Transferable Skills Hiring in Start-ups: A Journey of Discovery and Opportunity

Hello, dear readers! My name is Efrat, and I am a former Senior Recruiting Manager at Meta, currently on a journey to find my next career adventure in Israel. Being recently laid off, I found myself on the other side of the hiring table, experiencing firsthand the challenges of job searching in startups for the first time after many years in large American corporates. Interestingly, throughout this process, I noticed a heavy reliance on traditional skills-based hiring rather than the more progressive performance-based approach that I've come to value in some of the best companies in the industry. Performance-based hiring is solving the biggest business problems: engagement and retention.

After researching the subject, I found that Performance-based hiring is common for startups globally and can effectively identify and attract top talent when executed correctly. Unfortunately, ineffective execution is a common pain point for many start-ups.

Performance-based hiring focuses on evaluating candidates based on their ability to achieve specific outcomes or demonstrate critical competencies rather than simply relying on their experience, education, or interview performance.

Startups often need more resources, high competition for talent, and the need to scale quickly. As a result, they may be more inclined to use performance-based hiring methods to ensure they bring in the right people for their team. By better executing this methodology, startups can better assess a candidate's potential to contribute to the company's growth and success.?I outlined some additional key benefits: reduced talent turnover, decreased hiring costs, Better cultural fit, Scalability, and Reduced hiring bias (more diverse hires!) Faster onboarding and Enhanced employer brand.

So if you own recruiting function in a startup and you want to improve on your performance-based hiring execution or build from scratch recruiting methodology, the following are the most common and recommended elements of performance-based hiring for startups (disclaimer - the characteristics you choose to on your startup size, resources, maturity...there isn't one size fits all)

1. Defining five clear performance objectives for the role (for example, six months into the role and Twelve months in)
2. Developing a well-structured interview process focusing on the candidate's ability to meet these objectives.
3. Using work samples, behavioral interviews, case studies, or simulation exercises to evaluate a candidate's skills and problem-solving abilities.
4. Incorporating reference checks or other forms of validation to verify the candidate's past performance.

In a performance-based interview, the HR interview plays a vital role in assessing the candidate's fit with the company culture, values, and soft skills necessary for success. While other stages of the interview may focus more on technical or role-specific competencies, the HR interview aims to evaluate a candidate's interpersonal, communication, and teamwork abilities and their alignment with the company's mission and vision.

Here's how the HR interview can fit into a performance-based interview process:

1. Initial screening: The HR interview often serves as the first step in the process, helping to screen candidates and ensure that they meet the basic requirements for the role. This may include assessing a candidate's motivation, general communication skills, and interest in the company.
2. Cultural fit assessment: The HR interview is an opportunity to evaluate how well the candidate aligns with the company's culture and values. This is crucial in determining whether the candidate will fit the team well and contribute positively to the work environment.
3. Assessing soft skills: The HR interview evaluates a candidate's soft skills, such as problem-solving, adaptability, teamwork, and leadership. These skills are essential for success in any role. They are critical in a startup environment, where employees must wear multiple hats and work collaboratively to achieve company goals.
4. Addressing candidate concerns: The HR interview also allows candidates to ask questions about the company, work environment, and expectations. This helps ensure candidates understand the role and company culture, contributing to a positive candidate experience and better-informed decision-making.
5. Supporting the decision-making process: HR interviews can provide valuable insights into a candidate's overall fit with the company, informing the final hiring decision. HR professionals can work closely with hiring managers to review candidate feedback and ensure that the chosen candidate meets the performance and cultural fit criteria.

While HR professionals are well-equipped to conduct HR interviews, a collaborative approach involving multiple team members often leads to a more effective interview process and better hiring decisions. For example, In my previous companies, large corporates, HR interviews were conducted by multiple team members trained to achieve them.

If you want to learn more about this effective popular method and how to execute it better, here are a few good online resources:?https://www.louadlergroup.com/about-us/performance-based-hiring/ ,?https://performancebasedhiring.com/.

If you got this far, please share your experience or any valuable feedback you might have from your startup work, job search, or other!