6. SHOULD HAVES MUST HAVES
• Rails/Ruby/Node
• iOS/Android
• 3 Years PM
• …
• Passion
• Customer Focus
• Work Ethic
• Certain Skills
7. TAKEAWAYS FROM NEIL/SUSTER
oKnow what you’re hiring for
oKnow what you’re going to ask
oTake notes
oDevelop a vote & back it up
oHave crazy-high standards!
9. BEHAVIORAL VS. BRAIN-TEASER
• Give me an example of a time you:
• … blew a customer away? (Customer Obsession)
• … delivered a key project under deadline? (Deliver Results)
• … improved a process of co-worker(Invent and Simplify)
• Dig:
• What did YOU do?
• How did you know it worked/didn’t?
• What could you have done better? Or, did you, in future?
Give me another … Give me another
10. PROCESS
• Don’t walk thru resume (lazy)
• Do this beforehand!
• Know a Great/Bad Answer
• Take Detailed Notes/Shorthand
• Interview cheat sheet (txt file)
• Take lots of notes & type up interview
• Vote Immediately
10
11. FAVORITE OTHER AREAS
• Beginning
• What did you do to prepare for this interview?
• What are three ways we should improve our
product, to blow away our customer?
• End
• 3 Adjectives people use to describe you
• Give examples of what you’ve done
• Give them time for questions
• Suster: ”No. Curiosity. No. Job.”
12. OTHER TIPS/TRICKS
• Interview many candidates at once
• 4-6 interviewers (key employees, board)
• Assign areas of focus to interviewers
• Everyone log ‘votes’ before you meet
• Schedule in-person debrief ASAP
13. CHECK REFERENCES?
• Yes, eyes wide open
• Look for great
• Probe on anything where not raving
• Find a way to talk to non-references
• Read Mark Suster post:
• http://bitly.com/improve-startup-hiring
14. WHERE DO YOU FIND STARS?
•Friends/FOFs
• Referrals
•Past employers/ees
•Networking/parties
•Craigslist +
•Word of Mouth
•ABR (always be recruiting)
15. ALL ELSE
• Recruiters vs. in-House?
• Referral Program?
• When to Sell the Candidate?
• Comp Levels ($ vs. Ownership)
• Contractors/Interns = great hack
• Hire slow(er) than promised
1) Just like of many of you (older)
Lots of early success, Early amazon, startup to exit, now work with AWS (and places like 500)
2) Opinions are my own (not AWS)
Ideas from mix of Amazon, TeachStreet, and others
3) There’s an exception for every rule (for every speaker)
4) No need to take notes (slides posted at ___________)
How many of you have done recruiting before?
Hired 1? More than 5? More than 25?
How many of you have made mistakes? Great hires?
How soon did you know? (like in relationships, you usually know pretty quick)
Commonality? Lack of a plan? Does it help?
Owner Mentality
Wear lots of hats (dirty hats) – no silos
Hard/Smart work (not 100 hours/week)
Passion
Strategic Plan = Do Stuff
Doers vs. Planners
Fast/Frequent Pivoting
Job Postings should convey culture
Know what you want & have guts
For TeachStreet Web DNA, Learners
For Everyone Passion/Results-Delivery
Set Clear Expectations
Don’t hire non-Stars (expect Greatness)
Bad Hire/Disconnect, Address Quickly
Q&A - What are some of your ‘must haves’?
Skills are important, but Core values are critical
TeachStreet wanted WebDNA, Passion, Scrappy
Amazon Customer-focused, Bias for Action, Innovative, Use Data; Invent & Simplify
People Do What They’ve Done Before
The best predictor of future behavior is to look at past behavior
Don’t walk thru resume (lazy)
If so, limit it to 2 minutes & tell them to convince you that your startup makes sense in their changes
Interview cheat sheet on desktop
Helps organize questions & stay focused
Interview many candidates at once
Helps you discern true passion
Calibrates interviewees with fresh memories
Take lots of notes & type up interview (and vote) afterward
Often I decide my vote while typing them up
Or, if a phone screen, I identify areas of concern to focus on
Involve 4-6 interviewers
Two sets of eyes better than one
Focus on different skill sets/areas of focus
Who?
Key employees: CEO, CTO, Engineer
Board member/advisor (or tech person you respect)
Make sure everyone is willing/able to follow same process
Ground rules (exude confidence in company)
Assign areas of focus to interviewers
Everyone must have their ‘votes’ before you meet. Figure out best way to log this. Don’t allow people to be sloppy.
Schedule debrief within 24 hours of last interview. In-person.
Founders must always be recruiting
Recruiters vs. in-house
First 10-15
This is the first of many hard things.
Your job is ‘chief salesperson’ (recruiting, fundraising, press)
You’re always recruiting, every day. Even when fully staffed.
Graphic to remind me to do a little of everything, every day
Beyond that/scale
Get help, with eye to bring in-house
Referral Program
Yes, when it makes sense (best hires are referrals)
Why?
Puts referrer’s reputation on the line
Sell in interview (at end), if sure
Dinners
Send Gifts (“books, etc”)
Calls – talk about first projects & urgency
Don’t rest until Butt is in Seat!
Great Recruting transitions into Great Onboarding (First day, week, 30 days, etc) – lunch/coffee with everyone
Comp (how to close them without the $$$)
Make multiple/varied Cash/Equity offers
Base Cash & Equity
½ Cash (for 3 mos.) & 2x Equity
½ Cash (for 6/mos.) or $0 cash (for __ mos.) & 3x Equity
Try Before You Buy / Contractors
Hiring too fast once funds raised