

Ask HN: Employee benefits/perks as a recruitment tool - brandon272

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

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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.

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wenbert
\+ 1 on the "option to work from home"... also, i would want to work for a
company that has flextime.

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plinkplonk
option to "work from home" occasionally, at the developers discretion. But
yeah (as Colin points out) the biggest "perk" is interesting work.

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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.

