Harj Taggar - How Startups can Compete with FAANG Companies when Hiring Employees | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Learn how to attract talent with competing offers from big tech companies by emphasizing speed, personalized attention, and the satisfaction of impactful work.

Key Insights

• 🕰️ Startups have an advantage over big tech companies in terms of speed during the hiring process, which impresses ambitious candidates who fear slow-moving bureaucracy.
• 🤝 Providing individualized attention and personalized follow-up from multiple team members makes candidates feel valued and like a real member of the startup team.
• 🚫 Big tech companies often shut down projects that employees have worked on for a long time, leading to frustration and wasted efforts.
• 💪 Startups offer the opportunity to directly impact real users and customers from day one, providing a satisfying feeling compared to potentially wasted time at larger companies. ⏩ Moving quickly to make an offer and answer questions helps candidates see the faster pace of startups compared to big tech companies.
• 📧 Personalized follow-up emails from team members create a special culture and highlight how a startup values its potential employees.
• 🔄 Startups always work on projects that directly impact users, whereas big companies can have projects cancelled at the last minute, which can be demotivating for employees.
• 🤝 Connecting the candidate with someone who has experienced a project cancellation at a big company can effectively communicate the potential downsides of joining a large tech conglomerate.

Transcript

hey everyone i'm harj i'm a partner at y combinator and i'm gonna answer the question of how do i hire someone who has competing offers from the big tech companies there's two ways i think you can compete with someone who has an offer from a fan company and the first is on just process so if you've ever received an offer from facebook apple or goog... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What advantage do startups have over big tech companies when it comes to the hiring process?

Startups have the advantage of speed in the hiring process compared to big tech companies, which often have lengthy procedures, allowing startups to quickly provide offer details and engage with candidates.

Q: How can startups make candidates feel valued and part of the team during the hiring process?

Startups can personalize the candidate experience by having multiple team members reach out with follow-up emails, highlighting their interactions and expressing their desire for the candidate to join, creating a sense of individualized attention and value.

Q: What can startups emphasize to candidates to discourage them from joining big tech companies?

Startups can emphasize the common occurrence of project cancellations in big tech companies, which can be demotivating and a waste of effort, while startups focus on directly impacting real users and customers from day one.

Q: How can startups leverage the experiences of others to sway candidates?

By connecting candidates with individuals who have experienced project cancellations in big tech companies, either through personal connections or network referrals, startups can vividly demonstrate the frustration and demotivation associated with such experiences, making the startup option more appealing.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Startups can compete with big tech companies by offering a faster hiring process, impressing candidates with swift offer details and availability for discussions.

• Providing personalized attention to candidates and showcasing a special culture can differentiate startups from big tech conglomerates.

• Emphasizing the frustrating nature of project cancellations in big companies and highlighting the satisfaction of impactful work at startups can sway candidates in favor of joining.