This month at RFS: Is in-person work returning, top tips for your hiring process, changes on our team, and more

Is the power of in-person returning?

Last week marked the first week of fall, and a busy hiring season is in full swing! With many companies planning a return-to-office in some form, we’ve noticed new trends around in-person connection and work environments across the tech industry.

• We’re seeing candidates and companies in tech hubs receive attention. Candidates and companies in desirable, tech hubs like LA, NYC, and SF are receiving more attention as interest in these cities returns and companies note the benefits that come with having a nearby workforce. Even if organizations don’t require their teams to be in office, or to be in office everyday, the option to meet in-person is a compelling perk.
• Employees want to know that their time in-office will be used well. Employees who are expected to?return to the office, even if it’s only part-time, will want to know how their time will be spent at the office. Will the rest of their team be in the office those days? Will strategy or whiteboard sessions be held during in-office days?
• If you’re an in-person employer interviewing candidates who have been working remotely the last few years, letting them what your office is like (or better yet - inviting them to visit) can ensure you and your candidates are on the same page when it comes time to extend an offer. Interested in learning more about tips for effectively working on small teams? Check out our blog post on this topic.
• If “networking” events don’t excite you, try something unrelated to your industry to make more in-person connections: Is there something you’ve always wanted to try in your personal life - like a new sport (we hear pickleball is popular), an art class, or a a cooking class? With so many more in-person social opportunities than there were a year ago, now is a great time to try something new and make new connections. PS - this advice works for both job seekers and those looking for new talent!

For more insights on in-person work, check out our recent blog post on the future of remote work .

Developing a hiring process - our cheatsheet for creating a stellar experience.

Just as you would write a plan for a new feature launch or design a roadmap for a software release, you need a plan in place for growing your team. Asking yourself questions like the ones below (even if they seem obvious!) can help a busy team hire more efficiently.

1. Reflect on the gaps with your current team’s skillset. Be honest with your strengths and weaknesses, and hire for your gaps. Consider both technical and soft skills in doing so.?

2. Ask yourself where you want to store the resumes you receive, and how you want to review them. Documents - from resumes to cover letters to notes - can add up quickly. Having a system in place that your entire team is aware of from the start can save enormous time down the road.

3. Decide upfront which members of the team the candidate should meet with. A comment we hear often from candidates (especially ones in high demand) is that they had to drop out of lengthy interview processes to accept offers they had already received. By deciding who your candidates need to meet with at the beginning of the process and putting together panels accordingly - your team can reduce the likelihood that you’ll need to add additional interviewers who weren’t part of the process to begin with.

Read the full post here on our 7 steps to developing a smooth hiring process that will deliver a great candidate experience.

We’re growing our team!

As we grow our team and work with more and more clients, we’re excited to announce that several RFS team members have been promoted into new roles. Mentorship and growing our talent are important to us here at RFS, so please join us in congratulating:

• Madeline Russell on becoming an RFS Account Manager
• Arsen Petrosyan on becoming our Technical Recruiting Team Lead
• Alexis Moon on becoming our Chief of Staff

We’re also excited to announce that we’ve hired several new Senior Technical Recruiters to work with us. Join us in welcoming:

• Christian Bohr: Christian is an accomplished chef-turned-recruiter and has worked in various recruiting capacities with companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Affirm. He is based in Seattle, Washington.
• Brandon Mimes: Brandon comes from a 5+ year career in agency recruitment, after competing as a college athlete and serving in the Navy. He is based in Silver Spring, Maryland.
• Mark Smith: Mark brings 10+ years of recruiting experience to the team, and previously ran his own recruiting agency. He is based in Chicago, Illinois.
• Jeff Land: Jeff spent 16 years in enterprise sales before moving to recruiting and brings 7+ years experience to the team, recruiting roles from individual contributor to executives. He is based in San Francisco.

Roles we’re hiring for

We have some exciting new opportunities we’re hiring for this month. Check out the links below to learn more and apply.

• Lead Product Designer at a Fintech startup: Change how consumers think about investing, and help build a product design team from the ground up. This position is hybrid and based in New York City.
• Senior Frontend Engineer at a private cryptocurrency startup: Help bring privacy and protections to the world of blockchain as a Senior Frontend Engineer. 3+ years of experience required.
• Senior Blockchain Engineer : Build new technologies on Web3, like deploying smart contracts.
• Senior Backend Engineer : Be part of a team building the next great SaaS tool at a VC-backed startup out of San Francisco. This role is remote-based.

What you may have missed: Other RFS news on our blog

Smart Contract Engineers - one of Engineering’s hottest new roles. Is your company exploring Smart Contracts, or are you a talented Engineer interested in getting into this field? We share an overview of what Smart Contracts are and what to look for in hiring on the blog. Read the full post here .

Hiring a Machine Learning Engineer. Another popular role we’re recruiting for is Machine Learning Engineers. On the blog, we share what technical and soft skills to look for, interview questions to ask candidates, and more. Read the full post here .?