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Been a hot min, LinkedIn! (remember Pulse?)
One of my resolutions for 2024 was to commit to publishing more content for my network – shout out to the jobseekers, fellow TA folks, founders, CISOs & CTOs – and for my own enjoyment... I find writing therapeutic, so getting back on the blog wagon makes the most sense. Perhaps I’ll get over my disdain for my own voice someday, but vlogs will have to wait for now. ;-)
A little over 7 years ago, as Baby Rogue was nearing its 2nd birthday, I did a piece on why candidates shouldn’t fear recruiters… and it still tracks, check it out. 5 years later, I addressed my fellow tech recruiters, encouraging them to be better, do better, at a critical moment in the history of our noble profession. I believe that rallying cry has also aged well. As a person of service, these are my citadels, the cornerstones of Rogue Talent, the hills I’ll gladly die on.
Today, as we approach the 9th anniversary of Project Rogue, I'm addressing all the founders and TA leaders of the tech world, particularly high growth startups. These are my typical clients – from nascent bootstrapper to Series E rocketship.
Let’s look at why working with a Specialized Independent Recruiter (SIR) or Talent Acquisition Strategist (TAS) will be the best thing you ever do for the proverbial airplane you’re trying to build – and occupy – while midair.
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Before we dive in, let’s address the elephant in the room: Bad recruiters are a problem. They aren’t inherently bad people; they’re just products of either a crappy boss, or worse, of the overrated “body shops” we’ve all heard of. These are the large, highly transactional agencies (aka vendors, firms) that look at the talented engineers we all respect merely as numbers, resources, cattle.
Prioritizing profit over reputation, quantity over quality, many of these agencies preach placement volume as gospel, smacking unreasonable metrics on their recruiting teams… a recipe for disaster that affects the entire tech ecosystem, from talent market to hiring company.
Also, technology has frankly made a lot of recruiters lazy… bulk messaging, unlimited job postings, shameless ghosting, etc. So please, give your recruiter a break... and maybe a hug.
The good news? The cream continues to rise. Out of darkness comes light. Good, if not outstanding, recruiters are still out there (as are some staffing companies I personally respect), and these have thrived since the pandemic era. There are many signals amidst the noise, it’s just a matter of finding the right one(s).
So where does a company entering high-velocity hiring mode start?
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This piece revolves around a monumental article I recently read by TalentBin founder Peter Kazanjy, which explores what makes a “good recruiter” in the 21st century. It spoke to me on so many levels, but founding teams unfamiliar with the space…well…they really should be. This article aims to remedy that. First, this gem:
“Recruiters get a lot of crap. But it’s becoming an industry of its own, with its own practices and craft. In the past, there was a low barrier to entry into the field. Bad recruiters could engage in bad behavior, and they’ve given a lot of good recruiters a bad name. But recruiters make the hiring market go ‘round."
Then this monster dose of truth:
“If you think Facebook, Google and Twitter were built without recruiters, you're deluding yourself.’
[Side note: I haven’t personally contributed to a FAANG company at the ground floor (yet), but Rogue has been pivotal in scaling a lot of cyber, engineering, and product teams out there, from notably successful tech startups to household names like MIT and Wendy’s.]
Kazanjy goes on:
“How can [a hiring leader] find a great recruiter? This is a top priority for good reason. If you’re doing it right, hiring is one of your most time-consuming, energy-depleting tasks. But when you hit hyper-growth this isn’t always realistic. A well-matched recruiter can not only catch you up, but help propel your startup through massive step changes. The operative part there is ‘well-matched.’ Work with a recruiter who gets your company and mission at a gut level.”
He adds another zinger (funny ‘cuz it’s true):
“If you find yourself saying, 'Oh, I'll just have my office manager do it,' go give your investors back their money right now.”
No agency out there, with the exception of a few reputable executive search groups and staffing firms, gives two sh*ts about anything other than the recruiting fees. And they’ll throw a ton of mud at the wall until something sticks… more on that in a minute.
The real value in this article isn’t only in Kazanjy’s pragmatic view of the importance of the recruiting craft, which he gears primarily toward startups. But he literally breaks things down (nitty gritty!) based on a young company’s specific needs, its current stage of growth/funding, and the key types of recruiting services and search formats (e.g. contingent vs. retained… Rogue does both) that are available in the wild.
This article is full of generous, sage advice on the matter, whether you're a startup founder, a GTM-focused Chief of People, or the CISO of a company fresh off an IPO looking to scale your org in the face of growing threats to your business and customer base. The common thread is that good recruiters matter… and they exist.
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So why work with a SIR like Rogue (roguetalent.io), or a TAS like the great Robert Hatta’s Ten-X (ten-xtalent.com), instead of a giant agency? I’ll pose a different question: In the war for tech talent, would you prefer to partner with a loyal patriot who believes in your cause, or simply hire and rely on a mercenary?
Whether at a tactical or strategic level, good recruiters work directly with the HM—their only real stakeholder—to fully understand their business, its mission, its vision for growth, its culture, etc. Once the search is on, they will adjust on the fly, one search campaign at a time, one candidate at a time. And btw… a good recruiter will never, ever send “resume spam.”
On the flip side, it’s a two-way street. Kazanjy’s advice for HMs to “be responsive” is priceless, which he emphasizes pretty strongly. Your relationship with your recruiter — regardless of MSA terms — will suffer immensely if we sense you’ll be a hiring obstacle vs. enabler. I consider myself an excellent hiring wingman, but I will also 100% fire a bad customer (with respectful, ample notice).
The shared goal is not only a successful hire, but protecting the stellar reputation of both parties in the process – particularly crucial when working in the cyber & tech talent communities.
Rogue Talent, which turns 9 tomorrow, was created with the sole intention of being the signal amidst the noise. We offer a boutique partnership experience based on integrity and transparency for both candidate and client. Our recruiting game is precise, thoughtful, holistic, agile af, and fully integrated. This is why I identify so strongly with the message Kazanjy delivers here.
One last truth bomb: “Time & speed is often worth its weight in gold.”
Amen to that. I’ll stop there, but there’s more on the Rogue story below if interested in learning how this David of a shop based here in Columbus, Ohio has competed with the Goliaths of the industry for nearly 10 years. Thanks for reading, my friends, and happy hunting.
Onward indeed,
Chad
