Yuliya Mykhaylovska | Starting Points: How to Evaluate and Hire Early Career Candidates | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

• Hiring and onboarding early career talent at startups requires strategic alignment and mentorship for success.

Key Insights

• ❓ Early career talent brings diverse skills and experiences to startups, enhancing innovation.
• ❓ Startups must align candidate motivations with company values for successful onboarding.
• 🏛️ Mentorship, community-building, and structured onboarding are crucial for integrating early career hires.
• 👋 Selectivity in hiring ensures startups onboard the best talent for long-term success.
• ❓ Tech Fair events provide opportunities for startups to connect with top early career candidates.
• ✋ Addressing concerns about job security can help attract high-quality early career hires.
• ♻️ Startup environments offer unique challenges and opportunities for career growth and skill development.

Transcript

Read and summarize the transcript of this video on Glasp Reader (beta).

Questions & Answers

Q: How have early career hiring practices evolved in startups?

Startups now source talent from various backgrounds, with students exhibiting diverse skills and experience beyond traditional roles.

Q: What challenges do startups face in onboarding early career hires?

Startups must ensure new hires are aligned with the company's mission and values, offering mentorship and structured onboarding to foster growth and integration.

Q: What role does Tech Fair play in sourcing top early career talent?

Tech Fair is a key event for startups to connect with top candidates, offering insights into company culture and opportunities beyond traditional recruiting channels.

Q: How can startups address concerns about job security for early career hires?

Startups provide a supportive network and growth opportunities akin to larger companies, emphasizing the potential for career acceleration and personal development.

Summary

In this episode of the Greylock podcast, Yulia Mihalovska, a member of Greylock's talent team, discusses hiring at the earliest stages for both startups and candidates fresh out of college. She provides insights on how founders can establish a framework for evaluating early career candidates and how candidates can carefully vet startups for their first job. She emphasizes the growing appetite for early career talent across various industries and the importance of understanding the motivations and interests of candidates when evaluating opportunities at startups. Additionally, she advises on the onboarding process for early career employees and highlights the challenges and opportunities that come with hiring and working in this stage of one's career.

Questions & Answers

Q: What kinds of companies are sourcing talent from early career candidates?

Every kind of company is open to early career talent, even those that don't initially seek candidates with less experience. Many startups in Greylock's portfolio have hired early career talent for engineering, design, and product roles. Students today have more internships, coursework, and projects under their belt, making them more ready to contribute at an early stage startup. There is increasing interest from both startups and candidates to work together, and students are now more informed about startup opportunities across various sectors.

Q: What advantages can early career candidates bring to a startup at its foundational stages?

Early career candidates bring a lot of drive, energy, and a willingness to get things done. They are capable of handling multiple responsibilities and have a strong appetite for learning and growth. Their diverse backgrounds also contribute to the overall perspective and diversity within a startup. Additionally, early career employees have the potential to become future company leaders and founders, as demonstrated by examples within Greylock's portfolio.

Q: How can you recognize what a great early career candidate looks like?

Evaluating early career candidates requires understanding their motivations, interests, and level of research within a specific industry or sector. Candidates should demonstrate a clear understanding of the business problem the startup solves and be aware of the B2B landscape in order to assess the impact of their potential role. It is also important to assess a candidate's ability to take a project from start to finish and understand their specific contributions within team projects or internships. Early career candidates should have self-awareness about their strengths and be able to articulate them, as this helps in evaluating the fit for a role and in setting success metrics.

Q: What are effective ways to source early career candidates?

Early career candidates can be sourced through various channels such as university programs, events, referrals, and Tech Fairs. Greylock's annual Tech Fair has been a successful platform for sourcing thousands of candidates from 150+ schools in the US and Canada. The event provides an opportunity for candidates to have conversations with engineers, designers, and product managers from fast-growing companies, allowing candidates to gain insights into the day-to-day work and challenges. It is important to focus on sourcing talent from diverse sources and not just top schools, as CS programs have expanded in recent years, resulting in diverse talent across various schools.

Q: How can founders effectively communicate about their startup and the role to early career candidates?

Founders should emphasize the overall market and growth potential of their startup, rather than focusing solely on the specific business. Highlighting the stability of the business, such as runway and investors, is crucial in addressing concerns about job security. Explaining the role of mentors, the relationship with the manager, and the potential for career progression within the startup helps candidates understand the support and growth opportunities available. It is important to be transparent about the level of structure and ambiguity within the role, as well as the expectation for self-starters who can handle the challenges of a startup environment.

Q: How can candidates gain clarity about a role that may be ill-defined in an early-stage startup?

Candidates should actively engage in conversations with the startup's team members to understand the company's needs and propose their own contributions. Taking diligent notes during conversations helps candidates identify sectors of interest and opportunities for collaboration. Addressing a candidate's specific strengths and interests, as well as aligning those with the startup's needs, allows for a more collaborative and iterative role definition process. While startups have a level of ambiguity, having a more narrowly defined set of tasks is better than trying to be a Jack of all trades. Candidates should be flexible with role changes as the startup evolves.

Q: What are the differences in onboarding early career employees compared to more experienced hires?

Onboarding early career employees requires more effort to help them feel welcomed and part of the team. Creating a sense of community and teamwork is crucial for early career employees who value these aspects along with their job. Surprising and delighting candidates during the offer process, such as sending birthday cupcakes, helps create a positive environment. Companies should establish mentorship programs, onboarding cohorts, and structured experiences to help early career employees transition into the workplace, as they have different expectations compared to internships or academic settings. Managers should also promote self-starting behavior and provide guidance on running effective projects and interacting with supervisors.

Q: Are there any extra challenges when dealing with early career candidates compared to mid or senior-level employees?

One challenge is understanding the motivations and true interests of early career candidates. Ensuring a strong fit between the candidate and the startup requires screening for candidates who have a genuine conviction for the business. Candidates who tend to job-hop may not be the best fit, so it is important to assess their commitment to the startup. Rescinding offers is another challenge, and companies need to be mindful of providing support and stability to early career hires. International candidates may have hesitations about joining early-stage startups due to visa processes, so founders and hiring managers should provide reassurance and emphasize the resources and support available. It is important for candidates to have confidence in their decision to join a startup at an early stage.

Takeaways

Hiring early career talent can bring unique advantages to startups, including drive, energy, diverse perspectives, and potential future leaders. Early career candidates should demonstrate a clear understanding of the business problem and industry landscape. Sourcing early career candidates can be done through various channels, including university programs and events like Tech Fair. Founders should communicate the market potential, stability, mentors, and possibilities for career progression within the startup to attract early career candidates. Onboarding early career employees requires creating a sense of community, mentorship, and guiding them in navigating the transition from academia to the workplace. Challenges in hiring early career candidates include assessing their genuine commitment and addressing concerns about job security and visas. Despite the challenges, joining a startup at an early stage can offer significant career acceleration and growth opportunities.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Startups hire early career employees from diverse backgrounds.

• Candidates and founders need to assess mutual fit and potential for growth.

• Onboarding early career talent involves mentorship and community-building.