How Startups Can Build a Recruiting Machine

How Startups Can Build a Recruiting Machine
#hiringforgrowth
@lever
Thursday April 7, 2016

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the chat box for questions
● Tweet us using #hiringforgrowth
and @lever
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Kiran Dhillon
Content Marketing Manager
Lever
@kirandhillon4
Thanks for joining us!

-
Our featured speaker
David Skok
General Partner
Matrix Partners
ForEntrepreneurs Blog
@BostonVC
#hiringforgrowth

#hiringforgrowth
There used to be two essential
startup skills. Now there’s a third.
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1WeQWae

Two core startup skills
Build a product with
great product/ market fit
Build a sales and
marketing machine
#hiringforgrowth

● Explosion in startups
● Low growth in skilled workers
● Software is eating the world - everyone wants developers
What’s changed?
Demand now significantly outstrips supply -
especially for technical talent

And recruiting has undergone its own revolution...

The hires that most
impact your
company’s
performance aren’t
looking for a job

Enter the third crucial startup skill
Build a recruiting
machine
#hiringforgrowth
Build a product with
great product/ market fit
Build a sales and
marketing machine

Sourcing & Selling
are the key new skills

#hiringforgrowth
Recruiting well takes the entire village
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1WeQWae

#hiringforgrowth
The catch: your village probably
didn’t study recruiting at college
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1kD8Lis

The recruiting funnel
#hiringforgrowth
Candidates
Highly
productive
employees
Sourcing Evaluate
& Sell
Close Train
Top
of
funnel
Middle
of
funnel
Sell Onboard

Top of funnel:
What makes it so hard?
#hiringforgrowth

Q. When should you hire
your first recruiter?
#hiringforgrowth

Q. When should you hire
your first recruiter?
A. Earlier than you think.
#hiringforgrowth

1. They can bring more focus to your sourcing efforts
2. They’ll sell your company better than an outsourced
recruiter would
3. They can build out a better candidate experience
Note: you may still need to enlist the help of a headhunter
for exec roles. If you do, choose carefully.
3 reasons to hire a full-time in-house recruiter early
#hiringforgrowth

A full-time recruiter does NOT mean you’re off the hook
“I have seen some companies get into trouble when team
members think that having an in-house recruiter means they
can now ‘pitch this problem over the fence.’
I tell clients (from CEO on down) that they are all part-time
recruiters. Ensure that the CEO in particular visibly embodies
this behavior.”
Jordan Burton
Founder, Burton Advisors LLC
Former Partner, ghSMART
#hiringforgrowth

#hiringforgrowth
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1S2rvCl
Referrals are much easier in the digital age
● Sit with employees and
review networks from all
past jobs
● Offer referral bonuses
● The biggest motivator for
your team: a strong
mission/vision

Sourcing passive candidates
Sources we like:
● AngelList - startup hires
● GitHub, StackOverflow - developers
● Dribbble - designers
● Sourcing.io - engineers
● Xing - select European talent
● LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter - all
● Conference speaker lists - all
For more tips on how to source a quality pipeline, download our free ebook: lever.co/ebook-sourcing

Why you need a strong talent brand
#hiringforgrowth
Companies with a strong talent brand have
43%
lower cost per hire
20%
faster rate of hire
Source: LinkedIn

How to articulate your talent brand
● Consider your brand as experienced
by your employees. What makes you
different/ special?
● Keep in mind what motivates your
target talent, e.g., technical talent:
○ opportunity to solve technical problems
○ co-workers they can learn from
○ opportunity to contribute to open source
○ cool mission
○ culture they can relate to
● Think about channels to showcase
your brand
#hiringforgrowth

Promoting your talent brand will boost your recruiting efforts
bit.ly/hubspot-culture
1.8 million views to date
#hiringforgrowth

A few thoughts on
getting to Developers

● A key lesson we've learned is that engineers cannot be recruited
○ They are completely overwhelmed by LinkedIn messages and recruiters calling them a
billion times
■ Especially if they're senior
○ They do not respond to these messages
○ We've tried a number of recruiters and they basically don't work
○ We now have a dedicated in-house recruiter and we don't have her recruit engineers
● Building a technical brand and getting the team out there seems to be the only real way to
have success with this community
From one of my Portfolio Companies

Know what you’re looking for in your hire
Example: key competencies expected for a Matrix Partners associate
#hiringforgrowth

Middle of funnel:
Who’s selling whom?
#hiringforgrowth

1. Need to sell at each stage, while also evaluating
2. Need to nurture candidates
3. Need to manage your process
Byproducts of the passive candidate age
#hiringforgrowth

A great candidate experience secures hires
and creates advocates
#hiringforgrowth
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1j6qmh3

We incorporate three types of interview into evaluations
Type of interview Approach
Screening interview Initial evaluation to make sure candidate
passes the bar for consideration
Topgrading interview Chronological history of the career, to
understand successes, failures, and results
achieved by the specific individual.
Focused interviews Conducted by team members to ensure
candidates possess the core competencies.
#hiringforgrowth

A few keys to successful interviewing
● Screen thoroughly to focus on
top candidates
● Build rapport; mix evaluating
with selling
● Assign focus areas to each
interviewer; structure your
feedback form accordingly
● Dig into the bad stuff, but
don’t be judgmental

Reference checking is imperative, especially for senior hires
Don’t Do
● Rely solely on references
provided by the candidate
● Find other references who
are mutual connections
Recommended reading: bit.ly/reference-checking
● Let the reference drive the
call
● Expect the reference to
proactively raise negative
points
● Lead the call; probe for exact
details on the candidate’s
achievements
● Find ways to frame
‘weakness’ questions to get
accurate answers

How to manage your process?
vs.
#hiringforgrowth

Bottom of funnel:
It ain’t over ‘till it’s over
#hiringforgrowth

#hiringforgrowth
Bring in your heavyweights
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1HUx1H0

7 ways your VCs can help you hire executives
#hiringforgrowth
1. Thinking through org design and timing of key hires
2. Help with job description, especially for ‘first of its kind’ exec roles
3. Figuring out compensation
4. Sourcing candidates
5. Tracking down backdoor references
6. Interview support
7. Selling!

Onboarding:
Invest for productivity
#hiringforgrowth

Onboarding is absolutely critical
For more details, see see www.forentrepreneurs.com/onboarding
Hubspot Sales example

Why we invested in Lever
#hiringforgrowth

Why we invested in Lever
Traditional ATS
Evaluate & sell only
Lever
Source, nurture, evaluate & sell
#hiringforgrowth

#hiringforgrowth
Recruiting well takes the entire village
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1HUx8SX

Get your whole team hiring
“With Lever in the hands of all
Mattermark employees, we've cut our
time to hire for open roles in half.
Everyone from our team is sourcing
candidates, referring friends, and
contributing to hiring discussions.
Hiring is now a team effort; I can train
new employees about how to use Lever
in two minutes. It's incredibly intuitive.”
- Natasha, talent lead, Mattermark

Thank you! Questions?
For more information:
www.forEntrepreneurs.com
Browse our webinar
library:
https://www.lever.co/recruiting-resources

3 additional ways to keep in touch
1. Follow @lever on Twitter
2. Subscribe to our blog: www.lever.co/blog
3. Follow us on LinkedIn
#hiringforgrowth

How Startups Can Build a Recruiting Machine

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