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Ask HN: Employee benefits/perks as a recruitment tool

3 points by brandon272 ↗ HN
We are a small startup that is currently looking for a developer, locally. We are not having much luck and had a review of our recruitment process today where we decided that we need to "sell" our company better.

Right now our ads simply state that we offer a competitive wage, room for growth and a health/dental benefits package, but given the calibre of people we want to attract, I would think that people would expect those things at a bare minimum.

What are some other things that a small IT startup can do/offer to "attract" better talent?

5 comments

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cperciva
What are some other things that a small IT startup can do/offer to "attract" better talent?

Convince me that the work is interesting.

noodle
some other thoughts:

offer equity. offer a competitive wage and then some (i'm assuming competitive = average -- which means you'll get average recruits). offer a serious office setup (good computer, big monitors, nice chairs, etc.). offer a flexible schedule and relaxed environment. etc..

most of all, though, the job itself needs to be interesting/engaging.

plinkplonk
option to "work from home" occasionally, at the developers discretion. But yeah (as Colin points out) the biggest "perk" is interesting work.
wenbert
+ 1 on the "option to work from home"... also, i would want to work for a company that has flextime.
stonemetal
If you try to attract candidates with fluff perks you get candidates that want\expect fluff perks. Outside of good pay and benefits you need to show that you provide a good environment for that which you want to attract. Top candidates (I believe and could be entirely incorrect) want interesting work and the freedom to do a good job. Make your work environment explicit. Second it seems that wannabes talk about being rock stars, ninjas, or other BS so steer as far clear of that as possible.