Job boards are a waste of time

My biggest early stage hiring mistake

My biggest early stage hiring mistake?

Amplifying my job listing on popular job platforms.

¹

Time is our biggest constraint in early stage SaaS startups and I wasted so much of it while doing this.

We received upwards of 500 applications for every position and 99.99% of the people who applied to the position didn't go past round 2. I wasted weeks screening each of the 500+ applications.

On the other hand, our direct sourcing efforts—reaching out to ideal candidates via LinkedIn and Slack groups—worked like a charm. You pre-qualify candidates yourself and have to sort through only the best 10 candidates. You also close the position relatively quickly then.

Lesson: Focus on direct sourcing if you're strapped for time.

1. This is not supposed to be blanket advice. There is merit in posting on job platforms when you have time and budget available at a later stage of your business. For example, when you have a dedicated recruiter in your team. This post is meant for early stage SaaS startups that are usually strapped for time & resources.