Maren is in charge of hiring at Magic.
Hiring ahead of growth
Once you've reached product-market fit, look to make hires good at go-to-market (GTM) strategies. Afterwards look to hire in customer success and account management.
Scare Tactics and how not to f*** it up
The biggest mistake you can make it to hire the wrong person. You want to screen people by first selling them your big vision and why they should care, then scare them with an honest evaluation of your shortcomings, and finally screen them to make sure they have the qualities and skills to thrive in their role.
The young and the jobless
53% of new graduates are either underemployed or unemployed. New graduates don't have experience but are much cheaper.
Big fish, small pond
Magic has over a thousand employees in the Philapines and more globally. You can find highly-skilled people abroad that are excited to work for much less than their domestic counterparts.
A professor at the University of Buenos Aires starts at ARS 98,752, which is a little under $900 USD per month...A senior software developer in Turkey is $3,500/month vs. 4-5x that in the US.
Cast a wide net
The problem of hiring is very similar to the problem of sales. You'll need to spend time on each level of the funnel.
After a candidate has been screened by interviews, give them a take-home project similar to the work they'll actually be doing.
Make 'em feel special
50% of candidates are lost at the offer stage. To keep them, make them feel special and respected. You can do that by:
- Keeping in constant communication: follow up after an interview (you can wait up to six hours to see if they send you a thank you letter first), be transparent about where they are in the process, and be honest and respectful if it's not a good fit.
TODO: Notion guide to hiring? https://www.notion.so/help/guides/grow-with-quality-using-these-systems-to-track-applicants-and-onboard-new-hires
- Not waiting around: move fast with great candidates. Don't wait too long to give them an offer!
- Using references as a reinforcer: candidates love to hear positive feedback from their references and it shows you actually checked and care about their references.
Independent contractors, consultants and fractions
Whith fewer than 10 employees you can avoid the legalese around hiring an employee with:
- Independent Contractors: for specific jobs or tasks you can pay by hour or project with no payroll tax! There are penalties around having contractors work as an employee, like requiring them to go through training. Check the IRS 20 factor test to make sure you're working within the law.
- Agencies: Agencies are more expensive but in theory are highly skiled.
- Fractional support for key functions or roles: Kruze Consulting and similar companies are pay-as-you-go services.
- Platforms: fiverr, MarketerHire for marketers, upcounsel for lawyers, FullFunnel for sales and marketing, dribble for designers, SME rush
Check out more at MarenKate.com. maren@avratalent.com, avratalent.com
Questions
Do you hire engineers? How is that different?
Yes. It's a lot harder. The hiring funnel needs to be compressed and it makes sense to do an engineering screening right after the scare interview.
Should you pay for the take home test?
Yes.
How do I decide which people to hire first?
Hire for skill gaps. Look at where you are, where you want to go, and the skills your business is missing to get there and then hire accordingly.
For freelance independent contractors, what is considered training?
It's okay for you to say "I need you to use Mailchimp for the job and the resources are here and this is a requirement of getting this job complete," though that's technically training by the letter of the law.
If you're small the IRS probably won't go after you but they've been cracking down on it recently. Even IRS inquiries are a pain.
