Hiring in San Francisco

It’s hard, but would you want it any other way?

So we are hiring for a designer position at DoubleDutch and the one thing I struggle with the most is the feeling that I can’t compete with other, bigger, cooler companies.

For the most part I get the sense that their deep pockets of cash, talent and technology are insurmountable for a smaller company to contend with. Their lunchtime DJ soiree’s and bathroom booze carts on the surface are too much to handle, even I get caught up in coveting those things.

I stand in place staring down the giants, psyching myself up to possibly die on my sword (because what else can I do?). Wringing my hands with worry that if I do find the killer candidate will they be put off by something I couldn’t control.

….stop

WTF.

Who am I actually looking for? Do I want someone who is more concerned with quality of bourbon soaked cupcake papers in the chef’s loft? Someone who wants to have a million gallon fish tank to go and meditate in front of? Someone who cares more about getting what’s due them more than being a part of a community? Someone who was born on third base but thinks they've hit a triple.

In fact, when they are looking for a job with me, do they know they are looking for me? I choose to be someone who talks about what he is for rather than what he is against. Someone who cares about the relationship more than the trinkets. I'm a person who wants benefits and compensation to be fair and equitable. A person who is not going to check your temperature because I believe I've found a good teammate and will trust them to do their best.

When I step back and look at my year at DoubleDutch I cannot point to any time I have been stifled or blocked in doing the best work of my life.

And that’s it. That’s the tiny nugget I’ll use in my sling.

So here’s the deal, going forward I am not going to worry about competing against the “armor of perks” or hustling a reclaimed wood conference room or the celebrity tea parties. I chose to embrace the struggle and not compare ourselves to some other company who has different goals and culture.

To the person who decides to join us, when we look back on your hiring process and how hard it was on both sides to find the right fit, we’ll know that we wouldn't have wanted it any other way.