Build a strong talent pool with new age sourcing strategies such as social media sourcing, sponsoring hackathons, partnering with minority groups, online social and professional talent communities
#2 Draft clear candidate persona
Translate business needs into a clear candidate persona with the ideal startup talent characteristics of accountability, innovation, high performance and passion to hire against
Draft a practical hiring budget taking into account the funds, affordability and ROI of the talent with costs of hiring, infrastructure, training, compensation, incentives, benefits, taxes & equity
#4 Freelancers & other gig workers
Freelancing can be a cost-effective option for temporary work, to evaluate performance prior to hiring full-time & also a permanent option to handle non-core work
#5 Employee Referrals
For startups, referrals prove to be highly beneficial with their assurance of high performance, strong alignment to the company values & retention at lower hiring costs
#6 Prior startup experience
Talent with previous startup experience are highly invaluable as they have the ability to adapt & cope in high pressure environments with a sense of urgency & a fast pace
#7 Content creatively used for branding
Establish an online branding via social media handles or other sites by posting thought leadership articles, answering technical questions, white papers with cutting edge technology
#8 In-person interactions
In-person meetings to check their cultural fitment & to inspire and excite them to join them via a compelling company vision based on founding mission & values
#9 Differentiated evaluation model
Leverage Hackathons, evaluation projects, creative Tech assessments etc. to assess technical & cultural fitment of talent with ability to ideate, innovate & troubleshoot
#10 Compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Curate a compelling EVP, tailoring it for each of the candidates, aligned to their individual needs & aspirations such as equity, flexible work arrangements & accelerated career trajectories
To learn more about a comprehensive Startup Recruitment Strategy, with unconventional and innovative hiring practices, to hire an ace team, read