Start-Up Secure by Chris Castaldo

Author:Chris Castaldo [Castaldo, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119700753
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2021-04-20T00:00:00+00:00

INTERVIEWING

I'll keep repeating myself in this chapter to drive home this point: when you decide to hire, this needs to be your number one priority. Whether it is the recruiter or you personally that does the first initial phone screen, this is possibly the first experience this person will have with your company. And if you've read any books about building a successful start-up you will know that customer experience is critical to your brand. That experience starts with how you interact with candidates. You are interviewing them, but they are also interviewing you. As a founder, if this gives you even a moment of pause, you should have someone other than yourself conduct the first initial interview. You need to be in sales mode, and if you know you are not the right salesperson to sell this unicorn hire on joining your start-up, have the right person do it.

Have a process, even if it is just on the back of a napkin. Even if it is as simple as a phone screen with the recruiter, a phone screen with the hiring manager, and then an all-day onsite to meet the rest of the team. Having something documented, even if informally, makes it easier to repeat. Keeping the same process for each candidate helps to truly equally evaluate each person that wants to join your start-up.

Be respectful of the candidate's time. Remember you are selling them on your start-up just as much as they are selling you on themselves. The tech industry trend of marathon interview days, sometimes lasting six or more hours, is simply out of hand. This is in large part due to the trend of one-on-one interviews, where the candidate interviews with multiple people, one at a time over one or more days. This interview strategy can lead to bias in interviews and frustration and annoyance on the candidate's side. Panel interviews capped at two hours in length are far better at fully evaluating a candidate. Rarely will someone ever work one-on-one with individuals in a start-up. It is nearly all teamwork, and so should your interview process be. If you do interview debriefs, you only have an individual's perception to base your judgment on. However, if you were in that interview with your co-founders, you might perceive the answers to questions differently than them.

Be on time. This is the easiest thing you can do for the interview. I've heard too many times from friends and colleagues about an interviewer showing up late to an interview. This is just as important for you as the hiring manager as it is for the candidate. A less experienced individual might just brush it off since they may feel they have less power in this relationship, but somebody with 20 years of experience, an individual contributor or executive, will see this as a red flag. Don't lose out on a great candidate because you couldn't manage your own time properly.

Always ask the same questions in each round of the interview.

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