Hiring in a startup is among the highest-stakes tasks a leader faces. Each hire is a bet on the future. The right person can drive progress, while the wrong one can cause costly setbacks.
And on the face of it, it looks deceptively simple. Write a job ad, run some interviews, and pick a candidate. What could go wrong?
But anyone who’s done it knows: it’s rarely that tidy. In startups, especially, where speed and stakes collide, hiring becomes one of the most consequential and least formalised processes we run.
There’s very little training, and no global standard. Most hiring managers are doing their best with what they’ve seen or inherited. But not everyone pays enough attention (which is why you should have a full-time TA person IMO). And over time, those shortcuts become habits. Some helpful. Some harmful.
Something James Clear says about habits has always stuck with me: “Tiny changes, remarkable results.”
In other words: small behaviours, repeated often enough, compound. Good habits build confidence, clarity, and a track record you can rely on. Bad ones quietly erode trust, misalign teams, and cost a lot more than time.
I feel that this thinking, when it comes to hiring, is no different. Here are three habits I’ve seen consistently improve outcomes across early-stage teams. They’re not complex. But like most habits, they take commitment. Each one is about “doing the basics consistently well”, tiny changes that yield remarkable results over time.
1. Co-produce the Position Description with Your Team
Too often, I’ve seen managers draft a role in isolation. They list the duties they think matter, include a few soft skills, and post a job ad. But i think the most valuable part is getting input from the people who’ll work alongside the new hire.
When you co-produce the position description with your team, you surface expectations early. You find gaps. You clarify what success actually looks like. And you avoid the slow, painful realisation halfway through interviews that everyone’s been picturing someone different.
Done well, this ensures shared ownership. creates alignment before any candidate walks through the door. And over time, it becomes the foundation for clearer roles, better hiring decisions, and stronger team cohesion.
2. Run a Hiring Kick-Off Session
Every hiring process should begin with a team kick-off. That means sitting down (yes, ideally actually sitting down) to talk through the role, the process, and how you as the hiring team will evaluate candidates.
A successful kick-off produces a shared understanding among the team about what you’re looking for and how you’ll run the process. This is where confusion gets ironed out. Where you agree on what matters most and who’s assessing what. It’s also the moment to flag risks, unrealistic timelines, or differing priorities before they snowball into real problems.
Teams that make this a habit tend to move faster, because they’ve aligned up front. They don’t second-guess each other’s judgment, and candidates get a more consistent experience. You’re not winging it. You’re running a process that’s pointed towards the right outcome.
3. Run a Hiring Retrospective with Your Team (and New Hire)
This one’s often overlooked, but it might be the most valuable habit of the three. Once your new hire is made and the dust has settled, run a retrospective.
Get the hiring team together. Invite the new hire if the timing feels right. Ask a few simple questions: What worked? What didn’t? What should we change next time?
The goal isn’t to point fingers. It’s to build a feedback loop. Maybe your case study wasn’t that useful. Maybe your process dragged on too long. Maybe the candidate experience was excellent, but only because one team member picked up the slack.
When you make hiring retros a habit, each hiring round gets a little sharper. You start to notice patterns. You adjust. And over time, your hiring process evolves into something that’s not just efficient, but actually effective.
Hiring will never be perfect. But it doesn’t have to be chaotic either. These habits, collaborating on the role, aligning at the start, and reflecting at the end, are simple, repeatable, and high-leverage. They don’t require massive change, huge outlay or funding, just small, consistent attention.
And that’s the point. Tiny changes can deliver remarkable results. I think that’s how better hiring happens.
Here are three email templates you can tailor to your liking, covering:
- Co-producing the Position Description (PD)
- Hiring Kick-off Session
- Hiring Retrospective
They’re written in a clear, respectful tone that explains why each step matters, encourages contribution, and sets expectations.
1. Email: Co-Producing the Position Description
Subject: Clarifying the {name of role} position – your input needed
Hi team,
As you know we’re kicking off hiring for a new role on the team, and before I rush into writing the job description solo, I’d really like your input please.
Rather than me just guessing what’s needed, I thought it would be more effective if we co-produce the position description together. You’ve got firsthand insight into the day-to-day work, what’s missing, and what success looks like in this role so your perspective is essential.
This should only take 15–20 minutes of your time, but it will ensure that we clearly define the role, and stay aligned in our thinking, and ultimately, how well we hire.
We’ll also be running:
- A kick-off session once the PD is finalised, to align on process and responsibilities
- A hiring retrospective after we make the hire, to reflect and improve the process
I’ll get invites out for these shortly.
To start, I’d love you to answer these three quick questions by [insert deadline, e.g. end of the week]:
- What do you think this role is responsible for, day-to-day?
- What qualities or skills do you think are non-negotiable?
- What would success look like in the first 3 months?
Reply directly or drop your thoughts in [a shared doc / Slack thread / Notion page – insert link or preferred format].
Thanks in advance – this will help us avoid misalignment down the line and give our next hire the best chance to succeed.
Best, [Your Name]
2. Email: Hiring Kick-off Session
Subject: Hiring Kick-off – let’s align before we start
Hi team,
Thanks again for contributing to the position description; this has helped shape a much clearer and more useful brief. Now that we’re starting to get applications lets get tgetehr for a the hiring kick-off session.
The goal is to get everyone aligned before we start speaking with candidates. We’ll confirm:
- What we’re looking for in interviews (and what we’re not)
- Interview stages and who’s responsible for what
- What “good” looks like in this role
- Any red flags or deal-breakers we should be aware of
This session keeps things efficient and ensures a consistent candidate experience across the board. It also helps avoid last-minute confusion or mixed messaging once we’re mid-process.
Kick-off is scheduled for [insert date/time]. Invite is in your calendar, please prioritise if you can.
Thanks all, [Your Name]
3. Email: Hiring Retrospective
Subject: Hiring retro – what can we learn from our last hire?
Hi team,
Now that [New Hire’s Name] has joined and things have started to settle, I’d like us to spend a bit of time reflecting on how the hiring process went.
We’ll run a short hiring retrospective – just 30 minutes – to look at what worked, what didn’t, and what we might want to do differently next time.
We’ll also hear a few insights from [New Hire’s Name], to understand what the experience was like from their side.
This should help us build a hiring process we can improve on, not reinvent every time.
Retrospective is scheduled for [insert date/time]. Calendar invite to follow shortly.
Cheers, [Your Name]
Tanya Hyams-Young is the CEO and co-founder of Sourse AI, a customer analytics platform for subscription-based businesses. We spoke about the challenges of building and selling an AI product before the whole world went loopy for AI.
She talks about how Execs no longer need convincing that AI is real. But many still confuse language models with the entire field.
This creates a weird duality: more appetite than ever, paired with shallow understanding. So she sees sales as a different job now, less evangelism, more exploration and guiding customers through what’s actually possible, not just what’s flashy.
The implication for founders: real traction doesn’t come from jumping on the hype train, it comes from helping buyers ask better questions — including “Should we?” not just “Can we?”
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Simon
