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Hi Operators ⚙️

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⚙️ Here’s what we got going on today:

• Non-technical interview questions that don’t suck → Index for competence, not for vibes.

• The importance of reference checks → Why you shouldn’t skip this step in the recruiting process, and a simple framework to follow

• Creative approaches to compensation → Securing top talent isn’t all about an eye-watering base salary.

Let’s jump in.

(P.S Have questions about scaling your business? Reply to this email or email me at [email protected] and I’ll answer them in the next edition)

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Operators Library

• Hiten Shah answers frequently asked questions on hiring (and firing) for early-stage startups. 
  

• Thoughts from HubSpot’s cofounder on how the company retained a start-up culture despite having grown to over 8,000 employees.
  

• Lessons from $10m worth of hiring mistakes from Ampush founder Jesse Pujji.
  

• Shaan Puri and Nick Huber talk through their hiring processes in a live workshop.
  

• Serial-entrepreneur Codie Sanchez outlines her framework for hiring great operators (and provides a simplified matrix for ranking candidates).

P.S. To get featured in this section, share the newsletter 10 times using this referral link, and I'll include you in a future issue. 

I. Non-Trivial Interview Questions for Non-Technical Hires

Insight from Andrew Chen

Conducting an interview process for non-technical roles can often feel “vibes-based.”

Sure, you can talk about previous work experience and run through your boilerplate behavioral questions, but it’s often difficult to get a clear and tangible read on competence.

So, how do you move beyond the vibe check and gauge the candidate’s ability to perform in the role? 

1. First, ask questions (or present exercises) that measure the candidate’s ability to produce the role’s deliverables. For example, if you’re hiring someone for a growth marketing role, ask candidates to produce an example plan for distributing the growth budget across tests and channels. Or an outline of a new campaign and a description of the assets they would need to launch.

2. It’s also worth gauging their familiarity with their field/profession in a wider context. Can they speak intelligently to broader conversations happening within their field? Again, using the example of a growth marketer, asking a question like, “Have you seen any interesting uses of AI in growth marketing recently?” could reveal a lot about their involvement, interest, and competence.

3. Finally, ask questions that force the candidate to present their understanding of their role’s impact on the business as a whole. One question that can provide a lot of insight is, “What are the metrics that you believe someone hired for this role should be graded against?” A candidate who actually knows their stuff will know which metrics demonstrate real impact and the levers that they would need to pull to hit goals.

Learn More: A comprehensive guide to non-technical interview questions

II. The Importance of Reference Checks

Insight from Jacob Kaplan-Moss

Running a reference check on a candidate can save you hundreds of hours of headaches.

There are too many variables that can be missed in the previous steps to take a chance on moving forward without checking references.

A candidate can be smooth in a one-on-one interview, but maybe they’re great at bluffing their way through the behavioral questions. They may have knocked the technical assessment out of the park, but they could end up being the reason your best performer leaves the company.

This is where the reference check comes in.

What’s the best way to get it done?

Here’s a simple framework:

• Start conducting reference checks only after you’ve decided that you’re going to make an offer to the candidate. There’s no point wasting time hopping on multiple calls for each candidate that makes it to the last stages.
  

• Request 2-3 references from the candidate. Ideally, at least one of these should be a previous manager.
  

• If possible, try to conduct the checks via phone or video call rather than email. References are more inclined to be straightforward in their opinions in a synchronous call, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask follow-ups if you sense any hesitancy in their endorsement.

Outside of the obvious questions (‘In what capacity did you work with the candidate?’, ‘What were their responsibilities at the company?’) ask the questions that give the opportunity for real, more unfiltered opinions to pop-up:

• How would you describe the candidate’s relationship with their team?

• Would you hire them again?

• Anything else about them that you think it would be helpful for me to know?

Nine times out of ten, reference checks will go fairly smoothly. Occasionally, however, a red-flag will come through.

Unless it’s something major (unethical behavior, embezzled money from the company, etc.), it’s helpful to look at these red flags as opportunities to have an additional conversation with the candidate and learn a little bit more.

You’ll only find out by conducting the reference check, so don’t skip them!

Learn More: OPM’s guide on conducting reference checks

III. Getting Creative to Secure Top Talent

Insight from Tyler Denk

A+ teams create A+ outcomes. It’s a simple truth that’s been proven correct time and time again.

Unfortunately, especially in the early stages of building a company, you’ll often run into the roadblock of not having the budget to meet top-tier talent’s salary expectations.

The good news is that it’s not the end of the world. If you’re able to get creative with your offers, you can convince your first-choice candidates to come onboard.

One example approach: when Tyler Denk was making key early hires for Beehiiv, he couldn’t meet the salary expectations for the candidates he wanted to join. 

Current revenue couldn’t justify it, but what about future revenue?

Tyler was upfront with the candidates and let them know that he couldn’t meet their demands without putting the company at financial risk.

What he could do, however, was guarantee that they’d get compensation raises every time the company’s monthly revenue hit one of a series of predetermined milestones.

He predicted they would be at their desired salaries within 14 months, and he communicated that timeline directly to the candidates.

The result? He got exactly who he wanted for those key positions (starting at half of the base salaries they asked for), and, two years later, those employees have progressed into executive roles at the company.

Start-ups are all about the upside. What can you do to increase that upside for the candidate?

What can you do to build in guarantees of compensation increases directly tied to company success?

The lesson here is simple: don’t be afraid to think outside of the box regarding compensation. Transparency and performance-based incentives go a long way.

Learn More: Compensation strategies for startups

Something Fun

Speaking of vibes - when writing a JD, don’t do… this…

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Rameel from The Bottleneck team

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