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Technical hiring and team building: recruiting, interview design, coding assessments, system design interviews, culture fit, engineering levels, onboarding, retention, compensation, remote teams, diversity, employer branding, hiring pipeline optimization.
Codex または Claude でインストール この Prompt をコピーして Codex、Claude、または他のアシスタントに貼り付けると、Skill ページを確認してインストールできます。
SOC 職業分類に基づく
AI/LLM engineering: LLMOps, prompt engineering, model integration, AI safety, production AI systems.
Data engineering: pipelines, data quality, data mesh, data lakehouse, ETL/ELT, streaming architecture.
DevSecOps: supply chain security, SBOMs, policy-as-code, zero-trust, security automation.
Green software engineering: sustainability, carbon-aware computing, energy-efficient architecture, eco-friendly development.
AI/LLM engineering: LLMOps, prompt engineering, model integration, AI safety, production AI systems.
Data engineering: pipelines, data quality, data mesh, data lakehouse, ETL/ELT, streaming architecture.
| name | sdlc-hiring-talent |
| description | Technical hiring and team building: recruiting, interview design, coding assessments, system design interviews, culture fit, engineering levels, onboarding, retention, compensation, remote teams, diversity, employer branding, hiring pipeline optimization. |
| version | 6.0.0-moderate |
| author | Dinoudon |
| license | MIT |
| platforms | ["linux","macos","windows"] |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["sdlc","hiring","recruiting","interviews","team-building","engineering-levels","onboarding","retention","compensation","employer-branding"],"related_skills":["sdlc-retrospective","sdlc-prd-to-production","sdlc-finance-ops"]}} |
Building engineering teams. Recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and retaining top talent.
Trigger when user:
Source → Screen → Interview → Offer → Close → Onboard
Sourcing:
• Job boards (LinkedIn, Indeed, Hacker News Who's Hiring)
• Referrals (highest quality, lowest cost)
• Inbound (careers page, blog, open source)
• Agencies (for hard-to-fill roles)
• Events (meetups, conferences, hackathons)
Screening:
• Resume review (2-3 min per resume)
• Recruiter call (15-30 min, culture + logistics)
• Technical phone screen (45-60 min)
• Take-home assignment (optional, 2-4 hours max)
Interview:
• Coding interview (1-2 rounds, 45-60 min each)
• System design (1 round, 60 min)
• Behavioral (1 round, 45 min)
• Team fit / hiring manager (1 round, 30-45 min)
Offer:
• Verbal offer (hiring manager calls)
• Written offer (compensation, equity, benefits)
• Negotiation (expected, budget for it)
• Close (reference checks, start date)
1000 applicants → 200 screened → 50 phone screens → 20 onsites → 8 offers → 5 hires
Conversion rates:
• Application → Screen: 20%
• Screen → Phone: 25%
• Phone → Onsite: 40%
• Onsite → Offer: 40%
• Offer → Accept: 62%
Key metrics:
• Time to hire: 30-45 days (good), <30 days (great)
• Cost per hire: $4,000-$15,000 (varies by role)
• Offer acceptance rate: >70%
• Quality of hire (6-month performance review)
Round 1: Technical Phone Screen (45 min)
• 5 min: introductions
• 35 min: coding problem (easy-medium, LeetCode style)
• 5 min: candidate questions
Round 2: Onsite / Virtual Onsite (4-5 hours)
• Coding 1 (60 min): data structures + algorithms
• Coding 2 (60 min): practical problem (build something)
• System Design (60 min): design a system at scale
• Behavioral (45 min): STAR-format questions
• Hiring Manager (30 min): fit + sell the role
Alternative (for senior+ roles):
• Take-home (2-4 hours) replaces coding rounds
• Architecture review of their solution
• Technical deep dive on past projects
DO:
• Use problems relevant to actual work
• Allow candidate to use their preferred language
• Provide a collaborative coding environment (CoderPad, HackerRank)
• Give hints when stuck (see how they learn)
• Evaluate problem-solving process, not just solution
• Test edge cases and error handling
DON'T:
• Ask brainteasers or trick questions
• Require memorized algorithms (allow looking up syntax)
• Make it adversarial (you're evaluating, not interrogating)
• Ignore communication skills
• Penalize for nervousness
• Ask the same question to every candidate (rotate pool)
Structure (60 min):
1. Requirements gathering (10 min)
• Functional: what does it do?
• Non-functional: scale, latency, availability
2. High-level design (15 min)
• Major components, data flow, APIs
3. Deep dive (25 min)
• Database schema, caching strategy, scaling
• Trade-offs, bottlenecks, failure modes
4. Wrap-up (10 min)
• Monitoring, deployment, operational concerns
Example problems:
• Design a URL shortener (1B URLs, 100B reads/day)
• Design Twitter/X (500M DAU, real-time feed)
• Design a payment system (Stripe-like)
• Design a chat system (WhatsApp-like)
• Design a video streaming service (Netflix-like)
Situation → Task → Action → Result
Questions:
• "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision."
• "Describe a project that failed. What did you learn?"
• "How did you handle a situation with ambiguous requirements?"
• "Tell me about a time you mentored someone."
• "Describe your most complex debugging session."
• "How do you prioritize when everything is urgent?"
• "Tell me about a time you had to push back on scope creep."
Red flags:
• Blames others, no self-reflection
• Can't articulate their specific contribution
• No lessons learned from failures
• Dismissive of non-technical stakeholders
Level | Title | Scope | Impact
------|--------------------|----------------|------------------
IC1 | Junior Engineer | Task | Within team
IC2 | Engineer | Feature | Within team
IC3 | Senior Engineer | Project | Across team
IC4 | Staff Engineer | Multiple teams | Org-wide
IC5 | Principal Engineer | Company | Industry
IC6 | Distinguished Eng | Industry | Industry-wide
M1 | Engineering Manager| People | Team
M2 | Senior EM / Dir | Multiple teams | Org
M3 | VP Engineering | Org | Company
M4 | CTO | Company | Industry
| Dimension | IC3 Senior | IC4 Staff | IC5 Principal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Project (3-6 months) | Multiple projects | Org-wide strategy |
| Influence | Team of 5-10 | 3-5 teams (30-50 people) | Entire engineering org |
| Technical | Deep expertise in area | Cross-domain expertise | Industry-level expertise |
| Leadership | Mentors juniors | Sets technical direction | Defines engineering vision |
| Ambiguity | Resolves for team | Resolves for org | Defines for company |
| Communication | Team-level docs | Org-level RFCs | Company-wide talks |
To promote IC2 → IC3 (Senior):
□ Independently delivers complex projects (3+ months)
□ Writes design docs reviewed by peers
□ Mentors at least 1 junior engineer
□ On-call for production systems
□ Contributes to team processes and standards
□ Positive feedback from cross-functional partners
□ Demonstrates technical judgment (trade-off decisions)
Day 1-7: Setup
□ Laptop + tools configured
□ Access to repos, CI, dashboards
□ Meet the team (1:1 with each member)
□ Read team docs, architecture diagrams
□ First PR merged (typo fix, small bug)
Day 8-30: Contribute
□ Complete 2-3 small features/bug fixes
□ Attend all team ceremonies
□ Understand on-call rotation
□ Shadow a senior engineer's project
□ 30-day check-in with manager
Day 31-60: Own
□ Lead a medium-sized feature
□ Write design doc for a project
□ Participate in code reviews
□ Identify and fix a process gap
□ 60-day check-in with manager
Day 61-90: Scale
□ Own a project end-to-end
□ Mentor a newer hire
□ Propose an improvement to team processes
□ 90-day review with manager
□ Onboard into on-call rotation
Each new hire gets an onboarding buddy (peer, not manager):
• Same team, different project
• Available for quick questions (Slack, in-person)
• Meets 2x/week for first month
• Answers "how do we actually do X?" questions
• Introduces to people outside the team
• Provides safe space for feedback
Top reasons (from exit surveys):
1. Limited growth opportunities (no career path)
2. Compensation below market
3. Poor management (micromanagement, no autonomy)
4. Boring work (maintenance only, no greenfield)
5. Burnout (overwork, on-call, tight deadlines)
6. Culture (toxic, political, no psychological safety)
7. Better opportunity (more impact, better title, cooler tech)
1. Growth: Clear career ladder, training budget, conference attendance
2. Compensation: Annual market adjustments, equity refreshers
3. Autonomy: Let engineers choose how to solve problems
4. Impact: Connect work to business outcomes
5. Recognition: Public praise, spot bonuses, promotions
6. Flexibility: Remote work, flexible hours, unlimited PTO
7. Culture: Blameless postmortems, psychological safety, team events
Component | Typical Range
-------------------|------------------
Base salary | Market rate (P50-P75)
Equity (RSUs) | 10-50% of base (4yr vest, 1yr cliff)
Bonus | 0-20% of base
Sign-on bonus | $10K-$50K (to offset unvested equity)
Benefits | Health, dental, vision, 401k match
Perks | Meals, gym, transit, learning budget
Benchmarking sources:
• Levels.fyi
• Glassdoor
• Blind
• Radford (enterprise)
• Comptryx (enterprise)
Communication:
• Default to async (write it down, don't schedule a meeting)
• Document decisions (ADRs, meeting notes)
• Over-communicate context (assume nothing)
• Use video for relationship-building, not status updates
Collaboration:
• Overlap hours (4 hours of shared time)
• Pair programming via screen share
• Virtual coffee chats (random 1:1 pairing)
• Annual or semi-annual in-person offsites
Tools:
• Slack/Teams for async communication
• Notion/Confluence for documentation
• Loom for async video updates
• GitHub/GitLab for code collaboration
• Miro/FigJam for visual collaboration
1. Engineering blog (2-4 posts/month)
2. Open source contributions
3. Conference talks and sponsorships
4. GitHub presence (stars, contributions)
5. Social media (Twitter/X, LinkedIn)
6. "Best Places to Work" awards
7. Glassdoor reviews (respond to all)
8. University partnerships and internships
9. Hackathon sponsorships
10. Technical content (tutorials, courses)
## About [Company]
[2-3 sentences about mission and product]
## What You'll Do
- [Specific responsibility 1]
- [Specific responsibility 2]
- [Specific responsibility 3]
## What We're Looking For
### Must Have
- [X] years of experience with [technology]
- Experience with [specific skill]
- [Education/certification if required]
### Nice to Have
- Experience with [bonus technology]
- Contributions to open source
- [Other bonus qualifications]
## What We Offer
- Competitive salary ($X-$Y range, transparent)
- Equity package
- Health, dental, vision
- [Other benefits]
- Remote-friendly / [location]
## How to Apply
[Clear instructions — link, email, what to include]
Design principles:
1. Real-world problem (not algorithmic puzzles)
2. Time-boxed (2-4 hours max, respect candidates' time)
3. Clear requirements and evaluation criteria
4. Allow any language/framework
5. Provide starter code if applicable
6. Evaluate: code quality, testing, documentation, trade-offs
Example take-home:
"Build a URL shortener service with:
- POST /urls → create short URL
- GET /{code} → redirect to original
- GET /{code}/stats → click count, referrers
- Handle concurrent requests
- Include tests
Deliverable: GitHub repo with README explaining your design decisions.
Time limit: 3 hours. We value clarity over cleverness."
Score 1-4 per dimension:
Requirements Gathering (weight: 15%):
1: Jumped to solution without asking questions
2: Asked some questions but missed key requirements
3: Clarified functional and non-functional requirements
4: Deep understanding, asked about edge cases and constraints
High-Level Design (weight: 25%):
1: No clear architecture
2: Basic components but unclear data flow
3: Clear components, data flow, API design
4: Elegant architecture with clear trade-off discussion
Deep Dive (weight: 25%):
1: Couldn't go deeper when asked
2: Surface-level knowledge of components
3: Good depth on 2-3 areas, understands trade-offs
4: Expert-level depth, considers failure modes
Scalability (weight: 20%):
1: No consideration of scale
2: Mentions caching but no systematic approach
3: Discusses sharding, caching, CDN, queue-based processing
4: Quantitative analysis, capacity planning, bottleneck identification
Communication (weight: 15%):
1: Monologuing, not responsive to hints
2: Explains thinking but hard to follow
3: Clear explanation, responsive to feedback
4: Collaborative, thinks out loud, incorporates feedback naturally
Dimension | Weight | 1 (Below) | 2 (Meets) | 3 (Exceeds)
-------------------|--------|-----------|-----------|------------
Problem solving | 30% | Needs | Solves | Elegant
| | heavy | with | solution,
| | hints | guidance | multiple
| | | | approaches
Code quality | 25% | Messy, | Clean, | Production-
| | no | readable | ready,
| | structure| | idiomatic
Testing | 15% | No tests | Basic | Edge cases,
| | | happy path| error cases
Communication | 15% | Silent | Explains | Collaborative
| | | approach | thinking
Optimization | 15% | Brute | Discusses | Implements
| | force | trade-offs| optimal
Sourcing:
□ Partner with diversity-focused organizations (Code2040, /dev/color, Out in Tech)
□ Post on diverse job boards (Jopwell, PowerToFly, Diversify Tech)
□ Use gender-neutral job descriptions (Textio, Gender Decoder)
□ Remove degree requirements when skills matter more
Screening:
□ Blind resume review (remove names, schools, photos)
□ Structured scorecards (same criteria for all candidates)
□ Diverse interview panels (at least 1 underrepresented interviewer)
□ Calibrate interviewers regularly (reduce subjective bias)
Evaluation:
□ Standardized rubrics (1-4 scale with clear definitions)
□ Independent scoring before debrief (prevent anchoring)
□ Separate "culture fit" from "culture add" (fit = homogeneity risk)
□ Track diversity metrics in pipeline (identify drop-off points)
Avoid:
❌ "Ninja", "rockstar", "guru" (gendered, exclusionary)
❌ "Must have 10+ years experience" (arbitrary, discourages diverse candidates)
❌ "Fast-paced, high-pressure environment" (signals burnout culture)
❌ Long lists of "requirements" (women apply when meeting 100%, men at 60%)
Use:
✅ Clear, specific role description
✅ "Requirements" vs "Nice to have" (separate clearly)
✅ Mention flexibility (remote, hours, parental leave)
✅ Include salary range (transparency)
✅ EEO statement (not performative, genuine commitment)
Above the fold:
- Hero video: Team culture montage (60-90s)
- Mission statement: 1-2 sentences
- Open positions CTA
Culture section:
- Values (3-5 core values with examples)
- Benefits summary (health, equity, flexibility)
- Team photos (authentic, not stock)
- Employee testimonials (video preferred)
Engineering blog:
- Technical challenges
- Architecture decisions
- Open source contributions
- Conference talks
Office/Remote section:
- Workspace photos
- Remote work policy
- Office locations
- Co-working stipend info
Monitoring:
- Weekly check for new reviews
- Track rating trends over time
- Compare against competitors
Response strategy:
Positive reviews:
- Thank the reviewer
- Mention specific things they praised
- Invite them to refer friends
Negative reviews:
- Acknowledge the feedback
- Explain what you're doing to improve
- Offer to discuss offline
- Never argue or dismiss
Improvement loop:
- Aggregate feedback themes quarterly
- Share with leadership
- Implement changes
- Update Glassdoor response to reflect changes
1. Eligibility
- All full-time employees
- Contractors on 6+ month engagements
2. Work hours
- Core hours: 10am-3pm local time
- Flexible outside core hours
- Meeting-free Tuesdays and Thursdays
3. Communication
- Slack for async communication
- Zoom for video meetings
- Notion for documentation
- Email for external communication only
4. Equipment
- $2,500 stipend for home office setup
- Company laptop + monitors
- $100/month internet/phone reimbursement
5. Expenses
- Co-working space: up to $500/month
- Coffee shop meals: up to $20/day
- Travel to HQ: 2x per year (company-paid)
6. Performance
- Output-based evaluation (not hours)
- Weekly 1:1 with manager
- Quarterly OKR reviews
- Annual performance review
Before the meeting:
- Agenda shared 24h in advance
- Pre-read materials attached
- Clear objective stated
- Required vs optional attendees identified
During the meeting:
- Start on time, end 5 min early
- Camera on (builds trust)
- Designated note-taker
- Use "round robin" for input
- Park off-topic items in "parking lot"
After the meeting:
- Notes shared within 1 hour
- Action items with owners + deadlines
- Recording (if applicable)
- Follow-up async if needed
Meeting-free zones:
- Tuesdays: Deep work day
- Thursdays: Deep work day
- Fridays: No meetings after 2pm
- Will Larson, Staff Engineer: https://staffeng.com/
- Will Larson, An Elegant Puzzle: https://lethain.com/elegant-puzzle/
- Camille Fournier, Manager's Path: https://www.themanagerspath.org/
- First Round Review (hiring): https://review.firstround.com/
- Levels.fyi (compensation): https://www.levels.fyi/
- Hacker News Who's Hiring: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35930664
- Key Values (culture fit): https://www.keyvalues.com/
- Holloway Guide to Equity: https://www.holloway.com/g/equity-compensation
- Pragmatic Engineer (hiring): https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/
- Structuring Teams (Team Topologies): https://teamtopologies.com/
## Step 16: Diversity & Inclusion
### D&I Metrics
Representation:
Pipeline:
Retention:
Accountability:
### Bias Reduction Strategies
Job descriptions:
Resume screening:
Interviews:
Compensation:
## Step 17: Contractor & Vendor Management
### Contractor Onboarding
Pre-engagement: □ MSA and SOW executed □ Background check completed □ NDA signed □ Equipment/access requirements defined □ Manager and team introductions
Day 1: □ System access provisioned (email, Slack, tools) □ Security training completed □ Project briefing with manager □ Documentation access granted □ Communication norms established
Ongoing: □ Weekly check-ins with manager □ Access reviews (quarterly) □ Performance feedback (monthly) □ Contract renewal/termination planning
Offboarding: □ Access revoked immediately □ Equipment returned □ Knowledge transfer completed □ Exit interview (optional) □ IP assignment confirmed
### Vendor Evaluation Matrix
Criteria (weighted):
Scoring: 1 = Does not meet requirements 2 = Partially meets requirements 3 = Meets requirements 4 = Exceeds requirements 5 = Significantly exceeds requirements
Vendor scorecard template:
| Criteria | Weight | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical | 30% | 4 (1.2) | 3 (0.9) | 5 (1.5) |
| Cost | 25% | 3 (0.75) | 5 (1.25) | 2 (0.5) |
| Security | 20% | 4 (0.8) | 4 (0.8) | 4 (0.8) |
| Refs | 15% | 4 (0.6) | 3 (0.45) | 4 (0.6) |
| Support | 10% | 3 (0.3) | 4 (0.4) | 3 (0.3) |
| TOTAL | 100% | 3.65 | 3.80 | 3.70 |
Components:
1. Compensation: Competitive pay, equity, bonuses
2. Benefits: Health, retirement, perks
3. Career: Growth, learning, promotion paths
4. Culture: Values, team, work environment
5. Work: Impact, autonomy, meaningful projects
EVP statement template:
"At [Company], you will [unique opportunity] while [key benefit].
We [culture differentiator] and [career differentiator]."
Examples:
Stripe: "Move money globally, build infrastructure at scale,
work with the smartest people in fintech."
Notion: "Shape how teams collaborate, work on tools you would use
every day, in a thoughtful, design-driven culture."
Vercel: "Build the future of web development, ship features
used by millions, in a remote-first, developer-obsessed team."
EVP communication:
- Careers page (primary)
- Job descriptions (every posting)
- Social media (employee stories)
- Interview process (reinforce throughout)
- Onboarding (deliver on promises)
Application process:
- Simple application form (<5 minutes)
- Mobile-friendly
- Auto-acknowledgment (within 1 hour)
- Status updates (weekly minimum)
Interview process:
- Clear timeline communicated upfront
- Respectful scheduling (minimal rounds)
- Interviewer preparation (review resume)
- Candidate prep materials provided
- Decision within 1 week of final interview
Communication:
- Rejection: Personalized, constructive feedback
- Offer: Enthusiastic, clear terms, time to decide
- Pre-boarding: Welcome package, team intros
- Post-rejection: Talent pool for future roles
Metrics:
- Application completion rate
- Time to fill
- Candidate NPS (survey after process)
- Offer acceptance rate
- Glassdoor interview experience rating
Learning modalities:
1. Formal training: Courses, certifications, conferences
2. Social learning: Mentoring, peer learning, communities
3. Experiential: Stretch assignments, job rotations, projects
4. Self-directed: Books, podcasts, online courses
Budget allocation:
- Engineering: $3,000-5,000/person/year
- Product: $2,000-3,000/person/year
- Sales: $2,000-4,000/person/year
- Leadership: $5,000-10,000/person/year
Popular programs:
- Engineering: AWS/GCP certs, conferences, Pluralsight
- Product: Reforge, Product School, Mind the Product
- Sales: MEDDIC, Sandler, Command of the Message
- Leadership: Executive coaching, MBA sponsorship
- All: LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, internal workshops
Measurement:
- Course completion rates
- Skill assessments (before/after)
- Promotion rates for L&D participants
- Manager feedback on skill development
- Employee satisfaction with growth opportunities
Inputs:
- Revenue targets then Sales headcount
- Product roadmap then Engineering headcount
- Customer growth then Support/CS headcount
- Strategic initiatives then Specialized roles
Planning model:
Revenue per employee target: $200K-$400K (SaaS)
Engineering % of total: 40-60%
Sales % of total: 15-25%
G&A % of total: 10-15%
Marketing % of total: 5-10%
Support % of total: 5-10%
Timeline:
- Q4: Annual headcount plan
- Q1-Q4: Quarterly hiring sprints
- Monthly: Pipeline review and adjustments
- Weekly: Offer approvals and start dates
Ramp assumptions:
- Engineering: 3 months to full productivity
- Sales: 4-6 months to quota
- Customer Success: 2-3 months
- Marketing: 2-3 months
Communication norms:
- Async-first: Documentation over meetings
- Default to public: Slack channels, Notion pages
- Written decisions: Decision logs, RFCs
- Meeting-free time: Blocks for deep work
Connection rituals:
- Daily standup (async or sync)
- Weekly all-hands (recorded for time zones)
- Monthly virtual social events
- Quarterly in-person offsites
- Annual company retreat
Tools:
- Communication: Slack, Zoom, Loom
- Documentation: Notion, Confluence
- Collaboration: Figma, Miro, Google Workspace
- Social: Donut (random coffee), Gather.town
Anti-patterns:
- Always-on culture (no boundaries)
- Meeting overload (no deep work time)
- Proximity bias (favoring in-office)
- Isolation (no social connection)
- Timezone insensitivity
Stage 1: Resume screen (15 min)
- Relevant experience (3+ years for mid-level)
- Technology stack match
- Company/role progression
- Open source / side projects (bonus)
Stage 2: Recruiter screen (30 min)
- Motivation and career goals
- Salary expectations
- Logistics (location, visa, start date)
- Culture fit (quick assessment)
Stage 3: Technical phone screen (60 min)
- Coding problem (medium difficulty)
- Language/framework proficiency
- Problem-solving approach
- Communication clarity
Stage 4: On-site / Virtual loop (4-6 hours)
- Coding interview (2x 60 min): Algorithms, data structures
- System design (60 min): Architecture, scalability
- Behavioral (60 min): STAR format, culture fit
- Hiring manager (30 min): Role fit, team dynamics
Stage 5: Debrief (30-60 min)
- Each interviewer presents assessment
- Discuss disagreements
- Vote: Strong hire / Hire / No hire / Strong no hire
- Hiring manager makes final decision
Evaluation criteria (1-4 scale):
Problem understanding:
1: Jumps to solution without clarifying requirements
2: Asks some clarifying questions
3: Thoroughly understands requirements and constraints
4: Identifies edge cases and non-functional requirements
High-level design:
1: No clear architecture
2: Basic architecture, missing key components
3: Complete architecture with appropriate components
4: Elegant design with clear trade-off analysis
Deep dive:
1: Cannot explain component details
2: Surface-level understanding
3: Detailed understanding of key components
4: Expert-level knowledge with optimization strategies
Trade-offs:
1: No awareness of trade-offs
2: Mentions trade-offs but cannot analyze
3: Clear analysis of trade-offs with justification
4: Nuanced analysis with real-world examples
Scoring:
4: Exceptional (clear hire signal)
3: Meets bar (positive signal)
2: Below bar (negative signal)
1: Significant concerns (strong no hire)
Hire if: Majority of criteria score 3+
Strong hire if: Multiple criteria score 4
Channels:
LinkedIn Recruiter:
- Boolean search: "software engineer" AND "React" AND "Series B"
- InMail: Personalized, short, specific
- Response rate: 15-25% with good messaging
GitHub:
- Search by language, location, contribution activity
- Open source contributors = demonstrated skill
- Look for README quality, project complexity
Technical communities:
- Stack Overflow (high reputation = strong engineer)
- Hacker News (technical discussions)
- Dev.to, Hashnode (technical writing)
- Discord/Slack communities (by technology)
Referrals:
- Employee referral program ($2K-$10K bonus)
- Referral rate target: 30-40% of hires
- Referred candidates: 2x retention rate
Events:
- Tech meetups (local communities)
- Conferences (sourcing at booths)
- Hackathons (observe skills in action)
- University recruiting (intern pipeline)
Outreach templates:
Cold outreach (LinkedIn):
"Hi [Name], I saw your work on [specific project].
We're building [compelling problem] at [Company] and
looking for [role]. Would you be open to a quick chat?"
Follow-up (3 days later):
"Hi [Name], just bumping this up. We're working on
[specific technical challenge] and your background in
[their expertise] would be perfect. 15 min this week?"
Engineering blog topics:
- Technical architecture decisions (why we chose X over Y)
- Scaling stories (how we handled 10x growth)
- Open source contributions (what we built and why)
- Engineering culture (how we work, values, rituals)
- Day-in-the-life profiles (meet the team)
- Conference talks (share knowledge)
- Post-mortems (learn from failures, transparently)
Content calendar:
- 2 blog posts per month
- 1 video per month (team or technical)
- 1 conference talk per quarter
- 1 meetup hosting per quarter
- Daily social media (team wins, culture)
Measurement:
- Blog traffic and engagement
- Social media followers and engagement
- Inbound applications (from content)
- Source attribution (blog → application)
- Quality of inbound candidates
Day 1-30 (Learn):
Week 1:
- Company orientation (mission, values, org chart)
- Team introductions (1:1s with each team member)
- Tool setup (laptop, accounts, access)
- First task: Fix a small bug or docs typo
Week 2-3:
- Product deep dive (use the product as a customer)
- Architecture overview (system design walkthrough)
- Codebase tour (key repos, patterns, conventions)
- First PR review (learn code review culture)
Week 4:
- First feature task (small, well-scoped)
- 1:1 with manager (feedback, adjust plan)
- Onboarding survey (feedback on experience)
- Milestone: First PR merged
Day 31-60 (Contribute):
- Own and deliver a medium-sized feature
- Participate in on-call rotation (shadowing)
- Lead a technical discussion or design review
- Contribute to sprint planning
- Build relationships cross-functionally
Day 61-90 (Lead):
- Own a significant project or initiative
- Mentor newer team members
- Propose process improvements
- Present at team meeting or all-hands
- 90-day performance review with manager
Buddy assignment:
- Same team, similar level
- Not the direct manager
- Willing volunteer (not forced)
- 3-month commitment
Buddy responsibilities:
Week 1: Daily check-ins (15 min)
- Answer questions about tools, processes, culture
- Introduce to key people
- Help with logistics (badge, parking, lunch)
Week 2-4: 2x per week check-ins
- Code review guidance
- Process questions
- Social integration (lunch, coffee)
Month 2-3: Weekly check-ins
- Career advice
- Team dynamics
- Feedback channel
Buddy training:
- 1-hour orientation on buddy role
- Conversation guide (what to cover each week)
- Escalation path (if onboarding issues arise)
- Recognition (buddy program in performance review)
## Step 25: Diversity Hiring
### Inclusive Job Descriptions
Language audit:
Template: About [Company]: We are [mission statement]. Our team of [X] people is building [what] for [who]. We value [2-3 core values].
About the role: As a [Title], you will [key responsibility]. You will work with [team] to [outcome].
What you will do:
What we are looking for:
Nice to have:
What we offer:
We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. If you do not meet every requirement but are excited about this role, we want to hear from you.
### Diverse Sourcing Channels
Job boards:
Communities:
University partnerships:
Events:
## Step 26: Interview Bias Reduction
### Structured Interview Design
Standardized questions:
Scorecard:
| Criterion | 1 (Poor) | 2 (Fair) | 3 (Good) | 4 (Excellent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical skill | Cannot solve | Partial solution | Correct solution | Optimal solution |
| Communication | Unclear, disorganized | Somewhat clear | Clear, structured | Exceptional clarity |
| Problem-solving | Gives up quickly | Needs hints | Independent | Creative approaches |
| Collaboration | Poor listener | Adequate | Good team player | Elevates team |
Calibration:
Debiasing techniques:
### Interview Training Program
Module 1: Legal compliance (30 min)
Module 2: Bias awareness (60 min)
Module 3: Structured interviewing (60 min)
Module 4: Technical interviewing (60 min)
Module 5: Practical exercise (60 min)
Certification:
## Step 27: Compensation Benchmarking
### Benchmarking Process
Data sources:
Benchmarking methodology:
Target percentiles:
Adjustment factors:
## Step 28: Termination Best Practices
### Termination Checklist
Pre-termination: □ Document performance issues (PIP, written warnings) □ HR review of legal risks □ Manager training on termination conversation □ Prepare separation agreement □ Calculate final pay (salary, PTO, bonus) □ Plan for benefits continuation (COBRA) □ Arrange equipment return □ Plan access revocation timing
Day of termination: □ Private meeting room (in-person) or video call □ Manager + HR present □ Brief, respectful conversation (15-20 min) □ Provide written separation agreement □ Explain benefits and final pay □ Collect equipment (or arrange return) □ Escort from building (if in-person)
Post-termination: □ Revoke all system access (same day) □ Update org chart and team communications □ Redirect email and work to team □ Announce to team (brief, respectful) □ Process COBRA election notice (within 14 days) □ Final paycheck (timing varies by state) □ File unemployment (if applicable)
### Severance Policy
Standard severance:
Severance agreement includes:
Legal considerations:
Option 1: Entity setup
- Establish legal entity in country
- Full control over employment
- High cost and complexity
- Timeline: 3-6 months
- Best for: Large teams (10+), long-term commitment
Option 2: Employer of Record (EOR)
- Third party employs on your behalf
- Handles payroll, compliance, benefits
- Lower cost, faster setup
- Timeline: 1-2 weeks
- Best for: Small teams (1-5), testing market
Option 3: Contractor
- Independent contractor agreement
- No employment obligations
- Risk of misclassification
- Timeline: Immediate
- Best for: Short-term, project-based
Option 4: PEO (Professional Employer Organization)
- Co-employment arrangement
- Shared employer responsibilities
- Available in some countries (mainly US)
- Best for: SMBs wanting HR outsourcing
EOR providers:
- Deel: Global payroll and compliance
- Remote: International employment
- Oyster: Global employment platform
- Papaya Global: Global payroll management
- Velocity Global: International expansion
Benchmarking:
- Use local salary surveys (Radford, Mercer)
- Adjust for cost of living
- Consider local market rates
- Factor in benefits expectations
Components:
Base salary: Competitive locally
Equity: Stock options or RSUs (tax implications vary)
Benefits: Local requirements + enhancements
Bonus: Performance-based (10-20% target)
Country-specific considerations:
- 13th month salary (Latin America, Asia)
- Mandatory bonuses (India, China)
- Provident fund (India, Singapore)
- Social security contributions (varies)
- Vacation minimums (EU: 20-30 days)
- Parental leave (varies significantly)
Currency:
- Pay in local currency
- Budget in USD (FX risk management)
- Review rates quarterly
- Adjust for significant movements
Recruitment metrics:
- Time to fill: Days from requisition to offer acceptance
- Time to hire: Days from application to offer acceptance
- Cost per hire: Total recruiting cost / hires made
- Source of hire: Which channels produce best candidates
- Offer acceptance rate: Offers accepted / offers made
- Quality of hire: Performance rating of new hires
Retention metrics:
- Turnover rate: Departures / average headcount
- Voluntary turnover: Resignations / average headcount
- Involuntary turnover: Terminations / average headcount
- Retention rate by cohort: 90-day, 1-year, 2-year
- Regrettable turnover: High performers who left
Engagement metrics:
- Employee NPS: "Would you recommend as workplace?"
- Engagement score: Survey-based
- Participation rate: Survey completion %
- Absenteeism: Unplanned absences per employee
Diversity metrics:
- Representation: % by gender, ethnicity, level
- Hiring diversity: % diverse candidates at each stage
- Promotion equity: Promotion rates by demographic
- Pay equity: Compensation ratios by demographic
Turnover prediction:
Features:
- Tenure
- Time since last promotion
- Salary vs market rate
- Manager rating
- Engagement score
- Commute time/remote status
- Team turnover rate
Model: Logistic regression or random forest
Output: Probability of leaving in next 6 months
Action: Proactive retention for high-risk employees
Hiring success prediction:
Features:
- Interview scores
- Assessment results
- Source of hire
- Years of experience
- Education
- Cultural fit score
Model: Gradient boosting
Output: Probability of high performance
Action: Improve hiring decisions
Tools:
- Visier: People analytics
- One Model: HR analytics platform
- ChartHop: People analytics
- Custom: Python/R for advanced modeling
Above the fold:
- Hero video: Team culture montage (60-90s)
- Mission statement: 1-2 sentences
- Open positions CTA
Content sections:
- Culture: Values, team photos, office/workspace
- Benefits: Comprehensive benefits overview
- Testimonials: Employee stories (video preferred)
- Engineering blog: Technical content
- Perks: Unique offerings (learning, wellness)
Conversion optimization:
- Clear job search/filter
- Easy application process (<5 minutes)
- Mobile-responsive design
- Fast page load
- SEO-optimized job postings
Analytics:
- Page views and time on page
- Application conversion rate
- Source attribution
- Bounce rate
- Mobile vs desktop
Profile optimization:
- Complete company profile
- Respond to reviews (positive and negative)
- Update photos and videos
- Highlight awards and recognition
Review management:
- Monitor reviews weekly
- Respond to all reviews within 48 hours
- Thank positive reviewers
- Address negative feedback constructively
- Never argue or dismiss concerns
Improvement process:
- Aggregate feedback themes
- Share with leadership
- Implement changes
- Update Glassdoor profile to reflect improvements
- Track rating trends over time
## Step 32: Employee Relations
### Conflict Resolution
Types of workplace conflict:
Resolution process:
Manager training:
Escalation path:
### Employee Complaints
Complaint channels:
Investigation process:
Documentation:
Legal considerations:
## Step 33: HR Technology
### HR Tech Stack
Core HRIS:
Recruiting:
Performance:
Learning:
Benefits:
Compensation:
### HR Data and Analytics
Key HR metrics: Headcount: - Total employees - By department, level, location - New hires, terminations - Open positions
Retention: - Turnover rate (voluntary, involuntary) - Retention by cohort (90-day, 1-year, 2-year) - Regrettable turnover rate - Exit interview themes
Engagement: - Employee NPS - Engagement survey scores - Participation rates - eNPS trends
Compensation: - Pay equity ratios - Comp-ratio (actual vs market) - Total cost of workforce - Benefits utilization
Analytics tools:
## Step 34: Employee Wellness
### Wellness Programs
Mental health:
Physical health:
Financial wellness:
Social wellness:
Measurement:
Career tracks:
Individual Contributor (IC):
Junior → Mid → Senior → Staff → Principal → Distinguished
Management:
Team Lead → Engineering Manager → Director → VP → CTO
Specialist:
Domain expert, deep technical expertise
Senior → Staff → Principal → Fellow
Level definitions:
Junior (L1-L2):
- Completes well-defined tasks
- Requires guidance and mentorship
- Learning fundamentals
Mid (L3-L4):
- Independently completes features
- Contributes to design decisions
- Mentors juniors
Senior (L5-L6):
- Leads projects end-to-end
- Makes architecture decisions
- Influences team direction
Staff+ (L7+):
- Sets technical direction
- Influences organization
- Solves ambiguous problems
Promotion criteria:
- Consistent performance at next level (6+ months)
- Evidence from projects, peer feedback, metrics
- Manager nomination + skip-level approval
- Calibration with peer managers
Formal mentoring:
- Duration: 6-12 months
- Frequency: Bi-weekly 1:1s
- Structure: Goals, milestones, feedback
- Matching: By interest, career goals, expertise
Informal mentoring:
- Ad hoc conversations
- Code reviews with feedback
- Pair programming sessions
- Lunch and learns
Mentoring training:
- Active listening skills
- Giving constructive feedback
- Setting expectations
- Career coaching techniques
Measurement:
- Mentee satisfaction survey
- Promotion rates for mentees
- Retention rates for mentees
- Mentor feedback on experience
Critical roles:
- C-suite executives
- VP-level leaders
- Key technical experts
- Customer-facing roles
Succession identification:
- High-potential employees
- Performance ratings (consistent top performer)
- Readiness assessment (ready now, 1-2 years, 3+ years)
- Development needs (skills gaps)
Development plans:
- Stretch assignments
- Cross-functional exposure
- Executive coaching
- External education (MBA, executive programs)
- Board/committee participation
Review process:
- Annual talent review (9-box grid)
- Succession plan update
- Development plan progress
- Emergency succession (unexpected departure)
Survey structure:
- Frequency: Quarterly (pulse) + Annual (comprehensive)
- Length: 10-15 questions (pulse), 50-75 questions (annual)
- Anonymity: Guaranteed (minimum 5 responses per group)
- Action: Commit to acting on results
Key dimensions:
- Satisfaction: Overall job satisfaction
- Engagement: Motivation and commitment
- Growth: Learning and development opportunities
- Recognition: Feeling valued and appreciated
- Communication: Information flow and transparency
- Leadership: Confidence in leadership
- Collaboration: Teamwork and cooperation
- Well-being: Work-life balance and stress
Sample questions:
- "I would recommend this company as a great place to work" (eNPS)
- "I have the resources I need to do my job effectively"
- "My manager cares about my development"
- "I see myself here in 2 years"
- "I feel recognized for my contributions"
Action planning:
- Share results transparently
- Identify top 3 improvement areas
- Create action plans with owners
- Track progress quarterly
- Communicate actions taken
Eligibility:
- All full-time employees
- Contractors on 6+ month engagements
- Manager approval required
Work hours:
- Core hours: 10am-3pm local time
- Flexible outside core hours
- Meeting-free Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Timezone alignment: Within 3 hours of team
Communication:
- Slack for async communication
- Zoom for video meetings
- Notion for documentation
- Email for external communication
Equipment:
- Company laptop
- $2,500 home office stipend
- $100/month internet/phone reimbursement
- Monitors and peripherals provided
Performance:
- Output-based evaluation (not hours)
- Weekly 1:1 with manager
- Quarterly OKR reviews
- Annual performance review
Connection rituals:
- Daily standup (async or sync)
- Weekly all-hands (recorded)
- Monthly virtual social events
- Quarterly in-person offsites
- Annual company retreat
Communication norms:
- Async-first (documentation over meetings)
- Default to public (Slack channels, Notion)
- Written decisions (decision logs, RFCs)
- Meeting-free time (blocks for deep work)
Tools:
- Donut: Random coffee pairing
- Gather.town: Virtual office
- Loom: Async video messages
- Miro: Virtual whiteboarding
Anti-patterns:
- Always-on culture (no boundaries)
- Meeting overload (no deep work time)
- Proximity bias (favoring in-office)
- Isolation (no social connection)
- Timezone insensitivity
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