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Harj Taggar - How Startups can Compete with FAANG Companies when Hiring Employees

From Y Combinator · Published Jul 21, 2021 · Watch on YouTube

TL;DR

A startup can hire someone with competing FAANG offers by exploiting speed of process and personalized attention. Move faster than big tech: call the candidate the same day, deliver an offer by the following morning. Have every team member who interacted send a personalized follow-up email.

Key insights

  • Big tech hiring processes (initial call → interview → offer → formal letter) often take over a month; this slowness confirms candidates’ fear of bureaucracy.
  • A startup can use its speed of giving offers and answering questions as a visceral contrast to FAANG’s slowness, making the candidate feel valued.
  • Personalized follow-up from multiple team members (each citing one thing they liked about the candidate) is something big companies do not do, and it demonstrates a special, non-cog-in-the-wheel cultu

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