perception is reality

this week we’re talking about how the perception of the candidates or hiring managers you’re engaging with impacts the outcome of your search for the right talent or opp.

open role: founding marketer

my client is a YC startup from the 2025 class that wrote their first line of code in february and had their first customer just 5 days later.

since then, they’ve

• closed $650k+ in ARR

• added $1M in pipeline and have $150k in POC

• hired their founding AE that started yesterday (thursday)

• are about to hire their founding sdr and marketer (you?)

oh and they still haven’t come out of stealth…

about the role:

• all things marketing

• focus on DG/growth marketing

• prob have a dash of pmm work

• there's no JD, likely never have one

• report to the CEO and eventually build a team

interested? apply here

active candidate: vp of sales

• 10 years of sales leadership experience

• scaled $10-75M in their last role in SaaS

• based in SF and looking to be onsite

• strong technical background

want to chat with them? email me

penny for my thoughts: perception is reality

perception is reality.

everything you do as a hiring manager, candidate or recruiter slowly builds a lens or perception that people use to view us through.

this goes for the big things: our attitude, the language we use, how we treat others, our appearance, etc

and the small: our profile picture, posture, comments on LinkedIn and email sign-offs

you probably scoffed at or rolled your eyes at one or a few of those things, but you’d be surprised at how much “micro data” (nerd) we use to formulate our opinions of others and how fast we do it. it’s not about right or wrong, it’s about human behavior and how our perception is our reality

so go ahead and ignore everything i’m about to say, but if you're not intentional here, you're leaving a lot to chance.

hiring managers:

candidate experience is so easy to get right, yet way too often gets botched.

where hiring managers go wrong is they think of the interview process only through the lens of what they need and how to get it. while that’s the cornerstone of any good hiring motion, it’s only half the equation. if you actually want ideal candidates to take the job and join your team, you have to heavily consider their experience too.

it’s not about sacrificing your needs for theirs. it’s about aligning the two.

hiring managers often treat the interview like a checklist. they’ll pepper a candidate with five questions, check their boxes, and move on. or they’ll skip a meeting because a customer call came up, figuring the candidate will understand and the rest of their teams “got it covered.” they leave the candidate’s experience up to chance, assuming the company’s mission, product, or traction will do the heavy lifting.

but it won’t.

they don’t know what was going on behind the scenes. they just know how the process felt. did it feel thoughtful? respectful? were you excited about them joining? or did it feel rushed, transactional, and like they were just another task on your to-do list?

you don’t win great candidates by accident. you win them by being intentional.

so how do you win great candidates?

1. think through the process as if you were the candidate.

   • would this interaction make me feel good?

   • would that onsite have made me want to join?

   • did they seem to want to know who I am and what I’m like?
     

2. they’ve checked your box, have you checked theirs?

   when you’re asking about their ideal next role, don’t use that to disqualify them from your team, use it as ammo to win them over? they said they want a series b and you’re a series a? what’s behind that? is it size? stability? name? product development? dig in and you’ll find what you need to close them!
   

3. you like them, did you tell them?

   candidates tell me all the time, “I have no idea how that went” right before the hiring manager tells me they want to move them forward… my guy, go back to first date rules. you want to see them again? say something!
   you go 90, they go 10. make it easy for them to say yes.
   

4. try. at the end of the day, are you trying to win them over? truly. be honest.. or do you think your product, revenue and funding are enough?

if the answer is no, change it.

you can have a killer product and impressive revenue, but that’s not what seals the deal. candidates join teams they believe in. they join leaders they trust. they join people who they think can take them to the next level. if you’re not showing that in your process, you’re probably losing the ones you want (and need) the most.

give them something to follow. give them someone to trust. and make them know you’ve got their back and the rest is cake.

candidates:

the market may be tough, but when you show up to an onsite in cargo shorts and flip flops because “it’s hot outside” (real story), you might as well just not show up.

so much of your interview process comes down to things that are well in your control

your attitude, language, personal grooming, resume, and so many other small things.

yes, your profile photo matters. it’s your first impression. it doesn’t even need to be professional. just… try? what’s better: a blurry, cropped photo that’s 1/10 of a pixel where your forehead is missing, or literally anything else?

a photo of a llama would do you better i promise. don’t be a dweeb.

you don’t need a perfect or beautifully designed resume, but 18 different fonts, a papyrus header, and a broken link to your deactivated linkedin aren’t doing you any favors.

you have every right to put your former employer on blast—and hiring managers have every right to see that as a red flag. but, what do you care more about; your future or calling out your CRO for changing your quota in July?

your future is bright my guy - focus on what matters

I try (and often fail) to think about how I act through the lens of: If ____ were here, would my behavior change? the goal isn’t to change for someone else, but rather to be aware that people are watching and sometimes, that’s all the reminder you need to knock it off. hiring managers are paying attention to what you do and say on social media (not just LinkedIn), and it’s shaping their perception of you. You’ll be glad you were mindful of it.

check your comments. careful how treat the office staff. have your follow up emails drafted before the interview. its the little things that count and brushing them off will quickly get you brushed off.

for all of us:

this isn’t about conforming to others, it’s about being mindful of the perceptions you create.

my brother once said, “you train people how to see you.” maybe that’s another way to think about it. in a lot of ways, it’s up to us to give people the right tools, ammo, etc to create an accurate and healthy perception (understanding) of us.

so..

if you’re interviewing (as a candidate or a hiring manager) and struggling to get the traction you want, take a step back. look at the small things. what are you missing?

if i were on the outside looking in, what would i see that I’m overlooking?

would i join my company? would I hire what i see?

TLDR: really try

you have more control of people’s understanding of you or your business than you’ll ever know. be intentional with your attention. be mindful of your behavior.

and most importantly; try.

music for your fridays

a top 5 all-time album for me but it’s a little quirky

i was very late to the manchester orchestra party (but asha got me straightened out)

one more because brandi went to the same high school and still lives in my home town