Webinar Recap: How Startups Can Hire Fast Without Lowering the Bar

After a startup raises a round, applicants pour in. But if nearly everyone who hears about your company thinks it’s a fit, the message is too broad, said Harry Uffindell, Chief People Officer at Manifest. A good employer brand—how your company presents itself to job seekers—should draw people in, but it should also help the wrong people opt out.

Uffindell joined Nicole Gunara, Principal Immigration Attorney at Manifest Law, for the webinar "From Job Post to Day 1: A Hiring System for Series B and Series C Speed and Quality."

They talked about a hiring system that filters for the right candidates, moves fast, and accounts for visa sponsorship early. Here are the key takeaways from their chat.

Why should an employer brand help candidates opt out?

Uffindell’s advice is to be specific and upfront about your culture and how your team works, including the hard parts—in job posts, on your careers page, and in interviews. People who won’t thrive can bow out early, and your team avoids interviewing people who wouldn’t have been a fit.

“You want to help people opt out,” Uffindell said.

At Manifest, candidates hear up front that they’ll have smart colleagues and a chance to build their careers, but also, he said, “This will never be a cushy place to work. This will be a place where you push yourself, where you work with some of the smartest and most ambitious people you’ve ever met in your life, all working towards one really big audacious mission.”

Those who still want the job can choose with their eyes open.

Automate the schedule, not the decision

A thorough interview process doesn’t have to be slow. Uffindell said technology can help ease logistics like scheduling, so candidates can meet multiple people and interviewers can share feedback quickly.

The final call should still be made by people. Uffindell asks interviewers: What are we most excited about for this candidate? If the answers are lukewarm, it’s usually time to keep looking.

“A soft yes is probably a no,” Uffindell said.

Is a candidate who needs a visa worth the wait?

A long delay for the right hire is painful, Uffindell said. Rushing to hire someone merely “good” can be worse.

Gunara has seen this from the legal side. Companies that pass on an extraordinary candidate to take the “good enough” candidate that can fill the role more immediately because of sponsorship issues often come back.

“The majority of the time, I will get another email five to six months later saying we’re coming back to this candidate again,” she said.

Some visas can shorten the wait. The E-3 for Australians, the H-1B1 for Chileans and Singaporeans, and the TN for Canadians and Mexicans can often get candidates started sooner.

Watch the full conversation

The full recording also includes:

• What makes a strong interviewer, and how small talk can bias an interview
• How Uffindell closes top candidates, including what goes into a good offer email
• Gunara on how a job post can cause problems for a later H-1B or PERM filing
• What to do about candidates who reveal late in hiring that they require sponsorship

Watch the full webinar here.