Hire Every Engineer Like You'd Hire a VP
The author argues that traditional hiring funnels, borrowed from sales, are ineffective for engineering recruitment because they prioritize volume over quality. Instead, companies should treat every engineering hire with the rigor and selectivity typically reserved for executive roles.
Why it matters
This perspective challenges standard HR practices and suggests that high-quality engineering talent requires a more personalized, proactive recruitment strategy.
Years ago; around 2008, at ASTL, when we were maybe 20 people; I sat through a quarterly hiring review where Marcia, wearing one of the many hats you wear at a startup that size, walked us through a funnel chart. Eleven hundred applications at the top. Forty-something phone screens. One accepted offer at the bottom. Conversion was up over the prior quarter, so the slide had green arrows on it, which sadly remembers how much we cared about accessibility in the choice of colours back then.
When it got to me I asked who the strongest engineer we’d talked to all quarter was. The room thought about it and named the person we’d hired. That was the only name anyone could still remember.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in