Finding & reaching out to great candidates
Once your job description is nailed down, it’s time to start reaching out to candidates.
Use the template below to keep track of who you plan to speak to, and who you've already spoken to. It also has message templates, and a guide to structure your initial interviews.
As you speak to more and more individuals, staying organized becomes critical to making the best hire and not letting people fall through the cracks.
So, who do you reach out to? These are the best sources to find high-quality talent as an early-stage startup.
Your own network & referrals
The best early hires are the ones where there’s already a layer of trust.
- 1st-degree connections: People you know and have connected with—including your co-founders’ networks. Go through your LinkedIn connections and contacts, and add anyone you want to contact to the ATS sheet here.
- Referrals: Ask your friends, former colleagues, investors, and advisors who they’d recommend. Often the best hires come from people who already understand your bar.
- 2nd-degree connections: Use LinkedIn to see who your strongest peers are connected to, and ask for warm introductions.
Niche events
Going to or hosting targeted events is another way to meet strong candidates.
- Hackathons: Run a hackathon to see engineers in action and offer prize money or a paid work trial for the winner.
- Developer events: Host a meetup or talk around a topic that relates to your product. You can also scrape attendee lists (where appropriate) and reach out via LinkedIn with a personalized note.
- Campus events: Attend or sponsor career fairs, tech talks, or club events at colleges to meet students and recent grads who are exploring roles.