Top 1% Talent Tactics: Navigating Startup & Scale-up Hiring | Tom Scott, Founder at Verified
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This time I talked to Tom Scott, a founder at Verified, an invite-only design network. We revealed the myth that TOP-1% of talent includes only FAANG companies, and uncovered emerging challenges in talent acquisition, such as finding designers with strong business literacy. My favorite part was exploring the differences in hiring for early-stage startups, Series A+, and Scale-up, where we shared advice to founders who are looking for talent, as well as for anyone who is exploring a career shift. 

Beyond that, we discussed the future of work in the tech industry, including the rise of fractional roles and the importance of flexibility. 

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**This episode is supported by Appcues) — **the platform that helps you design, deploy, and test captivating onboarding experiences.

Appcues created the Product Adoption Academy) to help you level up your product adoption for free. Check out the template that I created to help companies uncover meaningful improvements. Find an example of Dropbox Onboarding inside and apply it to review any growth flows: appcues.com/growthmates)

Key highlights from this episode:

• The top 1% of talent varies depending on the needs of different companies and is not limited to individuals from well-known companies (like FAANG 😉)

• Designers need to have strong business literacy and keep up with new technologies to be successful in the current market.

• The “businessification of UX” requires designers to have a growth mindset and understand the impact of their work on the organization.

• Alternative career paths for designers include transitioning to product or engineering roles, working in HR or VC, or starting their own businesses (YES 🙌)

• When hiring design talent, it is important to consider their mindset, soft skills, and growth potential, rather than just their job title or previous company.

• When hiring for scale-ups, it is important to hire people who have experience working on larger teams and can navigate the politics.

• The future of work in the tech industry is moving towards fractional roles and increased flexibility.

• Companies should look beyond big names and focus on hiring for potential and cultural fit.

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Where to find Tom Scott, founder at Verified:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomscottt/)

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What we’ve covered in this episode:

**00:00 **Introduction and Background

**02:40 **Defining the Top 1% of Talent

**06:32 **Challenges in Talent Acquisition

**10:56 **The Businessification of UX

**20:07 **Role Models and Inspirations

**23:09 **Hiring Design Talent at Different Company Stages

**33:10 **Hiring for Scale-Ups

**35:34 **Embedding Design in Large Organizations

**36:24 **Challenges in Transitioning from Startups to Scale-Ups

**38:23 **Design Leadership in Scale-Ups

**42:15 **The Future of Work in the Tech Industry

**48:55 **Advice for Job Seekers and Companies

**58:00 **Lightning Round

Resources referenced:

• Rachel Kobetz) — Design Leadership at Scale Course on Maven: https://maven.com/rachel-kobetz/design-leadership-at-scale )

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