Talent Acquisition Strategies for Startups

The Big Problem

_{Why you should care about today’s topic}

We've entered an age where the workforce is more mobile, discerning, and selective than ever. Traditional methods like posting job listings and sifting through resumes are inadequate for talent acquisition.

Why?

They don't account for the most important variables:

• Skills compatibility

• Team chemistry

• Company culture alignment

Talent acquisition is not only conducting interviews. Talent acquisition is an ongoing effort to attract, onboard, and retain people who can drive a company's vision forward.

With a top-tier talent acquisition strategy, you can find the best candidates for the jobs needed today and passive candidates who might be a great fit down the road.

The Basics

_{3 tips if you are starting from zero}

Job Boards & Career Fairs ✍️ →

Be selective about the job boards you choose to attract the quality of candidates you want. Create multimedia job posts with video snippets to make your postings more engaging.

As for career fairs, please be selective and aim for the ones focusing on your industry or required skill sets. You should train your team to conduct on-the-spot interviews to immediately filter out less suitable candidates.

If you would like to build a job description, please check this out.

Linkedin Outreach 🤝 →

Don't blanket-invite potential candidates. Use LinkedIn's advanced search functionalities to hone in on the characteristics you are searching for.

These can include:

• Professional background

• Hard and soft skills

• Location

Create a personalized InMail message that speaks to the recipient's career aspirations. Track the response rates and iterate on the message. Take it a step further by setting up an automated follow-up for non-responders.

Employee Referral Programs 🤑 →

Don't just ask employees to refer someone; make it rewarding and structured. Create a tiered incentive program where employees stand to gain more as their referred candidates move up in the selection process.

Use an internal leaderboard to make the referral process competitive and gamify it. Diversify the network by offering higher incentives for referring candidates for tough-to-hire positions.

The Hacks

_{3 unique tactics no one is doing}

Combine private and public metrics ℹ️ →

Traditional methods assess candidate profiles based on metrics like education, work history, and skills.

Instead, develop an algorithmic approach that combines these 'public' metrics with 'private' data points only you can access.

Data points include:

• Candidates’ performance on customized tests

• Interactions with recruitment chatbot

• Candidate sentiment throughout the process

The goal is to identify talent that is undervalued in the marketplace but could offer high returns.

Tactical Steps:

• Start by identifying 'public' data points like resumes and LinkedIn profiles.

• Develop a proprietary 'private' scoring system incorporating additional metrics like psychological profiles, micro-assessments during interviews, and machine learning sentiment analysis from preliminary interactions (emails, phone calls, etc.).

• Merge these two datasets to produce a more holistic candidate profile. Use this for initial screenings.

Utilize machine learning platforms like DataRobot for analysis and CRM systems to keep track of candidate interactions.

Real-World Problem Solving 🦯 →

Instead of traditional interviews, give candidates a current, unsolved issue your company or industry faces. Assess their problem-solving skills and cultural fit based on the solutions they come up with. This is beyond mere case studies; this is about solving real problems in real time.

Tactical Steps:

• Identify a current, unresolved issue within your department or company.

• Create a controlled environment where candidates can work on this issue

• Evaluate not just the solution but also the candidate's thought process, collaborative attitude, and resourcefulness.

• Use project management software like Asana or Jira to track progress and time spent on the problem.

Crowdsource Talent Scouting 🙈 →

Leverage your user base or customer network to find talent. Develop a system where they can refer potential hires and receive compensation or recognition. Given they intimately understand the product, they are more likely to recommend people who 'get' what you're trying to achieve.

Tactical Steps:

• Develop a referral program with a transparent rewards system

• Engage your user base through targeted email campaigns, app notifications, or social media

• Create a tracking system to attribute successful hires back to the referring individual for their reward

• Use referral SaaS software like Hello Referrals or dedicated modules within your CRM

Hot Take

_{My personal opinion on the topic}

In talent acquisition, conventional wisdom often spouts phrases like "culture fit" and "A players," making the process sound like a neatly wrapped package waiting to be opened.

But let's get real: 'culture fit' can be a trap, leading to homogeneity and an echo chamber that stifles innovation.

And mystical 'A players'?

They don’t exist.

It's not just about poaching someone with a jaw-dropping resume from a unicorn startup or a Fortune 500 behemoth. The real game-changers lurk in the corners of unconventional backgrounds and career paths.

In the coming years, expect to see:

• AI is not just sorting resumes but conducting preliminary interviews within the next five years.

• VR becoming a potential solution for remote onboarding, providing a level of experiential learning and situational assessment that today's Zoom orientations can't touch.

• The gig economy will become so integrated into the talent landscape that traditional employee-employer relationships will give way to dynamic, project-based collaborations brokered by sophisticated algorithms.

Start Tomorrow

_{Tools & templates to use ASAP}

Candidate relationship management tools →

CRM tools are a great way to track any relevant information each applicant provides. With this information ready, you can easily pull when you were last in contact, who they interviewed with, and the best next steps for them.

The most common software used is Greenhouse or Lever.

Social Sourcing Tools →  

• LinkedIn Recruiter: A no-brainer for anyone in talent acquisition. It's not just a network but a goldmine for finding qualified candidates.

  • Tip → Use Boolean searches

    • Employ advanced search techniques like Boolean searches to refine your candidate search on various platforms and job boards. A Boolean search is a search technique that allows you to combine keywords and phrases using operators such as "AND," "OR," and "NOT" to refine search results. Boolean operators can narrow your search criteria to find more specific or relevant information. For example, you could use a boolean search like "software engineer AND Python NOT Java" to find software engineers with experience in Python but without Java skills.

• GitHub: A platform predominantly used for developers, recruiters can find and engage with potential candidates by exploring their code repositories and contributions.

• Dribbble: Ideal for sourcing designers and creatives, Dribbble allows recruiters to explore portfolios and connect with talented individuals.

Tailored sourcing tools →  

• Recruit’Em: Uses Google’s index of profile pages to generate a database of potential candidates. It is 100% free, with no need to register.

• OctoHr: a free Google Chrome extension that allows you to search GitHub. You can receive information on potential candidate’s contact information with areas of expertise.

• Shapr: matches you with people with common interests based on the information provided on your profile. When you both match, you can begin messaging each other.