Scale’s Executive Hiring Criteria
General Talent Bar: Scale strives to recruit notable executives, striving to hire only when there is a robust “yes”. The ideal scenario is where people would be eager to work for that executive in an alternative scenario. In a broader sense, Scale is in pursuit of:
- Culture [via interviews and backchannels]
- Team Chemistry [via interviews]
- Proficiency [via interviews and backchannels]
I. Must have skills:
Talent Beacon: Adept at attracting and hiring high-quality talent, maintaining stringent standards for skills. Must be personable and proficient in advocating the vision. Ideally possesses a substantial network of relevant individuals.
- Validation Method: Analyze their historical hiring records, preferences, and network.
Mental Agility: Provides quick and clear thinking.
- Validation Method: Evaluate their aptitude for grasping new concepts and challenging conventional thoughts in discussions.
Leadership: Demonstrates the ability to motivate teams, convey complex ideas succinctly, and navigate through turbulence or difficulties.
- Validation Method: Inquire via backchannels, analyze their leadership principles, and evaluate their past crisis management through backchannels and team attrition rates.
Chaos Navigator: Can steer through disorder and imperfection, continually progressing towards the ultimate objective.
- Validation Method: Review past professional experiences and inquire about management strategies during tumultuous periods through backchannels.
Functional Mastery: Hire individuals who bring expertise and passion for their domain.
- Validation Method: Backchannels and internal evaluations, with potential third-party interviews.
Frugal, Lean, and Resourceful: Achieving more with fewer resources (financial, personnel, and time).
- Validation Method: Evaluate their resource expectations and the logicality of their resource requisitions, and assess the impact-to-organization efficiency ratio.
Hard working: [Self explanatory]
- Validation Method: Evaluate their willingness for intensive work contexts (ideally 50+ hours per week?) and ensure their previous engagements required diligent work ethics.
Strategic and Holistic Thinker: Simultaneously manages overarching and minute details.
- Validation Method: Assess their ability to elevate observations to strategic levels and spot systematic issues.
Ambitious: Desires to realize monumental achievements.
- Validation Method: Analyze their career progression and understand their future aspirations.
Detail-Oriented: Keen to delve into particulars, identify discrepancies or issues, and occasionally handle tasks directly.
- Validation Method: Backchannels and inquiry methods that drill from high-level to detailed responses.
Profound Problem Solver: [Evaluate from past roles + questions]
- Validation Method: Present a difficult issue and observe their engagement and innovativeness in proposing solutions.
Ownership: Treats every issue as their own and assumes accountability.
- Validation Method: Assess if they identify and address problems without prompting and if they devise solutions for issues beyond their control.
Adaptable and Humble: Modifies past strategies to our requirements and adjusts strategies in real time.
- Validation Method: Evaluate their adaptations of past strategies to Scale’s necessities.
Collaborative Contester: Jointly tackles problems while challenging assumptions for superior outcomes.
- Validation Method: Backchannels and evaluation of their respectful challenges during conversations.
Proactive Innovator: Instigates improvements and resolutions unsolicited.
- Validation Method: Through backchannels, assess their past pace and proactive actions.
Resilience: Maintains belief through highs and lows.
- Validation Method: Assess their past loyalty and stability through backchannels.
First-Principle Thinker: Robust logical thinking and reducing beliefs to foundational assumptions.
- Validation Method: Through a series of “why?” questions, assess their response depth and if they examine your propositions to fundamental assumptions.
Metrics-Oriented: Employs metrics for gauging and directing successful results.
- Validation Method: Understand their success evaluation methods, team management, and planning processes.
II. Nice to haves:
Knowledge about AI
- Validation Method: Discuss past projects, challenges, and delve a layer deeper into their understanding.
Context in operational businesses
- Validation Method: Review of resume.
Technical/Engineering Background
- Validation Method: Engage in technical discussions and review resume.
Customer-Focused
- Validation Method: Explore their historical decision-making and gauge the extent of their commitment to customer service.
Ability to move fast
- Validation Method: Discuss their views on team pace, planning speed, and approach toward grand objectives, along with considering backchannels and past company cultures.
Experience at a hyper growth company
- Validation Method: Resume.
Stellar people manager
- Validation Method: Evaluate through backchannels, observe team attrition rates, analyze reputation, and explore their employee development frameworks.
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