Hiring is extraordinarily difficult. Every programme we hire Associates and Hackstars to work alongside Techstars companies to do more faster.
For the past programmes here in London we’ve hired more than 15 talented people, including Luca Tavazzani, who joined Techstars company Spatch, as well as Hadi Laasi and Giacomo Summa, who have since created their own compact Stylect.
Here are some of the lessons we learned:
1. They are “team first”
I love the phrase – “mission, men, and me”. People who orient themselves to an organisation’s purpose primarily and are committed to helping the team are the best candidates for any team.
A true appreciation for the startup’s vision, combined with a team-player mentality, makes a compelling candidate.
2. They should have startup experience
The best way to learn how to work in a startup is to work with startups.
Some of our best candidates worked in entrepreneurial societies at university; others worked on Startup Weekend or other projects on the side during their full-time jobs.
At the end of the day, the critical thing is that candidates should have worked directly with startups – not only take courses. There is no better teacher than real-world experience.
Programmes like Startup Institute and Makers Academy have been great for us because candidates from these programmes learn real, tangible skills that startups need (customer development, growth marketing, web design or development), plus have genuine work experience on startup projects.
We know those graduates are able to contribute to a startup from the moment he or she starts.
3. They should have a record of adapting to and overcoming challenges
A lot of our hires have been in competitive situations – they know how to work under pressure and embrace new challenges fully. They take every experience as a learning challenge and thrive, learn, and readjust for the next time.
We found that the key to hiring someone who looks for challenges is to look for a history across a wide range of disciplines – academic, professional, and extracurricular.
We aren’t scared if the candidate has jumped across various industries, we look instead for a propensity not only to seek challenges, but to find ways to succeed in them.
4. They should be independently minded
The best hires are able to work independently; they gain satisfaction and pride from doing a great job, and are more focused on intrinsic satisfaction, rather than extrinsic praise.
They are able to work independently with little guidance, able to make decisions when necessary, but know when to ask for advice and guidance.
One of the ways we dig into this is to go through a CV and ask questions on various career decisions.
We ask about the first job after university, or the second one if the first job was a bit vanilla. We ask about any industry or career changes, and more importantly we ask why those decisions were made.
5. They must be “all-in”
We want to see people who are committed to the early stage ecosystem – able to work with ambiguity, see past the sacrifices, and remain committed to the end.
Working in early stage startups is an experience unlike any other, and sometimes it is hard to discern genuine commitment versus a passing interest.
Short-term programs such as General Assembly or Startup Institute’s Ramp Up help candidates understand commitment.
They’re short in duration, which minimizes the commitment needed, but they’re for-fee courses, so we know that the students in those courses were committed enough to spend some money on learning. And we get feedback from the teachers to get a sense of where their strengths are and what weaknesses to expect.
6. They should have a sense of humour
Many professions have what is called a “the layover test”. Shawn Levy, director of the movie “The Internship”, when interviewed, said of Google’s hiring process:
“It’s something they actually have in their interview process and it is at the end of the day, beyond what school the kid went to, beyond GPA, etc., who would you rather be stuck in an airport bar with on a six-hour flight delay?”
A sense of humour shows confidence and an ability to look at life’s challenges in a fun, self-deprecating way. Though everyone’s sense of humour is slightly different, the most important thing is to ensure that the sense of humour is compatible with the team and aids in adding morale to the team dynamic.
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