Here are a number of hard lessons learned working in the HR/recruitment space (having founded a startup), and spending 15+ years hiring people.

1. How important are
your employees,
really?
Ben Yoskovitz!
@byosko!
byosko@gmail.com!http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericfarkas/5574078680/!

2. “I’ve never had a hard
time hiring great people!”
– said no one ever

3. HR is one step above janitorial staff
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fxp/2333755312/!

4. HR people are NOT recruiters
http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/3493855156/!

5. Recruiting = sales
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vermazeren/6283638731/!

6. Recruiting is top down
Founder of
Tesla &
Space X!

7. Always Be Recruiting (ya, right!)

8. Most companies are meh.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tai_mcqueen/1854692822/!

9. So how do you hire
great people?

10. It takes a LOT of work
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reallyboring/5203357138/!

11. Few companies bother
putting the work in.

12. “Asses in seats” is not a
recruitment strategy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mybloodyself/2189659383/!

13. ✓ They want to be challenged
✓ They want to work on interesting things
✓ They want to learn
✓ They want to work with equally talented people
✓ They want to be treated with respect
✓ They want to be listened to
✓ They want to know what’s going on
✓ They want to be recognized for their work
✓ They want perks that make their lives easier
What do the best people want?

14. http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6551534889/!
They want
to be
paid well

15. Brain drain happens.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sinistraeliberta/3681513185/!
You stop it by
building
great companies.

16. 7 Steps to
Building a
Recruiting Engine
That Works
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50191917@N06/4604110691/!

17. Recruiting = Finding the
Right People at the
Right Time

18. #1: Build a great career site
✓ A boring list of jobs isn’t
enough
✓ You need a story people
care about
✓ You need to sell it
✓ You need a “home base”
to point people to

19. #2: Do your homework
✓ Make a list of every relevant
company
✓ Then make a list of every
relevant employee at those
companies
✓ Use every tool you can (FB,
LinkedIn, Twitter, GitHub,
news sites, etc.)
✓ Think of this like your CRM
for recruiting

20. #3: Build your network
✓ Engage online & offline
✓ Identify community
leaders and connect with
them (in universities too!)
✓ Participate and lead
✓ This is a long-term
investment
✓ You want to know what’s
going on with everyone
all the time
http://tacticshr.com

21. #4: Hunting (Part 1)
OK, you’ve got a job to fill, now what?
✓ You should have a few candidates in mind
right away
✓ Leverage employee referrals (they love
working there after all, right???)
✓ Promote like crazy into the community
(you’ve built the reputation & brand, now
use it!)

22. #5: Hunting (Part 2)
✓ Personalized messages
✓ Be relevant
✓ Focus on what matters to
them (not you)
✓ Keep the messages short

23. #6: Build an interview process
1. Prescreen!
2. “Get to know
you” interview!
3. Tech interview!
4. Build an app!
5. App review!
6. Final interview!
✓ More extensive is almost always better
✓ Don’t skip steps
✓ Don’t lower your standards
✓ Include a practical component
✓ Have candidates speak with multiple
people

24. #7: Rinse and repeat
http://www.flickr.com/photos/br5ad/8098870211/!
✓ Constantly build your network
✓ Constantly promote your
brand
✓ Constantly connect
✓ Constantly track
✓ Constantly refine the process

25. Hire slow, fire fast?
NO!
Hire fast, fire fast.

26. THANK YOU!
Reach me here:
• byosko@gmail.com
• http://instigatorblog.com
• http://twitter.com/byosko