HIRING FEEDBACK LOOP DIAGRAM: AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW YOU CAN BEAT YOUR COMPETITION!!!!
A couple times in my life I have spent a substantial effort interviewing with many different kinds of companies. Recently after spending my most recent years building teams, products and technology, I got to spend some time in the front lines and observe what companies are doing: Amazon, Google, Netflix, and many, many startups.
What is fascinating is the the big companies (Amazon, Google, Netflix), do seem to have a great process. They have structured interviews, seem to be very motivated on getting the problem right. Startups are very random though. You can literally get anything. A couple of "Anti-Patterns" I have seen are shown below. The one that is the most surprising is that some startups let a developer with a few years experience "torture" candidates under pressure by asking them brain teasers with a clicking clock. Clearly the hiring loop is optimized for the enjoyment of the developer who likes the power they get from making candidates uncomfortable, or who actually believes that this is an effective way to measure workplace performance. Neither reason is great for your company.
Another anti-pattern is when a lesser brand name startup brand has a longer interview process than their competitors: Amazon, Google, Netflix, pay less, and are surprised they cannot hire for months to years for key positions!
A few solutions here are:
A. Be like Car Dealerships: ASK ALL PEOPLE YOU INTERVIEW FOR FEEDBACK! Imagine what you might find out about your "elite developer" who rejects everyone?
B. Measure the funnel in the same way you measure your registered user conversion funnel? Are you doing too little or too much in your hiring process? How do you know?