Strong Suit Podcast, the playbook for how to recruit Rockstars, interviews Susan Rosenstein on how to find top talent for start-ups.

Jeff Hyman, advisor to entrepreneurs on hiring “Rockstar” talent and founder of Strong Suit, asked to interview me for one of his weekly podcasts. What an opportunity for me! Jeff is a successful serial entrepreneur, who has started 5 companies and raised $55 million from VC investors and who is a fellow Kellogg alum of mine I have known for twenty years.

He asked “how do I define a Rockstar”. There is no single definition. A “Rockstar” at one company may not be a “Rockstar” at another company. A person may have an MBA from a top school, worked for large corporations, achieved major accomplishments, received promotions and be considered a “Rockstar”. That same person may go to a start-up where he/she has no staff, there isn’t a structure or processes in place, must wear lots of hats and changing directions is the norm. That same person may feel like a fish out or water.

So, candidates must take a true assessment of what drives them and understand their true comfort level with making dramatic changes and start-ups need to really do a “deep dive” when interviewing candidates to understand the person’s fit with a culture.

As recruiters, the exploration of the candidate’s fit with our clients’ culture is pivotal and can be the tipping point in presenting the person to our client.

To hear the complete podcast, http://www.strongsuit.com/podcast, Podcast #020, May 10, 2016