Want to build a company as world-class and phenomenal as Facebook? Now you cannot build a great company with not-so-great people in it. Statistics reveal that about 2,50,000 job applications are dropped in each year. With so many applicants, narrowing down the candidate pool is no easy task. But great men or company, as to say, have remarkably simple litmus tests. According to Mark, the way to do that is to take the way we think about hiring and turn it upside down. He reveals the counter intuitive hiring rule of Facebook that he uses to hire the best talents from around the globe.
In one of his sessions in Barcelona, he spoke about the hiring rule of Facebook and he put it in this way, “I would only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person”. He named Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, as a perfect example of someone he would be glad to work for, if his own company ever disappears.
So this has been his heuristic for ages.
If not all, then most companies, especially the ones that are growing, have more work they need to get done than they have people to do it. Every organization, therefore, needs a lucrative hiring rule for screening out less-than-stellar candidates. In Mark’s words, “Maybe you could compromise on quality today and get a little more work done over the next six months, but companies that do so will live to regret it.”
Hence the hiring rule of Facebook, only-hire-someone-you’d-work-for is a patent of Zuckerberg. For the hiring process, they focus strongly on their core values.
Candidates need to go through 4-5 rounds before they are hired. The first round is a phone interview with a recruiter whose responsibility is to screen candidates based on their professional experience and passion for the company. It that goes well, candidates need to go through a telephonic interview which is based purely on their technical skills.
The third interview takes place on site and includes an office tour, which features a demo of the Oculus virtual reality headset to take some of the pressure off the candidate and help them open up. And the remaining interviews are subject to the role and department which tests the candidates logic, clarity of mind and the approach towards problem solving.
How they do it? Here are the 6 requirements that they consider!
1. The Big Leap of Boldness
“The biggest risk is not taking any.”
This is the popular credo they work by. One cannot build something relentlessly innovative by staying on a path that’s tried and assessed true. If you’re the one who genuinely challenges the status quo, they are definitely looking out for you. Mistakes are undeniable to not occur along the way. But if you don’t make a mistake then how are you supposed to learn?
So, armed with the knowledge, plus no penalty for failures empower the employees to take undauntedly courageous decisions.
Also Read: The hiring rule of Google Inc. – How Google hires the best talents!
2. The Impact Game
Facebook has a lot to do with the impact you are capable of making in the organization. Their mission and vision is to connect the entire globe and for this they screen the best people who can identify the biggest problems and figure out ways to solve them.
3. The “Move Fast” trait
It refers to the gene with the capability and motivation to initiate, create, strengthen and improve. Facebook wants to build things fast as to them, moving slow means losing opportunities.They have a very vivid way of seeing things. In their view, taking too long to release a product until complete perfection is achieved is a bigger mistake than quickly releasing a product that still needs a few tweaks.
Facebook wants to hire people of action, not people whose perfectionism holds them back.
4. Facebook hires only builders
Miranda Kalinowski, Facebook’s global head of recruiting said, “We need to make sure that we’re hiring people who are deeply invested in us, first and foremost.” She further explained, “And we hire builders. So regardless of whether we’re hiring an engineer or a finance analyst, they’re going to be the people who like to build things.”
5. Be Open to share
“Knowledge is Power”
This giant company believes that the more information someone has, the better decisions they can make, which leads to a greater impact. A lack of transparency can result in misinformed decision which can lead people down the wrong path. Facebook wants to hire people who are committed to sharing their knowledge for the good of the company.
6. The worth of Social Values
Relations matter. If a product cares for the user, loves it back then there is no denial to the fact that the user will feel connected to the product. It’s simple psychology! Facebook just gets it.
Mark didn’t just set out to create a company, he wanted to change the world.
Facebook wants to hire people of principle who aren’t just looking to collect a paycheck but to fulfill a purpose. The company’s humanitarian values are evidently reflected in mission driven projects like the Celebrate Pride, Mark Yourself Safe after any havoc and their Suicide Prevention feature.
By maintaining uncompromising hiring standards, asking insightful interview questions and clearly communicating their core values, this company has assembled one of the world’s most widely admired workforce.
We hope the same guiding principles will help you build the workforce that’s best for your organization, too.
Yashraj Kothari
Latest posts by Yashraj Kothari (see all)
- 5 reasons why every startup should have a female cofounder in team - October 30, 2016
- Hiring rule of Facebook Inc – How Facebook hires the best talents - August 3, 2016
- 30 things every startup should do to scale up - August 1, 2016
