1) Utilize your mentors, VC’s and your network to get referrals – referrals are still by far the best way to recruit.
2) Are you listed on angel list – if so, post your job. You will get applications, a lot from junior candidates, but a few gems come your way. You will get a clear indication whether someone is actively looking or not but again it may not be the best talent pool. There is a search facility here, the search terms need a little work on.
3) Trial out recruiting software and try and wangle 2 weeks trial for niche sourcing and recruiting software. Bearing in mind that most aggregated job boards and job vs resume matching sites will produce poor results for tech/engineering roles.
4) Social recruiting has now become easier and quicker than ever. People aggregators do the job of about 5 sourcers who’s primary job is to scour the internet, create custom search engines, find candidates that aren’t readily visible or have a low internet profile, or those not wishing to be on linkedin. Ideally this should be used in conjunction with other methods of sourcing
5) If you need Ruby, Python, Ios Mob developers, UI/UX – bite the bullet advertise on niche sites, and use a people aggregator. Meetup boards are dodgy to post jobs on and rarely will people respond unless you are the CEO/Founder and it’s a personalized message.
6) Don’t rely on just one source and be surprised if you wade through a load of candidates and maybe one or two you can interview and declined offers – you are looking in the wrong place. Supplement your sources of candidates from at least 4-5 different sources.
7) The double edged sword for any fledgling startup is that you want the best talent, those at linkedin, google, Heroku, square and so on, can you really attract this type of talent – well most startups in this state struggle with this, so you have to set your sights on a more realistic level – which group of developers are you able to attract. If you are seed funded startup and you have your eye on a great developer at a different company – however they received series A or series B funding – are they going to want to move, probably not.
8) Aim high – there’s no point procrastinating about who to contact, whether they may or may not respond, whether you have formed an opinion and convinced they don’t want to move so you don’t approach them – this is a big mistake. Don’t approach them with a direct opportunity now, talk to them, build a solid relationship with them, they need to get to know you and you them. This is a long term plan to attract better talent in the future
9) Be very clear in your job description – whats in it for them, what will their career progression be, what will they spear head, how is the opportunity better than the one they are in now – don’t get stuck on salary too much.
10) Use google docs to track your applicants and be strict with it!
11) Whatever you do don’t use an inexperienced recruiter/office manager to reach out to developers in SF bay area!
rubybhattacharya 