Melissa Carson’s Post

If you're at that inflection point where you are knee-deep in trying to hire (or figuring out who is the right fit or what position you need to bring in), check out Melissa Carson's free workshop series!

Crafting Success: The Strategic Essence of Early-Stage Hiring Hello LinkedIn Community! 👋 As we embark on another year and make strategic plans for success in 2024, I've been contemplating a pivotal factor that significantly influences a company's trajectory: early stage hires. I've seen first hand how the fabric of a business can be shaped by the first 5 to 10 hires. They dictate the culture, quality and often success of the company. After all, you're only as great as the people who embody the mission of the organisation. Investors and founders, how much time, money and effort do you give to meticulously shaping your hiring strategy for those crucial early hires who are the architects of your company culture? ❓ How much thought and consideration do you allocate to your hiring strategy and budgeting for early stage team members? 💡 What guiding principles steer your decisions? Share your insights in the comments below! 🗣️ The right team can actualize a vision, and astute hires can drive a business towards unparalleled success! 🚀 #TechRecruitment #ScalingBusiness #HiringStrategy #MichaelPageDigital

Founders, are you tired of being the bottleneck in your own company’s growth? It's time to break free from the mindset that your business's success relies solely on you. The key to scaling your company lies in finding exceptional talent that can drive innovation and creativity alongside you. Don't fall into the trap of being swayed by Fortune 500 credentials. Instead, focus on identifying candidates who thrive in dynamic environments, excel at problem-solving, and bring fresh perspectives to the table. By prioritizing these qualities in your hiring process, you can build a strong team that will propel your business forward even in your absence. Want to know more about what you should look for in your future replacement? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e_VMvEhY

In our rapidly evolving tech landscape, isn't adaptability and the ability to learn quickly more valuable than years of experience in a specific domain? How often have industry veterans struggled with new paradigms while newcomers thrive? Companies often prioritize hiring candidates with the exact experience they desire. This approach frequently reflects a short-term focus and overlooks the strategic advantages that diverse perspectives can bring to leadership and the broader business. When hiring, it’s crucial to look beyond experience alone. Consider the positive influence an individual can bring, the fresh perspectives they offer, or their tendency to question the status quo at all levels. Remember, amazing things happen when you hire from outside the industry. A new, sometimes naive perspective can take your products and services to places you never expected. #DiverseHiring #PurposeDrivenTA #Opinion ************* 👋 𝘏𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦! 𝘐’𝘮 𝘏𝘶𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵, 🚀 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧, 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦-𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘈 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 | 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 💡 "𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦" 🔗 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 🌐 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 #𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘛𝘈 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 | 📧 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 👍 𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦. 📚 𝘈𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 & 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘵.

I've refined our hiring strategy significantly throughout Q1. This past year has been transformative for me, reshaping my approach to business development, market insight, and talent development. Working with burgeoning companies has sharpened my focus on identifying and cultivating talent with the potential to excel. My methodology emphasizes three critical attributes in prospective tech managers: 1. Metrics Mastery In the realm of tech talent, CVs often boast exaggerated achievements, like tripling business size or helming massive teams. While these claims may occasionally hold water, especially in a startup context, they're often inflated. During interviews, I probe the candidate's understanding of their claimed metrics. The most impressive candidates can articulate the genuine impact of their contributions, typically through business funnel metrics. 2. Deep Product Insight A manager in the tech sphere must demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the product without needing excessive guidance. It's a red flag if a candidate lacks product knowledge or views it as an outsider does. A candidate's ability to discern and articulate the nuances between our product and the competitive market—and how they can bridge that gap—can be a game-changer. 3. Adaptability to Change I value adaptability over rigid right-or-wrong stances. Despite my evolving perspectives, my commitment to a retention-first approach, beginning with thorough onboarding, has remained steadfast. It's crucial to select managerial candidates who are open-minded and can seamlessly integrate into and evolve with our culture, thereby enhancing team dynamics and performance. Lastly, a strong personality is always a bonus. Like a well-rounded army with its cavalry, knights, and medics, personality is the glue that holds a team together when other motivators wane. After all, morale isn't solely about the paycheck. Best of luck with your tech talent acquisitions. #TechHiring #TalentAdvocacy

🛠️ Transform your hiring process by shifting your focus from problems to vision. In the past, my hiring approach had a low success rate because candidates were weighed down by the issues I communicated. Instead, create an inspiring vision that excites potential executives and shows them the impact they can make. By focusing on opportunities and a compelling future, you attract top talent eager to be part of your journey. #TransformativeLeadership #VisionaryHiring

Hot take: CEO’s are really bad at hiring. I’ve seen it a thousand times. CEO goes out unilaterally and hires someone they think is a good fit for the organization. Shortly thereafter, the hire flames out or doesn’t fit well with the team. I did this a ton myself. I thought I had enough information, I thought I totally understood the problem I was solving for, and I thought I had a good sense of culture fit. The gap widened as our company grew and my ability to fully understand the company’s needs shrunk on any given day if I approached the process unilaterally. Long term, our hires got better as I became a part of the process instead of the entire process. I (and other CEO’s) had to get better and shifting my subjective decision making to objective processes. Our People Team, led by Priscilla Sauceda designed a hiring process that heavily leveraged our core values and placed extra emphasis on defining what success looked like BEFORE we started hiring. 1. We asked all candidates the same questions so we could compare apples to apples. 2. Questions were designed to assess positive and negative core values behavior. 3. Inputs for job descriptions and intended outcomes were solicited from people who would work with and for the candidate to ensure well rounded and accurate role definitions. 4. Our hiring team was made up of people who would work with and potentially for the candidates, not just me. 5. MOST CRITICALLY, when someone didn’t work out, we’d assess why relative to the notes we had about their interview so we could learn and improve steps 1-4. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. The skills that helped me recruit early in our company’s history simply didn’t scale as our business did, and that’s true for most businesses. So take it from me, a recovering CEO. Define your values, describe what success looks like, build a process for hiring, and then trust it & tweak as you learn. Do not go it alone. #hiring #culture

🎯Hunting for the right tech leader can feel like chasing a moving target. Well, we’ve cracked the code. Not just matching resumes, we’re syncing minds, values, and long-term goals, because 75% of tech leaders consider behavioural metrics as the key to finding the right fit. How do we do it? 🔥 Our Winning Formula: 1️⃣ Precise Strategy: We start with a capsule deck that highlights your company's trajectory and aligns leadership requirements with your goals. 2️⃣ Talent Profiling: Our proprietary Behavioural Metrics Model (BMM) assesses 83+ behavioural metrics, including tech agility, emotional quotient, and leadership attributes, for every candidate. 3️⃣ Expert Guidance: Get tailored consultation and strategic insights to navigate the complexities of executive search with confidence. 4️⃣ End-to-End Support: From compensation benchmarking to onboarding, we ensure a smooth experience. 5️⃣ Continued Assistance: We remain connected for a period of 12 months post-role closures – count on us for ongoing assistance and guidance. The proof is in numbers: 💯 ✅ 180+ roles closed  ✅  92% offer acceptance rate  ✅  95% candidate retention over 3 years  ✅  10,000+ talent pool  ✅  15 NPS Score 📈 Ready to level up your leadership search? Let’s talk. 🤝 #leadershiphiring #techleadership

🎯 Hiring Managers, this one's for you: The hidden formula behind teams that don't just perform, but dominate. In my 10+ years of building top-tier teams, I've seen the same pattern emerge time and time again. It's not about hiring superstars. It's about mastering the 4 C's: 1️⃣ Context: Is your organization truly primed for collaborative success? 2️⃣ Composition: Have you cracked the code on the perfect skill mix? 3️⃣ Competencies: Can your team translate individual brilliance into collective excellence? 4️⃣ Change: Is your team agile enough to pivot when the market demands it? Here's the kicker: Most recruiters obsess over #2. But neglect any single C, and you're setting your new hires up for failure before they even start. Real talk: I've seen a Fortune 500 company boost productivity by 37% in 6 months just by realigning these 4 C's. No new hires. No fancy tech. Just smart team structure. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Identify which C is your team's secret weapon Pinpoint which C needs an urgent overhaul Drop your insights below. Let's elevate the hiring game together. #RecruitmentRevolution #TeamPerformance #HiringStrategy P.S. Struggling with a specific C? Reply 'SOS' and your biggest team challenge. I'll personally share a battle-tested strategy in my next post.