Whether you’re reentering the workforce after the pandemic or looking to leave your current position in search of a new challenge at a startup company, a job search can be daunting and time-consuming. A recruiter can provide tremendous value to you by streamlining the process and matching you with open positions at startup organizations that require your skills and experiences. Recruiters have access to opportunities and information about employers that candidates don’t know about or have. They have accumulated years of hiring process expertise, built an extensive network of connections, and fostered relationships with employers that can be utilized to help you land a job at a startup company and advance your career.

After applying for an open position online, you may get a call from a recruiter. Or, maybe you’re not currently looking for a new job but one day you get contacted on LinkedIn by a recruiter—95 percent are using the platform to search for job candidates—trying to fill an open position. After talking to the recruiter and learning more about the position, your interest is piqued and you want to move to the next stage of the hiring process and interview with the company’s hiring manager.

In either scenario, after talking to the recruiter, these are the steps you should take to prepare for the interview.

  1. Review the company’s LinkedIn page: There are 58 million companies on LinkedIn so there’s a good chance the one you’re interested in has a profile on the platform.On an organization’s LinkedIn page, you can often find their:
    • Industry
    • Website address
    • Products and/or service information
    • Number of employees
    • Office locations
    • Story and values
    • Employees’ LinkedIn profiles
  2. Review the hiring manager’s LinkedIn profile: Next, use LinkedIn to research the founder or hiring manager’s educational background, length of time at the company, previous jobs, career advancements, skills, and areas of expertise. This will give you an idea of who he/she is on a professional level and you may even find something that you have in common. If not, you will still know more than most candidates going into the interview. This makes it easier to bond, build rapport, and make small talk beyond the weather.  
  3. Check out recent company developments and news: It’s always a good idea to be knowledgeable about the company’s latest news and developments when you go into a job interview. Most startup organizations have a page on their website dedicated to news, press releases, and events. This is a great way to find out current information about promotions, expansions, awards, and more.  
  4. Determine your transferable experience and skills: The way companies hire, develop workers, and structure work is changing, and the future of work lies in skills—not jobs. There’s been an ongoing shift towards a skills-based approach to hiring and talent development. Using this approach, organizations evaluate job candidates and current employees based on their skill set and potential capabilities instead of their prior work history.

    Transferable skills—also known as portable skills—are competencies that you have developed throughout your life that can “transfer” to a variety of different roles and industries. You may have obtained these skills in a previous job, during your education, through volunteer work in your community, or through hobbies.

Therefore, it’s important to identify both your transferable experience and skills before interviewing. How do you do this?

After analyzing and assessing your transferable skills—when answering interview questions—be sure to provide stories to “show” not just “tell” your successful use of these skills.

The benefits of working with a recruiter

A recruiter can be a great resource in your job search because you both have the same goal—finding you a position with a great startup company where you will be a happy, engaged, and productive employee. Using their exceptional market knowledge, connections, and tools a recruiter’s role is to guide you through the hiring process and save you time and energy. By getting to know you and understanding what you are looking for in your next role, the recruiter can help ensure that your personal and professional goals and those of their client are aligned. The benefit that you gain from working with a recruiter is proportional to the amount of effort you invest. Therefore, after talking to the recruiter, take these four steps to set yourself up for success.   

As a startup business leader, you already know how important HR functions are to the success of your company. Recruiting and hiring employees to propel your momentum, of course, is essential for your emerging business.

But how are you handling the HR needs of your temporary, contingent, and freelance workers?

There’s a long list of personnel functions to perform, and most HR teams simply don’t have the time and resources to manage them all.

That’s where employer of record (EOR) services come in.

Let’s take a look at what an EOR is and how it can help your small business or startup manage its contingent workforce.

What is an employer of record?

An employer of record is really just a third-party payroll service provider.

“Oh, an EOR is a payroll processing company like Paychex or ADP?” you’re wondering.

Eh, kind of. But not really.

An EOR partner takes it a step further than that because it is technically the one that employs your worker. Here’s how it works, more or less:

  1. You want to hire a worker right now, but you don’t have the time or resources to do so
  2. You partner with an EOR
  3. You say to the EOR, “This is the worker we need. This is what the worker will do for us.”
  4. The EOR confirms your request and contacts the worker directly
  5. The EOR conducts all of the worker’s preliminary testing (background check, drug test, etc.)
  6. The EOR onboards the worker (time and expense reporting, safety, benefits, etc.)
  7. The EOR sets up a start date for you and the worker to get to work

In this process, the EOR assumes all hiring responsibilities for your worker. So even though the worker performs tasks and functions for your business, the worker is still technically employed by the EOR.

Why should I partner with an EOR?

Partnering within an EOR eliminates the tedious administrative and payrolling burdens that come with managing temporary employees. This way, the EOR is in charge of all the worker’s taxes, benefits, insurance, and statutory or administrative costs.

The EOR handles all personnel functions, including:

Related: Employer of Record (EOR) Workflow Video

Okay, so who’s really in charge of the worker?

You are! Your company operates as is and will continue to be responsible for all workplace safety and compliance issues. So think of it this way: The EOR doesn’t replace your HR department—it acts only as an extension of it.

As far as liability and employment issues, payroll compliance, and tax laws—the EOR assumes responsibility for all of those. This means your HR team will have more time and energy to focus on other ways to improve the health and happiness of your workplace.

Related: Should You Partner With an Employer of Record?

How will an EOR make my business more efficient?

When you partner with an EOR, your business will be able to:

1- Save time.

Outsourcing burdensome tasks to a proven EOR provider doesn’t just free up time for your internal team—it ensures a more consistent and compliant engagement process for your worker. Paperwork? Done. Tracking down candidates? Taken care of. With an EOR, it’s all good!

2- Lower costs.
Spend less time (and money) in the weeds (on tedious tasks) and more time on valuable tasks that boost your HR teams, enhance your workforce, and improve productivity—all of which contribute to cost savings. In short, working with an EOR will make your employees happy and boost your company’s bottom line at the same time.

3- Reduce co-employment risk.
Want to spare yourself from the costly legal ramifications of misclassifying employees? Partner with an EOR. Want mitigation from sensitive co-employment issues? Partner with an EOR. Want to reduce stress and alleviate concerns among your legal team? Partner with an EOR!

4- Become a more flexible workplace.

Partnering with an EOR gives you a chance to “try before you buy” when it comes to talent. So, if you’re ever interested in bringing on a resource—but you want to see how they’ll fit in first—you can do that with an EOR. More to the point, if you decide you want to bring the worker on full-time, the right EOR will help you make that transition at no additional cost.

In short, you reap all the benefits of a rock-solid workforce with none of the annoying administrative pitfalls. Everyone wins!

Related: Employer of Record Workflow Infographic

Interested in partnering with an EOR?

Contact us today! We can help you find the best startup services for you and your emerging business. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter,  LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for more!

These two Aleron Group companies align to provide streamlined talent acquisition, executive search, and leadership coaching services to high-growth organizations as they scale.

Aleron Group, a talent acquisition, workforce, and business solutions company, today announced that two of its companies will be aligning their services. Viaduct—a talent acquisition and advisory firm for startups and emerging businesses—will become a specialty practice within TalentRise—a leading executive search, talent consulting, and coaching firm serving high-growth and mid- to large-market clients across a broad range of industries. As they combine their purpose and mission, both the TalentRise and Viaduct brands will remain.

This union will empower TalentRise and Viaduct—with their complementary offerings and expertise—to enable businesses that are poised for growth to succeed by hiring the right talent. From a funded startup looking to build their initial core corporate teams (sales, marketing, finance, and technology), to established businesses scaling up, building their C-suite, integrating an acquisition, and/or optimizing their leadership team for maximum performance, the team will advise and support clients as they grow.

“It was a natural partnership given that Viaduct helps early-stage startups build out their initial teams and advises them as a strategic talent partner as they enter their growth stage through rounds of funding. Through TalentRise, we help high-growth clients fill critical leadership positions and optimize business performance by assessing, coaching, and developing their leaders and teams,” said Carl Kutsmode, Senior Vice President, Talent Consulting and Executive Search. “With this alignment, we enable the entire recruitment life cycle of organizations as a true partner to facilitate growth.”

An industry player since 2008 with its roots in Chicago, TalentRise was acquired by Aleron Group in early 2019. TalentRise provides flexible executive search solutions—including a 90-day new leader onboarding coach—as well as talent and organizational effectiveness consulting to clients throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Since 2017, Viaduct has assisted startups with their talent needs in direct placement, executive recruiting, and contingent staffing. Founded in western New York, Viaduct has grown to support early-stage companies across multiple industries throughout upstate New York, Southern Ontario, Chicago, and Austin and continues to expand its network.

About TalentRise

TalentRise is an executive search, talent acquisition, and talent management consulting firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2008, TalentRise provides flexible, customized leadership recruiting and organizational talent solutions to mid- to large-market employers. Within TalentRise, the Viaduct practice is a proven partner to the startup community and works with entrepreneurs to build winning teams. At TalentRise, we elevate your business performance through talent optimization. TalentRise is an Aleron Group company, providing a full suite of workforce management solutions. Learn more at talentrise.com.

If you’re a founder or recruiter at a growing startup organization you may be finding it challenging to attract and recruit quality workers in today’s candidate-driven labor market. Your organization needs workers with a specific skill set, who are ready to hustle and have a sense of flexibility that comes with being part of a growing organization. As a startup, you likely don’t have the hiring resources or brand awareness of more established businesses. In fact, an inability to make key hires is the reason 14 percent of startups fail. What are some of the common recruiting scaleup mistakes made by startups that cause setbacks or failure?  

Overhiring or hiring too soon: An influx of new hires will have a large impact on a startup’s budget and resources. When founders overhire or hire too soon, a lot of their time and energy ends up being diverted into management—distracting them from doing work related to their core business. Before you even begin the hiring process, it’s important that you determine your business needs, what tasks your new employees will perform, and how many workers it will take to do the job. Doing this will save you time, money, and the critical resources that you need to operate and scale efficiently.  

Thinking that all sourcing funnels are equal: Examples of candidate sources include referrals, professional social media sites, and job boards. When building your recruitment strategy, it’s important to consider the positives and negatives of each source to ensure you’re using an appropriate combination. Founders and recruiters often make a like-to-like comparison between candidate sources without accounting for the differences between them and how each affects a startup organization’s hiring outcomes.  

Depending on one channel to source all your candidates is never a good idea. Each source has tradeoffs that recruiters must consider when building their overall recruiting strategy. Take time to evaluate each, the positions you’re hiring for, and your hiring budget. If you are relying solely on job boards and professional networking sites to find top talent, you’re missing out on passive candidates that are not actively applying for roles. If you are dependent on referrals to fill all your open positions, you may have difficulty scaling as quickly as planned because you won’t have enough qualified candidates. It’s important to use a multi-pronged approach to identify and hire top talent to meet your startup business growth goals.

Failing to “court” your candidate: Prospective employees want to know “what’s in it for me?” 89 percent of passive candidates evaluate your brand before applying and businesses with reputable brands receive 50 percent more qualified applicants. Does your company have a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to effectively communicate your organization’s benefits, corporate culture, and reasons why workers should want to consider a job opportunity?

Related: What is Your Employee Value Proposition?

In today’s hyper-competitive job market, it’s critical to foster a strong relationship with prospective job seekers throughout the entire hiring process. Building trust and having good communication will reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings and candidate ghosting.

Slow decision-making process: There’s a limited supply of talent and the best candidates are in high demand and receive multiple job offers. If the interview process is two to four weeks or more, almost 40 percent of job seekers lose interest and pursue other roles. If you’re not prepared to make a quick decision, you may lose out on quality talent to your competitors.

Related: 6 Ways to Attract and Hire Best-Fit Startup Talent

Position your startup for success

When it comes to startup hiring, every decision is important and there’s little room for error. Because your team is small, each additional employee is critical to your company’s growth and success. A successful recruiting strategy requires a multi-pronged approach. Here’s what we suggest:  

  1. Post the position to job boards and/or LinkedIn to get it out in the market. This avenue requires the most time and is least likely to result in a hire. However, it’s an important step to fill your candidate funnel.
  2. Start connecting with your network for referrals. Referred candidates may end up being passive job seekers, but often a person in your network will know someone who is looking to make a move.
  3. Recruit using a targeted search based on skill set, experiences, and past employers.
  4. Have as many conversations as possible early in the search before narrowing it down to your top three candidates to move forward in the interview process.

Because they are under time constraints, many startup founders and leaders seek sourcing and recruiting assistance from outside talent acquisition firms focused on the talent needs of emerging businesses. Learn more about Viaduct’s services here.   

This blog was written by Viaduct’s Director of Recruiting and Business Operations Tom Hausler.

The Collision 2022 tech event in Toronto ON welcomed 35,000+ people from 130 countries. This represented 40 percent growth since the conference was last held in 2019 and was the largest global tech event to take place in Canada since the pandemic began. The attendees represented industries impacted by tech who wanted to learn about the latest trends and newest products and tools that can give them an edge over their competitors.

Founders and CEOs of the world’s most successful tech companies including Substack, Ethereum, Blockchain.com, Flexport, Cardano, Tezos, Binance, BlockFi, Chief, Calendly, Clearco, Cloudflare, and more spoke across 20-plus onstage tracks. Among the tech leaders in attendance were authors, athletes, actors, and musicians that discussed how technology has impacted their industry during sessions on a wide range of topics—from technology and digital media to music, politics, and culture. In all, there were more than 900 speakers, 1,200 journalists, 790 investors, and 100 unicorn companies.

People were happy to be back in person and were very open to connecting and sharing their passions. Collision is a great way to connect to foreign businesses interested in having a U.S. presence. The conference energy was electric and could be felt in every conversation. “With indications of a global recession looming, I was enthused to see the energy, excitement, and innovation happening in the startup community,” said Nigel Hapuarachchi, Regional Director, Business Development at Viaduct’s sister company Acara Solutions. “There was a lot of focus on AI/machine learning, environmental responsibility/sustainability, corporate social responsibility, life sciences, and fintech (specifically crypto).”

The number of startups grew by 36 percent from 2019. The 1,557 startups in attendance, included:

Viaduct and TalentRise attended along with partners from the Buffalo startup ecosystem including 43North, Invest Buffalo Niagara, Endeavor, and Tech Buffalo. “It was helpful having a Buffalo contingent in attendance,” said Tom Hausler, Viaduct Director of Recruiting and Business Operations. “We were able to promote the startup community in Buffalo and demonstrate how several organizations work closely together to help emerging businesses.”

Want to know more about Collision or pre-register for 2023? Get more information here.

Startup companies are historically known for being male-dominated. In 2021, just 12 percent of new unicorns (a privately held startup company valued over $1 billion) had at least one female founder—a number that has not changed much in recent years. In tech specifically, women are a minority but their numbers have steadily increased—from 7 percent to 27 percent—over the past fifty years. However, tech still has a ways to go when it comes to gender diversity.

1. Shortage of female tech students

The United States Census Bureau found that men make up 52 percent of all U.S. workers but 73 percent of all science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers. Female students tend to shy away from math and science compared to their male counterparts resulting in a shortage of women in tech roles. It’s estimated that approximately 80 percent of future jobs will require STEM skills but only 27 percent of young women would consider a career in technology and only 3 percent consider it their first career choice.

To assist girls in building STEM skills and helping them feel more comfortable, it’s up to schools—from elementary through high school—to introduce computing and technology courses. Immersion programs such as Girls Who Code and Canada Learning Code offer hands-on experience. Role models, examples of successful women in tech, and demonstrations of how STEM impacts the world can provide girls with the inspiration they need to pursue a career in the field.

2. Less frequently promoted

The number of men and women in tech that stive to be promoted is similar but women hold less than 30 percent of leadership roles in the industry. 39 percent of women in technology roles view gender bias as a primary reason for not being offered a promotion. This is disappointing news for businesses because organizations with women well represented in senior technical roles earn up to 50 percent higher profits.

Promotions of women early in their careers are critical to their future success. Companies that are successful at this are more likely to retain them and in the long run, prepare more women for senior tech roles within their organization. Offer support and mentorship to early-tenure women, opportunities for skill-building, and put policies and processes in place that ensure that all employees have equal opportunities to be promoted and advance within the company. 

3. Inequitable corporate culture

48 percent of women in STEM positions report discrimination in the recruitment and hiring process. Compared to just 10 percent of men, 57 percent of women working in tech have experienced gender discrimination in the workplace. Sadly, by the age of 35, half of the young women who go into tech jobs end up leaving the field.

Early-stage companies have the ability to be intentional about creating a workplace culture centered around inclusion and belonging. Tech leaders need to ensure that all their team members—both male and female—have a voice and can bring their authentic selves to work each day. To appeal to women in tech, organizations must develop career paths and formal and informal learning and development opportunities.

4. Lack of funding for female-led startups

Numerous studies have found that male entrepreneurs can get early-stage capital more easily than women. Female founders secure just 2 percent of venture capital even though companies with at least one female founder perform 63 percent better than those with all-male founders.

The good news is that the pool of female investors is growing. The PitchBook report found that at the end of 2019, 12 percent of general partners at venture capital firms were women and there were 740 female angel investors. At the end of 2021, women comprised 15 percent of general partners at venture capital firms, and there were about 1,000 female angel investors. Organizations like Women Who Tech are breaking down barriers and assisting female tech entrepreneurs to get startup funding.

What can organizations do?

To overcome the challenges faced by women in tech, it’s important to get girls excited about STEM at an early age, provide them with role models and mentors, promote them in the early stages of their careers, and create an inclusive workplace for them to thrive. Startup organizations that can successfully eliminate the biases and challenges faced by women in tech roles will be much more successful at attracting and retaining top female tech talent to grow their business.

The blog was written by Viaduct Director of Recruiting and Business Operations Tom Hausler.

Long Story Short:

Buffalo’s startup ecosystem is teeming with great opportunities for emerging businesses right here in Western New York.

For candidates who are looking to get their feet wet in the startup world, who can they connect with?

As Viaduct’s Director of Recruiting and Business Operations, Tom Hausler is helping link Buffalo’s hottest startups with high-quality candidates.

Keep reading to learn more about Tom and explore his professional journey.

Where did you grow up? Do you have Buffalo roots?

I grew up in Williamsville, which is north of Buffalo, and attended Williamsville East High School. For college, I attended Fredonia State, where I received my undergraduate degree in sports management and exercise science.   

Tell us a little bit about your professional background. How did you get into recruiting?
I began my journey in recruiting back in 2011. While working at Brookfield Country Club—in Clarence, NY—as a summer job during college, I connected with a former Acara Solutions Vice President. Acara is an Aleron Group company, along with Viaduct. He suggested I submit my resume to an Acara recruiter who may have a client searching for recent graduates. I ended up interviewing and being hired for a junior recruiter role at Acara—at the time Superior Group.

How did you find the opportunity at Viaduct?
In 2017, I was the Recruiting Manager for the Buffalo Acara team. Scott Stenclik, CEO, approached me about leading the recruiting side of a new venture he was launching. The new company’s mission was to assist emerging Buffalo companies to grow by helping them find and hire the right talent. This new venture became Viaduct.

What are your primary day-to-day responsibilities?

In my role, my primary responsibility is to manage the entire recruitment process—sourcing, screening, selecting, hiring, and onboarding—for all Viaduct client positions. I develop and manage relationships with clients and candidates to ensure they have a positive experience throughout the entire process. Over the past year, I have also taken on a larger business operations role within Viaduct and our sister company TalentRise.

What excites you about the startup ecosystem?

It is very rewarding to recruit talent for startup companies when you know these candidates are helping to grow and scale the client’s business to drive them forward. Seeing the placements Viaduct has made over the years and the positive impact each hire has created within their organization is extremely exciting. For example, Viaduct placed:  

I am fortunate to be involved with Forge Buffalo a talent community—of job seekers, employers, and entrepreneurial spirits in Buffalo, NY—that was co-founded by Viaduct. Powered by Empire State Development, Viaduct, and 43North, Forge Buffalo features some of the best and brightest leaders in the startup and emerging business community of Western New York. To see Western New York startup organizations hiring through Forge Buffalo is extremely rewarding to me. All our hard work in creating a platform to help emerging businesses hire more effectively is working!

What do you want people to know about you?

I have two children—Willow (4) and Gavin (1). I’m a die-hard Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Braves, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Tar Heels fan. When I have a day off of work and my kids are in daycare you will most likely find me hiking, kayaking, fishing, or golfing. 

Interested in connecting with Tom to explore opportunities with Buffalo’s emerging startups? Shoot him a note at hauslert@viaduct.com.

Want to browse the Viaduct job board? Check out all available employment opportunities here.

Ready to get started with a startup? Create your free account and upload a copy of your resume so startups can find you!

What are the perks of owning and operating an emerging business? 

Getting a fresh start? Absolutely. 

Moving to a new city? Always exciting. 

Staffing your workplace with cool and talented people? One-hundred percent, yes. 

But attracting, recruiting, and hiring new employees—outside of eating up a ton of time and resources—is, well, getting kind of expensive. Or, more accurately, paying them is.

When you compare the job market to the housing market today, it’s easy to see why so many people—whether they’re employers or home buyers—are paying higher prices for the best results. Here’s how. 

Let’s take a quick look at the U.S. job market. 

U.S. Job Market  

 20222021  
Average salary$53,490  $51,480  
Unemployment rate3.6%  6%  

Salaries have gone up, but the talent pool has shrunk. This means that employers must expect to pay higher salaries to new hires, and, what’s more, they’ll have fewer high-quality candidates to choose from in the process. Finding the perfect job candidate is hard enough, but once you find them, you’ve got to reel them in with the most lucrative offer.  

On the flipside, high-quality job candidates understand their value in the job market. And what do we always tell job seekers, each other, and ourselves when it comes to work? “Know your worth.” Well, savvy job seekers know this better than anyone, and they’re leveraging their skill sets and experience to negotiate the best possible salaries for themselves. Why shouldn’t they?

It’s simple supply and demand, and job seekers are benefitting from a sweet spot in an otherwise dismal landscape. 

The problem this poses to employers, of course, is two-fold:

1 – Speed kills.

Employers no longer have the luxury of hemming or hawing during the hiring process. Indecisiveness is simply not an option. If you have the opportunity to hire a high-quality candidate, you’ve got to act as quickly as possible. Yes, doing your due diligence is a must. But the longer you wait, the more likely you are to lose out on that highly coveted job candidate. Assume your candidate has at least one other opportunity, if not a handful of others, so you’ll want to move swiftly yet efficiently. 

2 – Money talks.

The almighty dollar rules (for most people and businesses, anyway). And even though there are many factors that could differentiate one employer from another (benefits, culture, location, etc.), what is usually the biggest motivator of all? Money. You should never spend outside of your means, but if you want to play, you’ve got to play, so to speak. Make sure you communicate with your job candidate, be as transparent as possible, and be willing to negotiate—if they’re worth it, that is. 

Here’s the point: The last thing you want to do is let “the one” get away. Is saving a few thousand dollars in salary really worth settling for a lesser job performance? No. Like it or not, the answer to 99 out of 100 questions is almost always the same: Money.

Does any of this sound familiar?

If you’re trying to buy a home, it does. In 2021, the average price of a home in the U.S. was $392,000, which was up 28.52% from the average price of $305,000 in 2020. So, prices are going up, and guess what—the number of available homes to purchase is going down, too. In fact, there’s never been such a severe shortage of homes in the U.S. Supply and demand strikes again!

You can guess what happens next, right? Potential homebuyers are being forced to pay well over the asking price for a home if they want to seal the deal and make it their own. Consider these fast facts:

(Coincidentally, millennials currently make up 35% of the total U.S. workforce, which makes them the largest working generation.)

Hm. Let’s see. Fierce competition. Limited supply. Skyrocketing costs. 

We think you get the point, but let’s hammer home the analogy here:

  1. Employers are just like home buyers
  2. Finding a high-quality candidate is like finding the perfect home
  3. When you see an opportunity to hire (or buy) you’ve got to do it quickly
  4. Employers, like home buyers, should expect to pay up or lose out
  5. If you can’t afford it, expect to make some compromises with what you get

Okay, now what?

As an employer, you’ve got to make a million business decisions a day. Let us help you make one of those decisions a whole lot easier. As a top-tier provider of talent solutions specifically for startups like yours, we can build a bridge between your business and the best job candidates in town or online. 

Sound good? Check out our services, see who our partners are, and contact us today!

In January, the winners of 43North’s seventh annual startup competition began to settle into their new workspaces inside the Seneca One in downtown Buffalo. While some of these companies were already local to western New York, others relocated to the Queen City from across the country and even overseas.

Since then, they’ve hit the ground running – and with significant new funding under their belts, they’ve made hiring a top priority.

“If you’re looking to get in on the ground floor of a rapidly growing business, now is a great time to make a move,” says a recruiter for Forge Buffalo, the area’s go-to talent hub for startup jobs. “From sales and marketing, to operations and product development, we’re looking to fill a wide range of roles.”

Witherell has been working closely to find and secure top talent for 43North’s newest cohort, already landing critical hires for BetterMynd, Big Wheelbarrow, ShearShare, and Zealot Interactive and actively recruiting for dozens of other key positions.

“The assistance from Forge and 43North to help uncover great talent has truly surpassed our expectations,” says, Courtney Caldwell, Cofounder & COO of ShearShare. “Within the first month of landing in Buffalo, we hired four local team members, including our CTO and Head of Revenue Operations! Job openings that had gone unfulfilled for years are now staffed with remarkable talent. We’re proud to say that our Buffalo office now accounts for almost half of the entire ShearShare team!”

You can read more about each of the newest 43North portfolio companies below.

Buffalo’s entrepreneurial spirit is certainly alive and well. If you’re ready to join our city in building something big, get your resume ready and head over to forgebuffalo.com/jobs for a full list of opportunities with the region’s hottest startups.

The demand for labor during today’s candidate-driven market is fierce and employers have had to adjust their hiring strategies to attract top talent. For startups, the process is even more challenging because you’re competing with well-known established organizations within your industry. So, what can you do to stand out and appear unique? Here are some ways to attract and hire talent that fits within your organizational culture.

1. Share your founding mission and vision

We all love a good story. If you can effectively communicate your organization’s unique evolution and runway to scale to job candidates, you will be more successful at attracting top talent. Where did the idea to form your company originate? What challenges did your founders overcome to get to where you are today? Most importantly—assuming “mission” success—what is your vision for 1, 3, and 5 years in the future? Share competitor information and your organization’s key differentiators. Millennials—the largest generation in the workforce—and Generation Z candidates are attracted to companies with a mission and vision that they can relate to and get excited about.

2. Give employees autonomy

Top startups have a unique energy that is evident within their company culture. Frequently this energy is rooted in the development of new products and services. Google has been recognized for allowing its employees to spend up to 20 percent of their time working on projects they personally feel are most beneficial to the company’s growth and success. To what extent do your company’s leaders support innovation and new ideas? Autonomy is a key driver of employee engagement. Giving employees the freedom to explore and share new ideas—that are not required to be implemented—is a positive step toward fostering autonomy. Throughout the hiring process, share examples of successful innovation that resulted from your employees’ ability to take ownership of their projects.   

3. Foster a culture of learning and development

Startups typically can’t afford expensive training programs—whether it be in person or online. Research shows that workers retain more than 75 percent of the information they learn through experiential learning—which occurs when an employee gains new skills and competencies through on-the-job experiences and challenges. Job rotation—when employees are moved between jobs within an organization—and job enlargement—when an employee remains in his or her existing role but takes on additional tasks and responsibilities that require training—foster skill development. Share examples of how your employees learn from one another through intentional collaboration such as job shadowing, informational interviews, and mastermind groups. Explain how you develop and leverage your employees’ abilities to foster success and illustrate how the role the candidate is interviewing for is integral to achieving the company’s growth objectives.

4. Structure positions around skills and strengths

It’s important to focus on the work that needs to be done within your organization—with demonstratable skills and learning agility—and stop focusing solely on experience and past job titles of job candidates. Transferable skills are competencies that a candidate has developed throughout his or her life that can “transfer” to a variety of different roles and industries. These skills may have been obtained in a previous job, during his or her education, or through hobbies or volunteer work. By molding position responsibilities around an individual’s skills and strengths, your organization can successfully hire top talent.

5. Build a competitive compensation strategy

Build a compensation strategy that accounts for equity-eligible positions and leverage it as a selling point to recruit top candidates. Startups often pay less than established organizations so it’s important to have a competitive compensation structure to share with candidates. Significant thought should go into your organizational approach to equity/stock allocation to ensure it’s advantageous to all stakeholders. Benchmarking data, best practices, and consultants with expertise in this area are available to help your leadership team navigate this process. Several important questions to get started include:

6. Capture employee referrals

Who understands your organizational culture better than your current employees? Use this to your advantage to identify top job candidates. According to CareerBuilder, 88 percent of employers rate employee referrals above all other sources for generated quality of new hires, and 82 percent rate them above all other sources for generating the best return of investment. Incentivize your employees monetarily—or with PTO days, volunteer days, or with a donation to their favorite charity—for introducing your hiring team to an individual that could be a good fit within your organization. The structure and communication around your referral program are important. Provide professional networking training to your employees to help them understand the makeup of their network and how to provide referrals. Then, make sure your employees are aware of open and upcoming positions. 

Summary

To stand out among candidates and differentiate your organization throughout the hiring process, communicate the overall experience your organization offers your employees. These six methods will help attract best-fit talent that shares your company’s mission, vision, and values. When aligned, you will be positioned for growth and success.