Talent can be anywhere. Startups, go get it!
Hiring as a startup, especially in the tech space, is difficult in so many ways.
For me, hiring our first developers at Buzz was a real struggle at first. Not because of a lack of talent, but the list of people in Stockholm with experience in our exact niche, who were looking for employment opportunities in a startup few had heard of… was very thin.
Looking outside Sweden helped us find the right candidates for this position very quickly, eventually leading to finding Timm - our first employee from Hamburg, Germany.
This has opened up our eyes to the possibilities of hiring truly remote talent and has continued to help us build a much higher-quality team, faster.
And there's more to this: I've found that going for global instead of local talent, brings an openness to new ways of doing things. So if you're a startup that thrives on being different, think about this:
When there's amazing talent distributed around the world, why should you limit your choices to a small geographic region?
i (an indian) have worked with US startups remotely for the last 4 years. Working with organisations that hire internationally you get to experience all sorts of diversity of ideas. You get to work with amazingly talented people where ever they might be living.
Imagine my disappointment then, when i found a job i liked and went to apply only to find: Remote (US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand)
i mean it would have been easier to list places you don’t hire from haha.
Absolutely! Moreover, when the team is international, it expands ideas, gives more creativity.
In our company, even the development department, with guys from Mexico, India, Russia, and Kazakhstan, gives excellent ideas for promotion.
Exactly, better flexibility of thoughts!
Love this. Thanks for posting!
Thanks adam, good to hear!
Overall do you think it's better to build ongoing relationships with people who you can work with or wait until you are planning to actually hire soon?
I know the former is ideal but I'm not sure if it's the best way when you don't know exactly how long it will take you to develop a position for them in your business.
Thanks in advance!
how did you find Timm?
For Timm we had some help with recruiters. But even with their help, having a narrow search due to geography made it unnecessary hard. Glad we opened our eyes and minds!