How Founders Can Attract and Hire the Right Talent

What’s Going On

Founders and early-stage teams are tackling applicant overload, struggling to comb through hundreds of resumes to hire the right talent. In the game of quantity vs. quality, they’re losing. A founder put this into perspective for us recently when she shared her applicant-to-hire ratio — 500:1. Why is she rejecting 499 resumes? Because her job descriptions are attracting the wrong candidates. The real criteria for success at her company is not the list of qualifications she cuts and pastes into her job descriptions. What the role really is, what to expect, and what success looks like is a total black box to candidates. Is it any wonder that 499 candidates lob resumes over the fence? Some teams are making progress, telling the story about why talent should join their startup. Hyping up values, culture, and other elements of their employee value prop. That’s a great start. But what’s the point of showcasing all the pros if you aren’t open about the real challenges that impact someone’s ability to succeed in your interview process or thrive in your ecosystem — or even just make it through their first month? These are the real questions plaguing your ability to get the right talent in the door and on your team. You’ve got all this data. Leverage it.

Why Does it Matter

More is more when it comes to candidate transparency in recruiting. Some may argue that airing anything less than positive decreases your competitive advantage in recruiting great talent. But what’s the point of getting them in the funnel if they weren’t a good fit to begin with? Being direct and honest about these things sets candidates up for success and, in return, your business. Even if your early founding team has a solid understanding of the hiring bar, it doesn’t necessarily mean these realities are successfully translating to candidates. Accurately describing what’s to be expected in the interview process, how candidates can be successful, and what makes your environment hard provides candidates with a better perspective. This increases their probability of solving your biggest challenges because they self-select to do so. Some may suggest this practice gives candidates a leg up. But really, is there something wrong with setting candidates up to shine? A more transparent and detailed understanding of what works in your ecosystem and, more importantly, what doesn’t, sheds light on this experience in a whole new way. It’s the difference between taking a picture of the front of a hospital instead of the chaos inside the emergency room on a busy night. It’s the real deal.

What Do Others Think

“I fully agree that transparency plays a major role in getting the right talent into the recruiting funnel. At Coda, we believe in promoting transparency and do so in all areas of the talent lifecycle. This starts with being open about our interview process and expectations so candidates are set up for success and continues with demystifying the upside value of equity during our offer process to encourage ownership from the very beginning. We want to continue to push the boundaries of transparency in meaningful ways. It’s a big part of our culture and guiding principles.” — Kenny Mendes, Head of People and Operations at Coda

What Do We Think

Transparency in recruiting is your team’s competitive advantage. The more transparent you can be with your talent brand at all stages of your interview process, the better. We’ve come miles and miles from the archaic processes of even five years ago. We say push further. Embrace your entire startup identity — the one that kicks ass but also makes mistakes. The one that makes data-driven decisions but also a few that brought some heartburn. These are the stories and conversations that matter. This is what candidates need to know before even applying. Not just the narrative that shows up on Glassdoor lacking context. When you take control of the narrative, you can share how you overcame the pain and challenges and what you learned in the process. The amazing byproduct of transparency is that it builds trust internally and externally.

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