zooms, 10 LEX teammates met.
1 new iOS hire
We went from Twitter DM to signed job offer in 7 days!
1 week, 7 interview calls/zooms, 10 LEX teammates met.
1 new iOS hire
We want to keep getting better at hiring, so please drop in with any lessons you've learned, or pain points you've felt.
And if you know anyone who might be a fit for LEX: $1000 cash in your pocket if you intro them and we hire: http://jobs.lever.co/lex
And if you know anyone who might be a fit for LEX: $1000 cash in your pocket if you intro them and we hire: http://jobs.lever.co/lex
