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A new way to compete for talent – Video

This week our cofounders shared advice with our clients on how to get more candidates interested in their company in this very competitive market.  We got such a great response to this, that we decided to share this with our entire network –  please feel free to read their advice below: 

Given the competition in the market (nearly all engineering roles increased in salary last quarter), we are looking at ways to increase engagement from qualified candidates. One such way companies gain an advantage is by using video in recruiting marketing. Through the insights of our Client Advisory Board and our own data, companies that use video for recruiting marketing are increasing conversion rates by as much as 25% at the top of the funnel / first interview. 

Your company’s personality and culture shine in the video. Additionally, in one of our latest polls to placed candidates, the #1 reason candidates join their company is team/culture.

Ask: We propose creating at least 1 video (1-2 minutes) on why your company is an exciting home for prospective candidates to join (ie: problem, solution, scale, culture, impact, investors, founder’s background). Please then share it with us, so we can share it with qualified candidates to increase interest and conversion. 

Some video software that we recommend include:

  • VideoAsk
  • Scenery (collaborative video editor)
    • Example recruiting video here (Pinterest’s head of corp dev made remotely)
  • Loom 
    • Example here of a job description pitch and here of a candidate product demo 
  • Youtube (put a link in the JD)
  • The Muse 
    • Example here of leadership and culture. 
  • How it works videos

All the best,

Natan and David

SingleSprout is 9 years old!

Our team can not wait to celebrate at our offsite in a couple of months. But for now, we wanted to share 9 fun facts about SingleSprout, to celebrate our 9 year anniversary. 

  1. Over the last 9 years, we have been able to help 1000+ engineers find a new role, and grow their careers.   
  2. We have grown to 45 employees, and we currently have 5 open roles including Director of Engineering.
  3. It took about 2 years to make our first 100 placements, but for the first time (Q1 ’22), we were able to make over 100 placements in less than 90 days. 
  4. We started with hiring for just software engineering positions, but now we support a range of engineering, data, and product positions (IC-Management level) as well as legal (VP, GC, CLO) talent.  
  5. Our logo: the triangle represents our clients, candidates, and employees and how SingleSprout brings everyone together. 
  6. Our team has been 100% remote since 2020 and we have employees in 14 different states!
  7. During the last 9 years, our software engineering team has created internal products including Lilly, Daisy, Clover, and Nectar (all with a plant 🌱 theme).
  8. Out of 1,000+ polled candidates that we’ve placed, of those that responded, more than 75% are still working at the company we placed them at.
  9. Lastly, our founders David and Natan met when they were 9 years old!

We know this is going to be a special year, and we are excited to see how we can continue to support both candidates and growing companies

Q1 2022 Engineering Compensation Report

Last quarter, was SingleSprouts busiest quarter to date. Our team was able to place over 100 engineers and lawyers at growing startups.  Because of this plethora of data, we decided to start running our compensation report on a quarterly basis.  

To find our comp report, please use the following link (here). 

Here are a few extra facts, about the recent hiring market. 

The hiring market is greatly affected by world events. In March, with the uncertainty of the stock market, mortgage rates, Ukraine, etc we saw both candidates and candidates change their behavior. 

  • We saw candidates act a bit more risk-averse and a majority of them were seeking high cash offers (with less emphasis on stock). Previous motivators like the companies mission, projects, growth opportunities, and other huge motivators dropped in significance, compared to cash compensation. 
  • At the same time, we saw a handful of our companies giving much more conservative offers, which were not matching candidates’ demands. 
  • As a result, our offer accept rate dropped slightly in early March. Towards the end of the month we saw our companies recognized the new client demands,  and as such made some quick changes. The biggest change we saw was a significant increase in signing bonuses during late March, to compensate for changes in the market. (Average signing bonus was 10-25% of base salary). 

A huge piece of news in the tech hiring market this quarter was Amazon sudden announcement, that they have more than doubled the max pay rate for their engineering teams. This huge increase in salary has brought them in line with other competitors in the talent market including Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.  It has not only put pressure on other large companies to re-think their comp plans but this change may make it somewhat harder for startups to compete in the talent market.  

Another large change we have seen was a sudden increase in salary for engineers with 10+ years of experience. 

  • Background: We had 2 candidates in the same week get great offers from our companies above what they told us they were seeking (both got offers in low $200,000 in base salary, with plenty of equity). Even though our candidates had told us that said companies were their top choice, both of these two candidates accepted offers outside of us for more than $250,000 in base. 
  • Our findings: We have found that engineers that receive an offer of +$15,000 per year in base salary are +80% likely to accept the highest offer (even if the company was not their top choice). Despite what candidates tell us, cash is still the greatest motivator. 

Webinar: Engineering Leadership

It was a packed virtual house for our first Zoom webinar series on Engineering Leadership. SingleSprout was lucky to have industry leaders

We covered practical tips like what should an aspiring engineering leader look for in a company to ensure career growth? How does one stand out in the interview process? How does the company identify engineering leadership potential? How can companies best support and grow these individuals?

Here are some highlights, but catch the full video on YouTube at https://lnkd.in/dktNWN4, and be sure to RSVP for the next webinar in our series (Remote Interviewing best practices on 6/24 RSVP at https://lnkd.in/dh7PJ-V)! #webinar #leadership #growth #hr #engineering 

 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/singlesprout_engineering-leadership-zoom-hosted-by-singlesprout-activity-6807716154765778944-nEcf

The SingleSprout Shout – Remote work in 2021

Hey Everyone –

As the vaccine continues to roll out, our clients and partners have been discussing how to plan today for a post-Covid tomorrow. While founders are thinking about re-opening offices and new safety procedures, recruiting today for a post-Covid world may not be top of mind.

The states that your employees are located in, your office locations, and your company culture will all impact re-openings, but the greatest wealth of information about expectations for a post-Covid world will come from your employees. Many of our clients have started to send around surveys in order to understand what employees are looking for in a post-Covid world, but it is just as important to have these conversations with candidates during your hiring process.

We recommend asking the following questions during your recruitment process.

  • Do you plan to remain remote post-Covid or are you interested and excited to go back to the office?
  • Which of our offices would you like to return to? (If you have multiple locations)
  • What do you expect from your employer’s remote policies or physical office in a post-Covid world?

As we plan for a post-Covid world together, we are most excited to finally get to spend time with our team, clients, candidates, partners, and the community.

Truly,
Natan & David

PS. Even during the peak of 2020, we found that only 30% of candidates were seeking remote-only roles. With Q1 2021 hiring in full swing, things are changing – in fact, over 45% of our candidates are now seeking roles that offer remote work only.

The SingleSprout Shout Relaunch Q4 2020

Below is an excerpt from our newsletter – The SingleSprout Shout Relaunch Q4 2020.

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the long delay. We’re back with a new edition of the SingleSprout Shout (formerly the SingleSprout Newsletter)!

We think it’s safe to say, the way companies attract top talent has changed. The fancy office perks to attract talent have disappeared (for now), and many have plans never to return to an office again. A recent Gartner survey found that 74% of CFO’s will be allowing certain employees to remain fully remote after the pandemic.

So the question is, what attracts talent in this new remote world? According to Linkedin, 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job, and the #1 obstacle candidates experience when searching for a job is not knowing what it’s like to work at an organization. We advise startups to utilize various tools that are readily available to them to advertise their brand to candidates. Focus on your company’s digital brand, social media, employee testimonials, creating a mission statement, and authentic values. Please reach out to us if you want any extra advice or tips!

We are so grateful for our team, clients, candidates, partners, and the community. We wish everyone a strong end to the year and all the health and strength to conquer 2021.

Natan & David

Referral  program
Do you know of any Engineers, Product Managers, Designers, or Attorneys?

At the end of each year, we donate a portion of our proceeds from successful candidate referrals to the following forward-thinking, social good organizations:

    Referral  

    program