Hiring is HARD.

I don't think there are silver bullets to build a world-class team in this crazy competitive market. After spending countless hours hiring, some lessons are now obvious. Others I learned the hard way.

These are my top 10...

1/ Transparency goes a long way. Candidates appreciate knowing the salary and process upfront. It saves time for both parties. Have a clear compensation philosophy that you can articulate and defend. People might be willing to take a salary cut, but nobody wants an unfair offer

2/ Recruiting is a long game. Just because somebody says no, it does not mean it's a no forever. Build the relationship and leave a good impression. It might work out at a later time

3/ Focus on candidate experience. Inevitably some people will get upset. Survey candidates and try to always improve the process. Magic happens when candidates have an awesome experience, even if they get rejected. They will re-apply later and even refer friends

4/ Technical interviews are stressful. Don't make it more stressful than needed. Avoid obscure questions. Make it as close to the real job as possible. Be flexible with the language or environment. Some prefer whiteboarding, others prefer to use their own IDE

5/ Attitude and values alignment > technical skills. If the foundations are there and the team is good, the candidate will grow with the team. However, a genius that is not aligned with the team is a recipe for disaster

6/ It's important to sell the vision and why your stupid startup will be huge and change the world. But don't oversell. Good candidates can see through your BS. Highlight what's amazing in the company, but don't hide what is currently broken

7/ You will mislevel candidates. It's ok. Under-leveling is easier to fix than over-leveling. Correct the mistake as soon as it is obvious, don't wait for the next review cycle. It should be treated as a correction of the hiring manager mistake, not a promotion

8/ Never skip reference calls. Even if it's a strong referral, do at least two calls. Somebody with a strong reference could be a great fit for your company (or not!).

I have yet to see a candidate with a weak reference working out ok

9/ You will make hiring mistakes. It will get emotional, but you know what you have to do. It does not mean the person sucks, it means it's not a fit for the current team. Not acting promptly is unfair on your customers and co-workers

10/ And finally, everything compounds. It takes a loooong time to build a great company brand. But if you put the effort things will eventually become a tiny bit easier. Contribute to the community, share knowledge, build a great product and, most importantly, be a nice person 😊