It’s been too long since my last post. DemocampMontreal 2 was great and there are a lotofgreatwriteupsonit, but the best round up comes from Josh at Yashlabs who even included some video (including yours truly playing MC). Simon as always did a great job on the pictures of the event.
I want to thank the great presenting companies, and those of you who joined me for drinks at my place after. It was a great evening with many of the local community exchanging war stories and discussing ways to help each other.
The lack of blog posts since then, does not mean I’m dead.
With the exception of a bruised rib from a stupid household fall which is slowing me down, I’m doing great.
I’m incredibly busy, but working on critical stuff. After two weeks on the road at the beginning of March, there was a tons of startup related stuff that is taking precedence over blogging.
I’m entrepreneur first and foremost and my responsibilities to my team to make sure they are surrounded with the right teammates takes a higher priority then blogging right now.
We are in the final phases of completing a couple key hires which is occupying a lot of time.
I’ve got a few have posts that are all 80% written that will trickle out slowly as I finish them.
The number one job of any leader is talent development. Recruiting, retaining, equipping and developing the talent in your team is the not only the most critical part of creating a successful company it is also the hardest.
Raising financing takes time. Dealing with customers, partners and earning revenue takes time. Working on product and getting any of the millions of tasks done that need to be accomplished to be able to afford to employ anyone takes time. Once an organization has accomplished all these tasks and has enough money, or business to justify hiring it is often hard to switch gears on your plans and go slow enough to allow you the time to do hiring well.
Hiring is the item that most companies don’t plan for or make enough time for. It takes a lot of time to do well, and there are always areas to make changes or new talent that needs to be developed to fit the businesses changing needs. Scouting, developing and nurturing top talent is something that is a full time job of the the entire senior management team.
Just like sports coaches are constantly working on finding the right mix for a winning team, there are constant tweaks and changes that need to occur and a huge payoff for finding the fit that allows a great winning team to begin to form.
Despite the payoff it is surprising that many times hiring gets pushed back as a priority, often being delegated completely to 3rd parties or outsourced entirely by using offshore contractors to build core intellectual property.
Management personally spending time in recruiting top talent is the best investment any leader can make. Hiring top players, who have the intelligence, passion and are a cultural team fit in the right positions is the single biggest leverage a management team has in building a successful company.
In addition to taking the time to record a video for one of our job postings (others are coming soon) I’m spending a lot of time personally scouring the worlds campuses, local technology firms and the Internet for top talent. A huge percentage of Zero-Knowledge’s staff moved to Montreal to work with us because we recruited across Canada, globally from Silicon Valley to Europe and throughout the world. When looking for talent, I spend a huge amount of time searching for top people regardless of where I have to look to find them.
Top talent loves to work with other top talent. For Internet web software companies in Montreal there is an incredible number of great people working in the video game & graphics industry, creative agencies, corporate marketing departments and throughout the world on University campuses that are interested in great Montreal opportunities if you reach out to them.
Often time great people are being unrecognized in their current jobs, or have a life long passion for working for a small startup company, or on a product that can make the world a better place. The only way to find this out is to meet a huge number of people and see if your dreams match with theirs. Top talent is never looking for jobs. Jobs need to hunt out top talent. That takes time, and requires every tool in the shed.
Internet video is a tool that offers great promise to help in recruiting online. It allows for the hiring team, and company to put their message out there and start a conversation with candidates. It is just another tool though. The companies top leadership needs to love recruiting the best people and be willing to invest the time to reach out in every way possible to meet potential candidates.
The company needs to make recruiting top talent a top priority. It takes putting some of your companies best sales people out there spreading the word about why your company is the place for top talent to come work. It takes hiring with your heart on your sleeve with passion.
Here is a little video I shot recently while driving to UC Berkeley on a recruiting trip. Just some random thoughts on recruiting while I was driving.
If you are a Web Developer/Integrator (Javascript/HTML/XML) , Flash developer, Graphic Artist, Illustrator/Comic book artist, Python Developer or Web Application Architect available for consulting or full time positions then please introduce yourself.
An interest in or experience with Internet startups, online multi-player games, game development, online web communities, social media or so called ‘Web 2.0′ tools and technologies is a great plus. Akoha is recruiting for a few positions right now, but we are hiring throughout the summer and into the fall in these areas and are interested in meeting talented people.
He also has a follow-up about others jumping into the video job business on the Montreal Gazette’s new local technology blog. It is good to see the Gazette covering the local technology community and searching out good stories about what is occurring in our community. Welcome to the blogging world Roberto.
We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from the video. We also got some constructive feedback from people pointing out we could use video to show more about our team, the environment and what we are working on. This is coming in upcoming videos for future positions.
Here are some quick facts and information on how the video was produced and our early experience with it.
About the Filming & Shooting
The video was shot in about 3hrs. with a 2 page script that was written by David Eberts (seen above with camera) who is a very successful documentary filmmaker. He is also Alex’s brother and he and Jack (seen with the microphone) were incredible in helping us setup and shoot quickly. Dave also did the editing in a couple of days with our feedback. We couldn’t have done this without him and he made the entire process easy & fun.
We have gotten tons of questions about who played Mary our recruiter. This was played by Lindsay Eberts, Alex and Dave’s sister. Lindsay was hilarious and the only reason our little attempt at humor worked. Lindsay has done some acting and has to be one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. So far a lot of the best feedback has been on her funny acting. Thanks Lindsay
If you are interested in talking with the team that helped us do this contact me and I’ll introduce you. I know they are helping a few other companies prepare their own video recruiting.
How we used the Video
Uploading it to YouTube in a format that looked good took a couple of days of experimentation on different formats and codecs. Once we had it up, it went live through this blog.
We also posted job descriptions on job boards like Crunchboard, 37 Signals Job board, and on Craigslist. The job boards where not able to accommodate us and embed the video job ad, but we did include the link. Only 37 Signals allowed us an active hyperlink so we don’t have good tracking on how many candidates found us through these postings yet.
We listed the link in various mailing lists, and forums where our Python developers and Django developers hang out (Where we felt it appropriate, no spamming)
We posted the job on LinkedIn and sent it to our network of contacts.
My good friend Ben Yoskovitz wrote a great article about what is wrong with the online job market where he included our video job. Ben is a top 2,000 ranked blogger with an incredible ability to write popular posts which resulted in the video being seen to thousands because of the number of people who voted on it in Digg.
Results so far
We became the 48th most linked to video this week on Youtube with 1942 links which led to us getting a YouTube honor. (I think these are internal links since I can’t find them in Google)
We have seen more friends and members of our LinkedIn networking taking time and effort to forward it to friends and help us find someone. This has been a great surprise and we are finding some promising prospects this way. I think people are more inclined to put effort into helping us when they feel the posting is funny & they see that we are putting effort into standing out. We tried to make it interesting for them to forward to friends.
The CVs are beginning to come in but we are still actively searching for more candidates as we begin to do first interviews. You can still apply. We are hoping there are some candidates putting effort into their applications to match some of the interesting applications we’ve gotten so far (Sample code is a great attachment to your CV).
We are continuing both traditional and non-traditional (online) recruiting techniques and will keep you updated on how effective the video was in our recruiting. Despite the joke on the video we are using every available resource to find good people and believe that the video is complimentary to our other efforts.
Would anyone like us to do another recruiting video for this?
Any ideas or things you would like us to include?
We already are planning to introduce more members of the team but would be interested in hearing from you (especially if you know Javascript) on what we could include in the video to interest you in this or other future positions with our team.
Please don’t wait for the video to apply though - we are hiring right away.
The startup that Alex Eberts and I are working on, Project Ojibwe is looking to hire a talented Python wrangler. Our preferred team member will have experience with Python web frameworks (preferably Django) and experience with database, web services and web application architecture.
I’ve always wondered why if all markets are conversations, that the job market where we hire the people to make our products begins with a process that is as impersonal as asking someone to drop their pants.
So we are going to start an experiment in conversational recruiting. (Thanks Shel)
If you think you can add something special to our team, and are interesting in learning how we are building a fun, kick ass product that will help change the world then please start a conversation with us.
While we want to see your CV we are more interested in who you are through your work and in your own words.
Introduce yourself to us, show us your work, send us a screencast, or a video of you telling us why you want to be part of what promises to be an incredibly rewarding adventure with our team. Show us your online blog, open source contributions, Flickr fetish or the communities you contribute too.
We want to get to know you, not just what is on your CV.
You can send us large file attachements by using YouSendit and any screencast, video, sample source code, or other portfolio material (along with your CV) to pythonwrangler<@>project-ojibwe.org.
This is for a full time position in Montreal.
To help start this conversation we decided to have some fun and have prepared this video for you.
Although we aren’t discussing the details about our project publicly just yet, we have ensured in keeping with the modus operandi of stealth companies we are fully buzzword compliant.
Here is a version of the video with our buzzword compliance filter activated.
Here is the full job description.
Sr. Python Wrangler & Developer Project Ojibwe, Montreal’s hottest new startup, is looking for an experienced Python developer who wants to work in a fun environment with other motivated, talented developers.
We are creating an original idea that we hope will change the way people think about social networks and online communities. We are a small team that believes in creating mind-blowing web apps that have a positive impact on the world, avoiding meetings as much as possible, iterating quickly, and having fun at work. We’re looking for a senior python programmer with architecture experience and a positive attitude to help us bring our baby to the world.
Project Ojibwe will be coming to a browser near you in Summer 2007. The web community project is a funded startup founded by a team of Canada’s top Internet entrepreneurs.
Essential experience includes 3+ years of python development, architecture of large-scale web applications, database design and HTML/JavaScript, a sense of humour, an understanding of creating passionate users and a preference for getting things done.
Useful experience includes Django development and web service design. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate their ability to stand out from the crowd. Creativity and a willingness to showcase your talent will be required of the successful candidate.
This position is full-time and not contract. Please, no recruiters.
Interested candidates should contact us with a resume and portfolio by email.
Développeur Python expérimenté.
Project Ojibwe, une des startups de Montréal les plus en vue de Montréal, est à la recherche d’un développeur Python expérimenté, ayant envie de travailler dans un environnement amusant, en compagnie d’une équipe motivée et talentueuse.
Nous travaillons sur un concept original qui, nous l’espérons, changera la manière dont on considère les réseaux sociaux et les communautés en ligne. Nous sommes une petite équipe qui pense que des applications web radicales peuvent changer positivement le monde, que moins il y a de meetings, mieux c’est, qu’il faut faire des itérations rapides et qu’il faut s’amuser au travail ! Nous sommes à la recherche d’un développeur Python expérimenté, ayant une expérience en architecture logicielle, et surtout ayant une attitude positive qui nous aidera à accoucher de notre bébé !
Project Ojibwe sera prochainement sur vos navigateurs, aux alentours de l’été 2007. Notre projet de communauté web est une startup fondée par une équipe d’entrepreneurs les plus actifs du Canada.
L’expérience indispensable est d’au moins 3 ans de développement en Python, architecture d’applications web à grande échelle, conception de base de données et HTML/JavaScript, un sens de l’humour, une compréhension de comment rendre les utilisateurs passionnés, et un goût prononcé pour “getting things done”.
Des connaissances de Django et en conception de services web sont un plus. Nous attendons des candidats qu’ils fassent vraiment la différence, qu’il fassent preuve d’une forte créativité et d’une volonté à démontrer leur talents.
Ce poste correspond à un emploi à plein temps seulement. Pas d’agents de recherche d’emploi, svp.
One of the great presentations at Montreal Barcamp was from Jonathan Karpfen who recounted a great story about auditioning for his job at Airborne Entertainement with Andy Nulman. Jonathan spoke about how he sent fake Fedex packages with funny video’s as well as having his friends sent letters to Andy promoting Jonathan as a great candidate for the job.
My friend Andy Nulman, knows something about auditioning talent. He spent 15 years as the CEO of the Just for Laughs Festival, is the author of two books (including a collection of great behind the scenes stories from the comedy industry “I Almost Killed George Burns“) and the co-founder of Montreal based Airborne Entertainement. Airborne is one of Canada’s fastest growing technology companies. I had the pleasure of working with a lot of the Airborne team during my time as an Internet executive at Total.Net and I know what kind of a great team he and Garner have created there.
Andy also maintains a great blog on the value of surprise.
I decided to sit down with Andy to discuss hiring great talent and finding team members who have personality & passion.
I’ve heard some unique stories about your interviewing process – can you tell me a bit about your approach?
My approach is simple—coming to me for a job is indeed like auditioning for a role in a play; it’s just that this play can be the world’s longest, lasting for years…sort of like Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap in England. Just like the theatrical setting, you will be playing a specific role at Airborne, interacting with others, sometimes starring, sometimes supporting. I can usually tell within 30 seconds if the person is right for the company; the rest of the interview is being polite. If they’re right for the company, they will find their place, even if they’re not right for the specific job they may be interviewing for.
You write on your blog about creativity, surprise and humor – how do you go about identifying these traits in the people you work with?
It’s somewhat intuitive; I watch how they react to Airborne’s setting and spirit, how they react to my office, how they react to me. I also dispose of the usual interviewing technique and watch how they react to an unconventional setting. I also check up on them a lot before they even get here. Google has been a Godsend, but these days, two quick phone calls and you can track down a fairly intimate friend of just about anyone.
Do some candidates react badly to being asked to show off their creativity prior to working for you?
Sure, but how else am I going to gauge it? From a resume? From a CV? From something they may have done five years ago that took them six months to do? To be able to react rapidly to an obtuse challenge is a skill all digital talent need these days. All I’m asking is that they show me that instead of some standard, boring document. Or if they have a standard document, at least make sure it’s not boring. I once had a woman who was appalled—totally aghast—that I would even dare ask her to do something as simple as “Go home and send me something that shows you truly want to work here.” She said “Like what?” I replied “I don’t know. It’s up to you.” She said with a sneer “You mean, you want me to work for nothing?” It took a ton of discipline for me not to say “Well, that would be at least twice as much as what you’re worth.”
How do people find the idea of auditioning for a job? – Given your background in the entertainment industry do you think there are similarities between auditioning talent for a gala event and hiring someone to join your company?
There are similarities, some of which I outlined above. But the thing about Just For Laughs is that after a night, after a week, these people were out of your lives. At Airborne, it’s more like a marriage—till death do us part…namely until you want to kill me or I want to kill you. It’s much tougher to project your employees into the future. I always say, though, “Give me the heart and the head will follow.” I hire on future, not on past. In showbiz, in many cases, your past carries much more weight. Talent is talent, whether on the stage or in the boardroom. In fact, I learned that from Tom Peters; employees are not “workers,” they’re corporate talent.
What advice do you have for anyone looking to find a job where they can show their passion?
First off, show your passion. If it turns off the place you’re applying to, well, it ain’t going to get any better if you do get the job. Again, it’s like a marriage—go in wildly and with lust. Don’t go looking for love in a graveyard.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs trying to only hire passionate & creative people?
Open yourself up to them. You don’t have to be HoHo The Clown and wacky; you just have to let these special people know that their particular quirks will be tolerated and they will be allowed to bloom. This is where the world’s worst bait-and-switch crimes are committed; “Oh yeah, we’re open and creative” and two weeks later you find yourself in Abu Graib. No offense to the ordinary folks out there, but creative people are different, and must be treated that way. But the reward…ahh, the reward. Well worth it. For both parties.
Airborne is currently hiring - so if you have passion and are looking to join a great team - check them out.
On a personal note, this summer when hiring for my new startup I was surprised at how difficult it was to cut through the noise of job boards, resumes and job databases to find passionate and capable team members.
When we asked Sebastien to join our team it was after a number of afternoons in the office where he auditioned with the team and we did a few practice rounds to see how he would fit in. We couldn’t be happier with the results.
So if your next employer asks you to audition for your job - will you be ready?
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