Taking bets on candidates

Hiring for early stage companies is hard. You are competing for strong talent against a ton of other companies. As a founder or a hiring manager, your ability to identify candidates to take a bet on can be an asset.

I was a bet candidate

I was a bet hire at Palantir. I didn't have a standard background - since the age of 13 I had always wanted to study Physics and no one could have convinced me otherwise. Because of this I didn't even consider studying anything else. I learnt programming to simulate physics systems, and to analyse and visualise the simulation data. I did not work on side projects or build things for fun. I had done no internships. I had zero experience in tech before joining Palantir.

I still remember my interviews. I could tell that I didn't know enough, but I could also tell that I enjoyed engaging with the questions I was being asked, and I think my genuine interest and engagement with the problems came through.

I was lucky that the hiring manager could see my potential and decided to take a bet on me. Or maybe it had nothing to do with luck, and this was just a reflection of the high-trust high-autonomy culture at Palantir.

Relate to the candidate

Going back to the essentials from the FDE hiring post - those qualities have nothing to do with the tactical specifics of what the candidate knows, and everything to do with who they are as a person. During the interview, you need to relate to the candidate, get to know them as a person and only then you may find out what makes them tick. What are their spikes and what are their kryptonites.

If they are engaged and demonstrate first-principles understanding of the problem, they are probably going to be successful. On the other hand, if they are not engaged and keep trying to reverse-guess what you want to hear from them, maybe not.

An example of a good interview

There is this one interview I shadowed at Palantir that has stuck with me as a master-class in interviewing. The candidate was super passive and giving monosyllabic answers. It was really hard to break through. The interviewer kept asking different questions about their background persistently, trying to get to a topic they would enjoy talking about. Eventually, the interviewer succeeded - the candidate opened up when talking about their interest in foreign films and how that relates to them learning new languages.

It was an absolutely incredible interview. It took a lot of effort but the interviewer finally did manage to relate to the candidate, and understood a bit more about how they could be successful.

Don't shy away from going off-road

The key takeaway is to get to know the candidate. They are a person. They are going to have things that engage them, and things they struggle with. Guide the interview to a place where you find common ground to help the candidate open up. Don't worry about the tactical specifics of what you want to hear from them. Take copious notes or use a tool like Metaview¹ and you can always synthesise later.

To conclude

Taking bets on candidates can be a powerful strategy for early-stage companies looking to build exceptional teams. By focusing on a candidate's potential, engagement, and personal qualities rather than just their technical skills or traditional qualifications, you can uncover hidden gems that others might overlook. Remember, the goal is to identify individuals who can grow with your company and contribute meaningfully to its success. As you interview, be willing to go off-script, relate to the candidate on a personal level, and look for signs of genuine interest and problem-solving ability. These "bet candidates" often bring fresh perspectives and a strong drive to succeed, potentially becoming some of your most valuable team members.

Get in touch if you would like to discuss this topic further, or if you think I could help with your hiring process.

I know a cofounder of Metaview personally, but this post was not sponsored by them in any way. Nor do I know if they agree with the thoughts in this post. I genuinely think it's a great product! ↩