Scaling a startup means finding skilled engineers fast, but competitive markets, high costs, and global challenges often slow things down. Relying on old-school methods like job board postings or resume sifting won’t cut it for startups moving at today’s pace. This article shares seven actionable strategies to help Series A to C startups speed up their engineering hires with efficiency, affordability, and access to talent worldwide. Ready to build your team? Start recruiting with Vanna now to put these ideas into action.
1. Expand Globally: Tap Into Talent Beyond Your Borders
Finding engineers locally in North America is tough due to high demand and limited supply. Startups sticking to nearby markets often face steep salaries, long hiring delays, and competition from big tech companies. Going global lets you connect with skilled engineers in regions where talent is plentiful and costs are lower.
Finding Strong Talent in Key Global Regions
Latin America stands out as a valuable source of engineering talent for North American startups. Countries like Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia train thousands of capable software engineers each year, many with advanced skills and experience with international projects. Hiring senior engineers here can cost 40-60% less than in North America, with similar expertise.
Time zone alignment with North America also helps. Engineers in Latin America can join meetings, handle standups, and provide support during regular business hours, avoiding the delays often seen with teams in Asia or Eastern Europe.
Clearing Up Myths About Hiring Internationally
Some startup leaders worry about language gaps, cultural differences, or skill levels when hiring globally. However, engineers in major tech hubs often have strong English skills and adapt well to diverse teams, especially those with remote or freelance experience.
Focus on results, not location. Assess candidates based on technical ability, communication, and team fit rather than where they’re from. This mindset helps you find motivated engineers who often bring fresh perspectives at a lower cost than local hires.
Specialized platforms make global hiring easier. With access to over 500,000 senior engineers worldwide, VanHack connects you with pre-vetted talent quickly. Explore global talent without the hassle of building your own international hiring process.
2. Use AI Tools: Speed Up Screening and Hiring
Old hiring methods waste time with manual resume reviews, phone screens, and drawn-out interview rounds. For startups needing to move fast, these delays can cost you key hires or project deadlines. AI technology offers a way to streamline vetting and cut down hiring time.
AI for Smarter Candidate Matching
AI tools go beyond basic keyword searches to match candidates with job needs based on real skills and experience. This cuts out hours of manual screening and delivers a shorter, more relevant list of applicants for hiring managers to review.
Consistent Evaluations with AI Interviews
AI-driven technical interviews assess candidates through problem-solving tasks and concept explanations in a standard format. Unlike human-led phone screens that vary in approach, these tools ensure fairness and focus on how candidates think and communicate.
Data to Make Better Hiring Choices
AI vetting provides detailed insights like scored results, session recordings, and transcripts. This gives hiring teams clear, objective information to predict job performance and team fit, rather than relying on gut feelings from short calls.
Plus, AI interviews are flexible. Candidates complete them on their own time, and managers review results when ready, speeding up the process by skipping scheduling headaches.
VanHack’s Vanna, an AI recruiter, uses advanced matching with an OpenAI model and offers AI technical interviews and coding test results. This lets you evaluate skills before human interviews, saving time for your team.
3. Write Job Posts That Attract Global Engineers
Your job description is the first thing candidates see, and it shapes who applies. Vague or overly local postings turn away skilled global talent and draw unfit applicants. To stand out, create clear, engaging descriptions that speak to senior engineers across cultures.
Focus on Impact Over Daily Tasks
Experienced engineers care about making a difference, not just checking off tasks. Highlight the problems they’ll solve and the results they’ll achieve, like “Design scalable systems for 10 million daily users” instead of “Code backend features.” This draws talent eager for meaningful challenges.
Use Clear, Welcoming Language
Avoid tricky jargon or cultural terms that might exclude global candidates. Keep the language simple and precise. Also, state upfront that remote work and international hires are welcome to encourage applications from diverse talent.
Showcase Remote Work Perks
Remote roles are a big draw for engineers worldwide. Explain your remote setup, tools, and team connection practices. Mention benefits like equipment support or flexible hours to show you’re committed to helping remote hires succeed.
4. Choose Direct Hiring: Build a Committed Team
How you hire affects team unity and long-term success. Contractors or outsourcing might seem cheaper upfront, but they often lack the dedication startups need. Direct hiring creates stronger bonds and better alignment with your goals.
Full-time engineers with equity or career growth paths tend to care more about product quality and team decisions. This commitment shines through during tough times when creativity and loyalty matter most.
Simplifying Global Payroll and Rules
Hiring internationally can seem complex with payroll, taxes, and legal issues. Modern services, like Employer of Record (EOR) providers, handle these details for you at a fraction of outsourcing costs, usually 10-15% of salary.
Blending International Hires Into Your Team
Integrating global team members takes effort. Set up clear communication rules, document decisions, and create casual ways for the team to connect. Adjust meeting times or use async updates to include everyone, no matter their time zone.
VanHack supports direct hiring, helping you build integrated teams with committed engineers, free from ongoing third-party fees.
5. Improve Candidate Experience with Streamlined Tools
In a tight talent market, how you treat candidates can set you apart. Skilled engineers have options and often pick companies with smooth, respectful hiring processes. Clunky or slow systems suggest disorganization and push top talent away.
Benefits of a Unified Hiring Platform
A single platform for managing candidates, evaluations, and team input saves time. Look for tools with automated scheduling, centralized messaging, detailed profiles, and real-time collaboration to keep things moving.
Value of Quick, Clear Updates
Fast, specific feedback during hiring builds trust and boosts offer acceptances. Even if a candidate isn’t chosen, constructive input keeps the door open for future connections or referrals. Set response timelines and keep candidates informed about delays to show professionalism.
VanHack’s platform organizes everything from pre-vetted candidate lists with video intros to easy interview scheduling. This cuts admin work and improves the candidate journey. Chat with Vanna to see how it can simplify your hiring.
6. Simplify Relocation: Support Global Talent Moves
Moving international talent to your location involves visas, logistics, and costs, but doing it well unlocks access to highly driven engineers who often stay loyal. Startups that handle relocation effectively gain an edge in hiring.
Managing Visa and Immigration Steps
Visa processes differ by country and candidate, requiring careful planning. Partnering with immigration experts ensures proper paperwork, timing, and solutions to avoid delays that disrupt hiring.
Full Relocation Support as a Benefit
Beyond visas, help with housing, schools, banking, and settling in shows you care about employees’ success. This support boosts retention and helps new hires focus on work instead of logistics, making your company a top choice for global talent.
VanHack’s Global Mobility team handles the full relocation process, from visas with consultant support to practical help with housing and schools, especially for moves to Canada and Europe.
7. Develop an Engineering Brand That Attracts Talent
Salary alone doesn’t win over top engineers in a crowded market. A solid engineering brand helps startups draw talent by focusing on culture and technical work, not just pay. Crafting this image means showing your values, expertise, and growth opportunities clearly.
Display Your Team’s Culture and Skills
Engineers look at how teams work, solve problems, and grow. Share real stories about your technical practices and team environment to give candidates a clear picture of life at your company.
Connect on Tech-Focused Platforms
Engineers often find jobs through communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, Reddit, or Discord. Actively join discussions, share your team’s challenges, and offer helpful input to build trust and visibility.
Emphasize Growth and Learning
Showcasing chances to learn and tackle tough problems makes your company stand out. Highlight specifics like conference budgets, internal tech talks, or mentorship to prove you value development.
Support Community for New Team Members
Great engineering teams build connections beyond work. Share how your team collaborates and supports growth. For international hires, mention onboarding plans or local networks that help them adjust and feel included.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How does VanHack’s cost for global hiring compare to local agencies?
VanHack offers a more affordable approach than traditional agencies. With Vanna’s subscription at $3,000 per month for unlimited hires, a company hiring 7 engineers paid $9,000 total. The same hires through local agencies could exceed $100,000 in fees.
What senior engineering roles does VanHack focus on?
VanHack targets senior software engineers with 5-10 years of experience in areas like Full-Stack, Backend, and Frontend roles, delivering pre-vetted candidates for growing startups.
How does Vanna’s AI ensure candidate quality?
Vanna uses an OpenAI-powered model for precise matching of job needs and candidate skills. It also runs AI technical interviews, coding tests, and video intros to assess communication and English skills, giving managers solid data before human interviews to save time.
What support does VanHack offer after hiring or relocation?
VanHack’s Global Mobility team manages relocation, including visa processing with consultant help and logistics for housing or schools. New hires often start remotely during visa wait times and join local community networks via WhatsApp for integration support.
Conclusion: Speed Up Hiring with VanHack’s Solutions
These seven strategies shift hiring from slow, outdated tactics to faster, cost-effective, and global approaches. Tapping into worldwide talent, using AI for vetting, improving candidate interactions, and strengthening your employer brand can help startups hire skilled engineers sooner.
Going global connects you with capable engineers at better rates, aligned with your time zones. AI screening cuts manual delays and offers clear candidate insights. Direct hiring builds stronger teams compared to temporary setups. Full relocation support turns a complex task into a hiring advantage.
While you can apply these ideas one by one, working with VanHack combines global talent access, AI matching, streamlined platforms, direct hiring, and relocation help tailored for growing startups.
Waiting for the right engineers through old methods doesn’t work in today’s market. Startups using these strategies will hire faster and better. Start with Vanna to access pre-vetted senior tech talent through a platform built for your hiring needs.