7 Hiring Steps from a First Time Founder

My first employee fell into my lap. In August 2018, I had this crazy idea that there was all this “free” and “non-dilutive” money out there through foundation and government grants that we could take advantage of if we only knew how. I had too much on my plate and wasn’t going to have time to take this on, so I went looking for someone to help. Almost immediately after I put a job description out, I received a LinkedIn request from a random person who seemed to be a perfect match. The next day, I worked at the incubator, where my office is, and in the middle of the afternoon, I looked up saw someone who looked very similar to the person who had connected with me on Linkedin. After confirming he was the same person, we sat there and talked. I hired him the next week.

The only problem was that he had an expiration date. He had big dreams of going to med school to become a psychiatrist. This passion and drive was something I recognized early in him and drove me to make a decision quickly about hiring him. After a great year together, he was leaving me in August 2019 to start medical school. It was bittersweet to have my first employee move on to bigger and better things, but it also would leave me with a giant hole in my team. Yet, hiring him was easy. He came to me. 

I knew that this next round of hiring was going to be different. I had never run a complete hiring process before, yet I had a few ideas from my experience going through my own job search. Additionally, I knew that this wasn’t going to be my last hire, so throughout the process, I was meticulous about the steps taken and documented my system to improve and build upon it next time. 

Now, I want to share what I did so that you can have a head start in your hiring process as a first-time founder.

Step 1 – Reverse Engineering the Timeline

Our current Research Manager’s last day was on July 26 to start Medical School. I needed to find a replacement before then to fill his shoes. Starting from the deadline, I set out the rough schedule below to keep me on track and accountable:

• May 29 – Update and finalize the job description
• May 31 – Post job description
• June 19 – Close the posting
• June 24 – Review applicants, do the first cut, and phone interviews
• July 10 – Review applicants, do the second cut, and give research prompt
• July 13 – Writing sample from research prompt due at noon
• July 15 – Review research prompt, do the third cut, and send out final interviews
• July 22 – Review final interviews and select candidate for the position
• July 25 – Verify references and official offer
• July 26 – Start work with the transition from old to new manager

Step 2 – Posting Job and Organizing Applicants

I am fortunate that the startup is in Chicago because there are over ten universities situated within a 20-mile radius. All of whom have outstanding student talent, some of the biggest being Northwestern University, Loyola University, Rush University, and the University of Chicago. In posting our job, I used a few methods:

1. Handshake – A website specialized in facilitating connections to hundreds of colleges with a single click. It is like the common application when applying for school, yet for companies to maximize reach with minimal effort to hundreds of career service offices.
2. I emailed each university career services office to share the opportunity. Additionally, I knew I was open to pre-med students, students who were planning to go to medical school next year, or the year after, which gave me leverage with the career services as many jobs do not allow something like this. Sending this personal note to different career service offices was a crucial step.
3. I emailed pre-med and biology club presidents at various campuses. This personal outreach gave me access to well-rounded pre-med or research-minded students.
4. MATTER Job Board – Posted for free on our incubator’s job board
5. Angel.co – Posted for free on their job search

Quickly after that, I started to get applications. They came from all different places, including direct to my email inbox. I needed a simple way to organize resumes, cover letters, and email communications to ensure I followed up appropriately and had all the right documents from each person. Here is what I did:

1. I created a google drive folder named “Research Manager Hiring Process”.
2. Within it, each new applicant had a folder with their name on it. Here, I stored their CV/resume, cover letter, and any email communications.
3. After the compiled folder, I added them to the master spreadsheet in the applicants’ home folder. This spreadsheet had the following headers: Name, Source, Email, Phone, Communication Date, Had Phone Call?, Notes, Status
4. At the end of every week, I would take all the new applicants and send them a BCC email stating we received their application, and we would be in touch soon for the next steps.

Step 3 – Close Posting, First Cut, and Phone Screens

On June 19, I took down the postings and ended that phase of the hiring process with 33 applicants. It is essential to have a hard date to reference for applicants who applied after the end date. Next, I reviewed the cover letters and resumes from candidates for a high-level check for relevance to the job description. I made the first cut of fewer than five people, then sent the following email to the rest of the applicants to schedule a phone call. It is important to note that this first cut was minimal. For example, if someone applied who had no research experience and no science background, they were not a fit. 

Subject: CareBand Research Manager Call

Hi NAME,

Thank you for applying for the Research Manager position at CareBand.

My name is Adam and I am the founder and CEO of CareBand. After reviewing your resume and cover letter, I would like to schedule a 15-minute introductory call with you. The goal of the call is to get to know you a little bit better and for you to learn more about CareBand.

We will keep the call short and informal. The next step after the call would be a short “NIH” like writing prompt, then a final in-person interview.

Please schedule an introductory call here. Calls will begin tomorrow and go until the 9th. If a time does not work for you, please email me.

Thank you again for applying and I look forward to getting to know you on our call.

Adam

To speed up this process, I used a Calendarly link connected to my calendar to show what times were open. I also kept the phone call to tight 15 minutes and communicated this and the intent of the phone call in the email. The phone call consisted of the following format and questions (short and sweet) with a hard stop at 15 minutes.

15-minute Phone Screen Structure

00:00-02:00 – Introduction and how are you

02:00-12:00 – Questions

1. What interests you in CareBand and why did you apply for this position?
2. Please tell me about one experience you’ve had that you think has prepared you for this role. What is one lesson you learned that you will bring into this job?
3. What do you hope to learn or gain through this position?
4. If offered, when can you start? Do you have any questions for me?

12:00 – 15:00 – Any questions from the applicant, share more about the role and position, share the next steps (i.e., interviews will be this week, next week will be a writing sample, then final interviews).

Step 4 – Second Cut and Writing Sample

There were a lot of phone calls, but I finished it. The next step was to do another cut based on fit, interest, and experience. I didn’t want to have everyone go to the next round because that would be many writing samples to review, and it wouldn’t help me narrow the candidate. My goal here was to cut at least ten people for this round. Once I had the next group, I created the writing sample and sent out the next email.

View the writing sample prompt here.

Subject: CareBand Research Manager Next Round

Hi NAME,

Hope you are having a great week.

I enjoyed getting to know you and hearing about your background. You will be moving forward in the Research Manager hiring process.

The next step is a short writing sample to understand more about your writing style and research approach. Please review the attached prompt with instructions.

This will be due on Friday the 25th at noon central. Final interviews will then take place next week on zoom.

Congrats again! Feel free to email me with any questions or time constraints you have.

Thanks,

Adam

The purpose of the writing sample was to evaluate if the applicant could:

1. Follow directions and submit by the deadline
2. Write about the aging topic in a professional manner
3. Perform a literature review and write scientifically or in a research manner
4. Analyze writing style and grammar

I emphasized that I was not looking for someone to spend more than two hours of research and an hour of writing. Additionally, the writing sample was not going to be judged harshly by the content; more so on the ability to accomplish the items above.

Step 5 – Third Cut and Final Interviews Scheduled

With all the writing samples in (and on time), our team went to work reviewing them. I had three reviewers, and each reviewer had a folder of all the writing samples labeled “Jsmith.pdf” (First letter and last name) followed the process below:

1. Read each writing sample
2. Filled out a spreadsheet with notes, decisions, and scores (1-5).

Once each person reviewed the samples, I made the final decision of who to cut. We cut about 50% of the applicants, then sent out the final interview email. It was structured as a 45-minute interview at our office in Chicago with a 30-minute formal interview and a 15-minute office tour. The email included a Calendarly link as well, with the 45-minute slots open.

Subject: CareBand Research Manager Final Interview

Hi NAME,

Congrats! You have made it to the final interview.

We will be holding at our office at 222 West Merchandise Mart Plaza, #1230. It will be a 30-minute interview and a 15-minute office tour.

I am excited to meet you in person and get to know you better.

Please sign up for a time slot here. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Best,
Adam

Step 6 – Final Interviews

There were five interviews scheduled. The interviews lasted between 20-30 minutes with a 10ish minute office tour. The interview consisted of 5 categories with questions in each:

• Introduction and Background
• Work Experience
• Work Environment/Interpersonal
• Applicant Questions

In each interview, there were two staff from our team present. Both of us had the interview questions, and a resume stapled together. On the interview questions, each was noted by Staff 1 or Staff 2 to ask it, and then there was space to write the answers to the questions. At the end of each interview, the staff wrote additional notes and thoughts from the interview and gave the applicant a score from 1-10 (10 being the best). Then the team would discuss their thoughts and why they gave the score they did.

Step 7 – References and Offer

The last step in the process, right before the “official” offer, was to speak to 2-3 references of the selected person believed will fill the role.

Subject: CareBand Next Steps

Hi NAME,

It was great to speak with you. Our team thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you and hearing about your interests and past research experience.

Our next step is to talk to references. Could you share 2 or 3 references? Please send me their names, reporting relationships, and phones/emails.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Adam

Once the references check out, I made the offer through email.

Subject: CareBand – Congrats!

Hi NAME,

After a lot of deliberation and interviews, I am excited to offer you for the CareBand Research Manager Position! You are an excellent fit based on your background, experience, and references. I believe you will become a great asset to the CareBand team and move the company forward significantly.

Attached is the official offer letter and contract.

Please review both and sign them when you are comfortable. Feel free to let me know if you have questions or need clarification, I am happy to help.

Thank you,
Adam

I also notified and thanked the other applicants for making it this far and wishing them the best for the future.

Hi NAME,

Thank you for following up. Unfortunately, we are not moving forward with your application.

Thank you,
Adam

Lessons Learned

After many phone calls, emails, and deliberation, the interview process was finally over! Overall, I think it went smoothly, yet there were a few observations and learnings. The writing sample proved to be very useful for identifying suitable candidates for this role, yet it may not be the right “challenge” when recruiting for other positions. I think that having some test or challenge as the 2nd step in an interview is the best way to assess a candidate. 

One issue that I did run into was the 4th of July. I did not put enough buffer time in my plan for the holiday break. I had initially wanted to have a transition process where both the old Research Manager and the new one could work together for 1-2 weeks before the old one’s final day. This delay caused me not to have time for that gradual transition. Next time, I would add a week and a half of the buffer to be sure I could hit the deadlines and timeline that I set out.

Beyond this, the process was beneficial, and I will be continuing to follow this and improve on it when I hire people in the future.

October 2020 Update

It is that time of year again. Our current Research Manager is off to start her MD/MPH degree, and I need to look for someone to fill her shoes. Using the process that I had laid out last year, I was confident I could do it again. 

This time I had my current Research Manager more involved in organizing the documents, communicating to the applicants, and joining for the interviews. I also was fortunate to have her help me iterate on the process. A few updates are below:

• She added another tab to the Hiring Spreadsheet for where we posted the job or who we emailed. This log helped us to be sure that we didn’t email the same person or organization twice. It also provided us an organized way to go back and thank those sources for their help.
• She organized our Home folder differently. The structure was the main folder – Research Manager 2020. In that folder there were 4 subfolders:

• She wrote a new Research Prompt for this year that was more relevant to the type of writing we were looking for.
• This year, we blinded who wrote the writing samples. I kept a record of who submitted which writing sample, then I stripped the identifiable information (i.e., name) from each document and posted them into a writing samples folder with 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf.
• She also put together this Writing Sample Scoring Rubric that each reviewer could use to assess the writing sample’s quality. Once each person on the team reviewed the writing samples, we ranked our candidates based on the aggregated score. This scoring method tremendously helped our team to narrow our focus and pick the best candidates.