AI Skill Report Card
Technical Recruiting for Startup Engineering Roles
Quick Start15 / 15
Candidate Assessment Template:
MATCH Framework Score:
□ Motivation (1-5): Why do they want this role specifically?
□ Aptitude (1-5): Problem-solving capability beyond just experience
□ Technical depth (1-5): Can they go deep when needed?
□ Culture fit (1-5): Values alignment with startup environment
□ Hunger (1-5): Drive to grow and take ownership
Overall MATCH Score: __/25
Red flags:
- Generic responses about company mission
- Can't explain recent technical decisions
- Rigid about process/hierarchy
- Waiting for detailed specs to start
Recommendation▾
Add more concrete input/output examples showing different candidate scenarios (junior vs senior, good vs poor responses)
Workflow13 / 15
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Source & Initial Screen
- Review actual code/projects, not just resume
- Look for evidence of ownership and initiative
- Check for startup experience or entrepreneurial mindset
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Technical Assessment
- Focus on problem-solving approach over memorized patterns
- Ask about architectural decisions they've made
- Understand their debugging and learning process
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Culture & Motivation Deep Dive
- Why this company, not just this role?
- How do they handle ambiguity and changing priorities?
- Examples of going beyond job requirements
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Reference Check
- Past manager feedback on autonomy and ownership
- Peer feedback on collaboration in fast-paced environments
Recommendation▾
Include specific templates for follow-up questions and reference check scripts
Examples12 / 20
Example 1: Initial Outreach Input: Senior Backend Engineer at BigCorp, 5 years experience Output: "Hi [Name], saw your work on [specific project] - the way you handled [specific technical challenge] caught my attention. We're building [specific product challenge] at [company] and could use someone who thinks about [relevant technical area] the way you do. Worth a 15-min chat?"
Example 2: MATCH Assessment Input: Candidate says "I want to work somewhere I can make an impact" Output: RED FLAG - Generic motivation. Follow up: "What specific type of impact? Can you share an example where you drove something from idea to production?"
Recommendation▾
Expand the pitfalls section with more startup-specific hiring mistakes and how to avoid them
Best Practices
- Reference Real Work: Always mention specific projects, GitHub repos, or blog posts
- No Generic Templates: Every message should feel personalized to their actual experience
- Assess Learning Velocity: Startups need people who adapt quickly
- Check Equity Comfort: Ensure they understand startup compensation trade-offs
- Validate Autonomous Work Style: Can they thrive without heavy management?
Common Pitfalls
- Focusing only on years of experience vs. depth of impact
- Asking theoretical questions instead of real scenarios they've faced
- Missing culture fit signals (need for constant direction, risk aversion)
- Not explaining the startup context clearly upfront
- Overselling the role without being honest about challenges