It’s no secret: Silicon Valley is one of, if not the most, competitive places to find talent. Tech companies are always looking to hire, but finding the right person for the job is a challenge. In our business, it’s up to us to help our clients make the right moves when seeking new leadership. Everyone wants to secure a marquee player, but the reality is that timing, in most cases, dictates success.
Timing
Timing will be the most significant factor that determines the outcome of your next hire. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You might know the exact candidate you want, why you want them and even have a tailored offer in hand – but if the timing isn’t right for the candidate, they will be reluctant to leave their current employer.
Finite Candidate Pool
Always recognize that the pool of top talent is finite and timing is going to govern the size and the quality of candidates. Think of talented players like satellites in orbit; they were “deployed” with a specific purpose in mind and will not “fall out of the sky” until they have run their course. These people are going to be very difficult to shake free from their current engagements and will most likely be unattainable until they’re ready to make a change.
Market Knowledge
Identifying who the A-Players are and understanding where they’re at in their careers are your starting points. Once you’ve established those, learning how and when they are contemplating their next moves may be the most important determinant in landing that high-profile candidate you desire. In order to increase the odds of landing a candidate that will raise your company’s profile, you need to have insight into their intentions. If your opportunity doesn’t meet their objectives, they aren’t going to make the change.
Relationships
In the end, it all comes down to relationships. There is much to be gained from constantly building relationships and nurturing your professional network. Recruiters and Venture Capitalists know this. We spend time constantly meeting and creating personal relationships with the right people. So when the time comes for these people to make a change, we are hopefully the first to know. From a recruiting stand point, this type of early access to candidates is crucial given the current demand for talent.
Over the last 10 years, we’ve succeeded in formulating our own process which efficiently charts people throughout their careers, emphasizes relationships, attempts to understand the marketplace, and positively capitalizes on our candidates’ timeline – all in hopes of delivering a positive experience and helping our candidates and clients reach their full potential.