Out To Lunch: Finding Top Talent in a Saturated Market

We take all our candidates out to lunch before their interview. They arrive at the post-lunch interview relaxed, hopeful, and eager to chat about the bibimbap they ordered. Now, free food wasn’t the answer to all our hiring problems, but it was the first step-- and a step that suggested we think differently about talent.

Currently in Denver, the technological space has less than 1% unemployment rate. This is great for a digital agency because it means there is all kinds of potential for growth--but it also means that snagging an incredible developer before the competition does takes innovation. It means that growing your team will require more than a glance at a resume; you will have to dig deeper into a candidate's experience. They may not be exactly what you’re looking for now, but do they have the potential to become even more?

At Elevated Third, our hiring process is based on a larger theory that the right environment can foster incredible talent. We don’t hire people who fit a job description, instead we hire people who are smart enough to grow into their own description. We choose employees based on their aptitude to overachieve. Then, we observe. We figure out what said employee is particularly good and we create a job description around their strengths.

This practice is easier said than done. It requires a scaffolding of exceptional hires who allow their peers to be vulnerable. Because, of course, learning means making mistakes. Ultimately, it is an environment of support, vulnerability, and observation that allows us to foster talent instead of hire it based on a list of requirements and a resume. The results: employees who feel important, who produce great work, and who are happy to work hard.