“Two hires I thought we had absolutely no chance of hiring. Both on the team in a matter of months. Your question is, "What's her secret?" and the answer is dangerously simple - deliberate, consistently expressed and reinforced want. Both of the positions we had were attractive. Senior engineering gigs working on a 1.0 product in a name brand company. But these guys were the top of the field. Recognized names. There were any number of opportunities across the Valley that would be attractive. How'd we win? We continually and consistently explained that they were wanted.” - × × ×

“The strategy I'm proposing steps on a lot of recruiter toes. Recruiters are professional relationship people and their instinctive reads on candidates can be eerily accurate, but their job is the hire and once the hire shows up, the recruiter vanishes. The relationship is ended because the job is done. ¶ Your professional relationship with those that you hire is never over. ¶ If you're hiring well, you're hiring people not just for this job, but for your career. These are the people who, for better or worse, will explain to others what it is like to work with you. They'll explain your quirks, your weaknesses, and your strengths. When they eventually leave the group, they're taking your reputation with them. You may never talk to them again, but they'll continue to talk and my question is: what stories are they going to tell?” - × × ×