COMPETING AND WINNING AGAINST BIG BRANDS Boris Chan, Associate Director, Toronto

TRANSFORMING HOW THE WORLD MAKES SOFTWARE

FROM XTREME TO PIVOTAL

•  Xtreme Labs: •  Built recruiting machine that

competes with the likes Zygna, Amazon, Google, Facebook

•  We got acquired (Pivotal) •  Pivotal Labs:

•  Big recruiting hubs – SF and Toronto.

•  Large offices are NY and SF (HQ) – Toronto is biggest.

•  Now helping spread the religion to other companies.

PEOPLE

PROJECTS

@BORISC

•  Engineer #2 to Director of Engineering at Xtreme Labs

•  6 (2008) to 200+ (2013) •  Then: Recruiting,

Interviewing, Onboarding, Hiring, Building teams

•  Now: Growing engineering practice at Pivotal Labs Toronto

THE XTREME WAY: -  ALWAYS BE HIRING -  START WITH INTERNS -  MEANINGFUL WORK AND

PLAY

ATTRACTING TALENT

ALWAYS BE HIRING How do we get to talk to tech talent?

•  Always have a posting – you never know who’s going to apply, who’s available

•  Referral program, LinkedIn, Stack Overflow, Alumni sites

•  Virtual Bench – keep in touch for when there’s an opening

Hiring is not a ‘mode’ – can you be always on?

ALWAYS BE HIRING

Every opportunity is a recruiting opportunity: •  Go to meetups, hackathons,

community events. •  interesting@ / events@

•  Speak at events. •  I’d walk up to the front and

write on the whiteboard: "always looking for smart people”

•  Only give t-shirts out to those who have worked here:

•  People want them – but only get one if have worked here.

VIRTUAL BENCH

•  Always interviewing and keeping a pipeline of hires (means always have candidates in later stages)

•  Keep in touch for when there’s an opening

•  This will also let you get folks who want to work with you, but need time

START WITH INTERNS

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

INTERNS •  Can hire 65+ interns a term from

Waterloo in the first round

•  Get more resumes than Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Apple, Square, Yelp, Foursquare, etc.

•  High return and conversion rates

•  Can give job offers to interns up to two years in advance of graduation (and they show up!)

HOW TO GET THEM •  Conferences

•  Career Fairs

•  Info Sessions

•  Have a clear purpose + move fast

•  Forget T-shirts:

= 1000 resumes

+

GREAT WITH INTERNS •  Pairing

•  There are no intern jobs! •  Give FT offers when you like them

(not when they graduate)

•  Builds your college hiring pipeline

MEANINGFUL WORK AND PLAY

A DAY IN THE LIFE

FIRST, WE FEED

Because code won’t be written on an empty stomach. But really it’s about the social context and aligning the day.

THEN WE STAND

AND STAND AGAIN

Pivotal Labs Confidential Pivotal Labs Confidential 19

AND THEN PAIR

\ WE TAKE OUR BREAKS

\ AND REPLENISH AT 6PM

COMMON HOURS

–  8:45 Breakfast –  9:05 All Hands Standup –  9:15 Team Standups –  Lunch noon-ish –  Done around 6pm (and people go play sports!

Socialize! Do fun things! Recharge!)

IT’S ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY –  Consistent, predictable delivery is at a premium –  Tired developers leave bugs

–  Tired developers leave

–  Short-term bursts of productivity cost more in the long term

We want engineers who value long-term success, the impact of teaching others and care about a sustainable fast pace.

MEANINGFUL WORK Frame what makes working for you amazing and motivating (Daniel Pink): •  Mastery

•  Learn from the best by working with the smartest (Pairing, constant collaboration)

•  Autonomy •  Small teams, working directly

with clients, no micro-managing

•  Purpose •  Deliver an amazing experience

for the world’s leading companies, used by millions

RETHINKING ATTRACTING TALENT –  If you’re always hiring, you’ll find them before you need them and you’ll have

a virtual bench of candidates waiting to align opportunities with you

–  By building great pipeline of interns and college hires, you’ll get an amazing alumni network for pursuing industry hires

–  Small companies can offer an alternative path to a high impact and a successful career for engineers through a different approach on meaningful work and play

THE XTREME WAY: -  EVERYONE IS A RECRUITER -  INTERVIEWS ARE HORRIBLE

PREDICTORS OF PERFORMANCE

-  MOVE FAST AND CLOSE THINGS

HIRING TALENT

EVERYONE IS A RECRUITER Your employees are your best recruiters. They can speak candidly, passionately about your company with authenticity. Who? (Everyone!) •  Engineers •  Designers, PMs •  Sales Reps •  HR/Operations/Facilities/IT •  Alumni!

INTERVIEWS ARE MUTUAL Interviews are often mutual: •  Invite candidates to ask your

interviewers about their working experience

•  How new employees get on-boarded

•  What work do new hires start with?

Train your staff to speak about the above during: •  Recruiting events •  Speaking opportunities •  All stages of recruiting:

referrals, interviews, closing

INTERVIEWS ARE HORRIBLE PREDICTORS OF PERFORMANCE

INTERVIEWS ARE HORRIBLE PREDICTORS OF PERFORMANCE. •  No good proxy for actual

performance •  Past performance does

not guarantee future performance

•  Hiring for current fit vs. hiring for potential •  Ability to learn on the job

and adapt to organization’s process and cultures

PROCESS – IT’S ALL ABOUT FIT Would you hire an actor without an audition? Engineers: •  Repeatable Pairing Interview •  Actual Pairing •  At XL: Written test, Top Coder on

whiteboard, hiring decision round Designers: •  Portfolio review •  Interview and design challenge

Sales: •  They pitch us •  Meet separately with each level, and

finally with VP Sales

INTERVIEWS ARE HORRIBLE PREDICTORS OF PERFORMANCE. How do you sustain "hire fast"? Finding fit is continuous: 30 / 60 / 90 Day check-ins We’ll give someone an offer before they leave interview days. Same day.

MOVE FAST AND CLOSE THINGS

MOVE FAST AND CLOSE THINGS How do you win candidates? -  Heard of your company through the recruiting channels -  Get that they can have impact through meaningful work and culture -  Interviews where they learn about their role from people who are doing it -  What’s next?

THE CLOSE PROCESS How the same day process looks: •  Written Test •  First round: Top Coder on

whiteboard •  Second round: hiring

decision round •  Offer meeting •  Follow-up Email/Call to Close Train your recruiting team to schedule for next round as needed, on the spot.

THE PACKAGE Compete on your strengths. Compensation is only a part. We offer: •  Free meals and snacks •  Great machines + fast internet •  Prime downtown location •  Mentoring and demos •  Events + socials •  Sense of purpose

•  Netflix + Apple TV •  Medical and dental •  Retirement plan contribution •  Stock purchase plan •  Stock options

Interns

Full times (perks start from sign date, not start date)

RESULTS FOR RECRUITING

How do you win candidates? •  Hire fast means we signal

we work the same way. (no red tape)

•  People leave Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft to work for us

•  “Better interview process than Amazon” - Jon Ji

DOES IT WORK?

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THE XTREME WAY: -  ALWAYS BE HIRING -  START WITH INTERNS -  MEANINGFUL WORK AND PLAY

ATTRACTING TALENT

THE XTREME WAY: -  EVERYONE IS A RECRUITER -  INTERVIEWS ARE HORRIBLE

PREDICTORS OF PERFORMANCE

-  MOVE FAST AND CLOSE THINGS

HIRING TALENT

Boris Chan Associate Director, Toronto boris@pivotallabs.com @borisc

www.pivotallabs.com

Let’s Connect!