Rob Murphy’s Post

🎤 “Big reputation, big reputation Ooh, you and me, we got big reputations” Taylor Swift, End Game 15 years ago, I met one of the most successful Venture Capital investors in the valley. He was talking to me about a CEO opportunity. Of course, since I was a first-time CEO, it was a turnaround! As such, I asked him an incredibly naive question: “Who can I call as a reference for you?” 🤦🏾 [Yes, I cringe as I type that now] I’ll never forget his response: 📞 “Call anyone.” I share this story because I hired a senior exec (announcing him next week!) and spent more time on references than interviewing. Indeed, I went “Nick Mehta Hyper Mode” and did 25 backchannels (with his consent). Yes, that’s nuts. But I wanted to get it right. Some questions I use: 🙋🏼♀️ What is he/she world-class at? 🙋🏼♀️ If you rated him/her 1-10 on his time with you, with 10 being top 1%, where would he/she stand? 🙋🏼♀️ What would his/her detractors say about him/her? 🙋🏼♀️ If he/she failed at Gainsight, why would it be? I look for consistency in the answers and between those and what the candidate told me. I also listen for pauses to infer where the reference giver is a bit less certain. 🩻 Everyone that’s worked long enough has skeletons in their closet. I sure do (in addition to too many pairs of shoes…)! The most important thing is to know the skeletons in advance. And if you’re looking for a job, know that your potential employer is probably backchanneling folks about you. When you are hiring, what reference check questions do you use?

Most tech leaders I meet can nail their VC pitches, yet struggle to market themselves on the job market. One of the best ways to stand out is with your LinkedIn headline. In the video below I go over how you can do exactly that: • The purpose of the headline • How it looks to hiring managers • Crafting your story • Example from one of my clients === I help undervalued senior tech leaders land a mission-driven job with impact, allowing them to experience freedom and joy in their work. DM me "Mission“ if you‘re ready to land a job you love.

🚀🚀 You know what really hard? Hiring someone you KNOW is better than you. Yep we all know it's THE game in town but actually doing it is never easy. Especially if you are a founder. 📈 But doing so is the ONLY way to scale. Whilst you may have fallen in love with the challenge of start up and having the ability to impact outcomes this trait actually becomes extremely destructive to value once you reach a certain stage of scale. 😩 You'll know it when you see that it's you becoming the bottleneck to action. If everything goes through you for the 'OK' or sign off then you have to let other great people in otherwise you'll face burn out and plateau. 😓 How do I know? Because earlier in my career I did. 🫸 I didn't trust those around me enough. That wasn't them, it was me. Lack of experience slowed our progress significantly. 🙌 Then I started listening to my own advice and hired someone great. And it was transformational. 🔑 If you do the same then copy and repeat that as quickly as you can. Make that bet and hire someone that may be more expensive if they really are the best candidate you've seen. ✅ Because you can ONLY grow to significant scale if you take yourself out of the process, bit by bit. 💥 I did and next thing we knew we had 250+ people...

Ever wonder what takes longer: a week in the office or waiting for 'the powers that be' to decide on a candidate? We've all been there: Met that stellar candidate, got excited, did the secret happy dance under the desk (admit it, you've done it too 😜), and then... the dreaded waiting game. Tick-tock, tick-tock, and suddenly, it feels like we're competing with glaciers for the 'Slowest Mover' award. Well, guess what? Great candidates are like buses in the rain—miss one, and you're sodding soaked! Meanwhile, the candidate's hopped on a faster bus, and they're halfway to Successville (ironic, isn't it?). So, a memo to the decision-makers: Speed is sexy, indecision is not. Let's not let another good one get away because we took longer to decide than it took to binge-watch an entire Netflix series. If you've got a tale of 'The One That Got Away', drop a comment. Let's have a laugh and maybe learn a thing or two. #snoozeyouloose #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentFails

Maxwell Bonnie at Saltbox is one of the most methodical thinkers and cofounders I have ever met with. Maxwell might be one of the most underestimated founders who came out of the Atlanta start-up ecosystem. He gave me many gold nuggets during our conversation. Here are some of those: “A founder should be involved in every hire through the first couple of hundred.” “There’s a higher bar for a hiring manager than being a people manager.” “I want to make you uncomfortable in the interview process to see how your brain works.” “The first 30 to 90 days, I’m gonna break you down and build you back up.” “What bias are you bringing to the table that is clouding your judgment?” Check the comments for the YouTube link for the entire conversation. 

Attention CEOs and CTOs! As we navigate the intricate world of tech innovation and leadership, it's crucial to acknowledge an often-overlooked aspect that significantly impacts your organisation's' growth and sustainability - the true cost of mis-hiring. It's not just about the direct expenses; the ripple effects of a mis-hire can threaten the very fabric of your teams, from eroding team spirit to compromising your hard-earned reputations. Join the conversation and share your perspective on mitigating the risks and costs associated with mis-hiring. https://lnkd.in/g5D5yHBe

If you're interviewing at a company, ask the hard questions. ESPECIALLY at a startup or small business. Some of the best advice a mentor gave me was to interview like an exec—not to push for a higher level role but to feel that level of partnership, interest, and ownership build during the interview process. You want to feel good about the people you're working with and how they run things, because the actual thing you're working on will evolve. Ask about things like: ✅ Priorities: top success metric, immediate 3 priorities for the role, current team, hiring plans. ✅ Finances: burn rate, runway, future funding plans, exit strategy (sell vs. IPO vs. something else), financial model, equity, cap table if they'll share. ✅ Partnership: How you'd work together, what oversight do they want over marketing decisions, autonomy and involvement in decision making, how decisions get communicated, who they learn from/admire. Once you get a feel for how you'd work together (and if the company has footing), then dig into the details. Analytics, marketing/product tech stacks, view on tools/budgets, professional development, etc. Most companies won't be able to answer every question you ask. HOW they answer often matters just as much as what they answer with.

I've spoken with dozens of early-stage founders struggling to scale their teams. The founders who successfully hired top talent did this exceptionally well: They had a clear hiring strategy mapped out before they even posted a job. These founders also spent a lot of time understanding: - The exact needs of their business - The culture they wanted to build - The goals of the candidates On the other hand, founders who struggled to hire: - Posted jobs reactively without a plan - Got buried under hundreds of applications without a system to manage them - Ended up making rushed decisions that didn’t align with their long-term vision So, the key to hiring often looks like: - Creating a detailed hiring plan before opening any role - Setting clear criteria for success to streamline the vetting process - Blocking dedicated time for hiring tasks to avoid last-minute rush decisions Hiring shouldn’t be a drain on your time or a guessing game — it should be a strategic move that drives your business forward.

Feeling that hunch or paranoia about restructuring at work? Do not ignore it! Many have regretted not acting on their gut feelings. 🚀 Start preparing for your job search now and stay ahead in today's market! Watch the full video here 👇 #CareerAdvice #JobSearch #TrustYourGut #StayPrepared #ProfessionalGrowth

I’ve had a pretty rubbish week. Which came to a crescendo this morning. And I felt awful. Conflict is never easy but its a part of life and actually is necessary. In my few years in life and in business I’ve learned that when you stop people pleasing - people stop being pleased. I knew that I did the right thing but I awaited the backlash and it came, in spades. Running your own business is hard and sometimes you can BS yourself into saying yes to people when your head has gone down, because you think you need to. When there is so much noise here on LinkedIn I can easily get caught up in self doubt. So I took some action for self care. I stepped away from my desk, called a friend for a chat who has been a big supporter and adjacent to this recent detour. I reached out to a recruitment mentor who reminded me of a few things; 1. 2024 has been brutal in the hiring market - and recruiters who have been established way longer than me have felt it too 2. Keep it simple 3. Know your strengths, play to them, have integrity 4. Don’t devalue your services and have absolute conviction in what you do and the way you do it. 5. Keep on building, never give up I needed to hear this. So I took Chulie to the park, bought her a pup cup, caught (probably) the last of the summer rays together for a couple of hours and then got back to my desk to take calls with some awesome candidates who have their antennae up for their next thing. Things are ok. All is well. #web3 #hiring #recalibration