Building Your Recruiting Muscle

At Andreessen Horowitz, we talk about the notion of being “too hungry to eat.” That’s to say, we often see startups that are so entrenched in the product that the founders forget they need muscle to grow. Without the right people in place, it’s not easy to get to where you want to be as a company. And since recruiting the very best talent is extremely competitive, it’s important to pay maniacal attention to the entire process, and that doesn’t stop with the offer letter. Here are some important elements to keep in mind:

Aim high—much higher than you think you should. Work with your entire network (mentors, investors, customers, partners and friends) to help you identify the top 10 people in the world for the role. Try to meet every single one of them, even if they may not be looking for a new role. It helps to know what to aim for. I was surprised at how many superstars were actually very humble, approachable and culturally compatible with my team.

Don’t be cheap. If you have the money and the business is scaling, don’t shy away from using the best (and sometimes most expensive) recruiters. These recruiters will know—or unearth—the crazy-great candidates who are often stuck vesting-out at large companies. And don’t be afraid to pay market salary and equity for top talent—they are always worth it. I see many founders waste too much time trying to work their networks and/or ultimately settle for mediocre, but available candidates. You will definitely have to interview hard for cultural fit, but the best talent isn’t cheap.

Have an amazing recruiting process. This is not something you can freestyle and still expect good results. My team honed in on a specific process for recruiting that we repeated again and again. Candidates would go through two to three rounds of interviews with two to four people per round. The interview team would meet beforehand to discuss the job description, learn about the hiring manager’s hot buttons and assign interview roles (so everyone didn’t ask the same meaningless resume questions).

After each round, the hiring manager would lead a discussion and decide if the candidate ought to go to the next phase. We were prompt, organized and responsive, while making sure we over-communicated with the candidate. When it came time to make an offer, the hiring manager took the wheel completely. People leave and join companies primarily on the connection they have with their boss and negotiating the offer is the crucial start of building this relationship. I’d always want to get a handshake and eye contact with the candidate when they accepted the offer.

In addition to making sure we hired the best people, the process was a reflection of a well-run company. It allowed the candidate to meet and connect with a critical mass of our people. In the end, it made the offer feel hard earned and special.

Enlist the interview team. Once I knew when the candidate had given notice to his or her current employer, I would schedule a team dinner or drinks within 24 hours to help diffuse the pressure and to reinforce their decision. It’s also important for you and the team to keep in constant contact with the candidate during the notice period. It’s a bit weird for the hiring manager to be calling every day, but I found that a coordinated effort among the eight to 12 interviewers was not only appreciated but a pleasant surprise.

The Welcome Basket. We would put together an awesome basket of swag: t-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, Nerf guns, fruit, wine, chocolate and a handwritten note to let them know how excited we were to have them join. We’d deliver it to their home a few days after acceptance, and we’d always get an enthusiastic email or phone response. I always thought it was much harder to consider a counteroffer when our swag was strewn all over the house and their daughter was walking around in our hat and logo T-shirt.

Don’t screw up the onboarding. The first day, week and month of an employee’s experience carries a lasting impression. Everything needs to scream: “We’ve been expecting you!” You need to have business cards printed, the desk stocked with supplies, a lunch buddy schedule, basic orientation meeting and a thoughtful plan for training and beginning real, useful work. As CEO, I had a standing 30-minute meeting every Monday to greet and connect with new hires. We also had a daylong new hire orientation scheduled every quarter where I would go over the founding history, values, goals and the most recent board presentation. The product managers would go through every product and a VP would go through the organizational structure.

This piece originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal.