Confessions of a Big Tech recruiter

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In today’s episode of The Pragmatic Engineer, I catch up with one of the best tech recruiters I’ve had the opportunity to work with: Blake Stockman, a former colleague of mine from Uber. Blake built a strong reputation in the recruiting world, working at tech giants like Google, Meta, and Uber. He also spent time with Y Combinator and founded his agency, where he helped both large tech companies and early-stage startups find and secure top talent. A few months ago, Blake did a career pivot: he is now studying to become a lawyer. I pounced on this perfect opportunity to have him share all that he’s seen behind-the-scenes in tech recruitment: sharing his observations unfiltered.

In our conversation, Blake shares recruitment insights from his time at Facebook, Google, and Uber and his experience running his own tech recruitment agency. We discuss topics such as:

• A step-by-step breakdown of hiring processes at Big Tech and startups• How to get the most out of your tech recruiter, as a candidate• Best practices for hiring managers to work with their recruiter• Why you shouldn’t disclose salary expectations upfront, plus tips for negotiating• Where to find the best startup opportunities and how to evaluate them—including understanding startup compensation• And much more!

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Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(01:40) Tips for working with recruiters

(06:11) Why hiring managers should have more conversations with recruiters

(09:48) A behind-the-scenes look at the hiring process at big tech companies 

(13:38) How hiring worked at Uber when Gergely and Blake were there

(16:46) An explanation of calibration in the recruitment process

(18:11) A case for partnering with recruitment 

(20:49) The different approaches to recruitment Blake experienced at different organizations

(25:30) How hiring decisions are made 

(31:34) The differences between hiring at startups vs. large, established companies

(33:21) Reasons desperate decisions are made and problems that may arise

(36:30) The problem of hiring solely to fill a seat

(38:55) The process of the closing call

(40:24) The importance of understanding equity 

(43:27) Tips for negotiating 

(48:38) How to find the best startup opportunities, and how to evaluate if it’s a good fit

(53:58) What to include on your LinkedIn profile

(55:48) A story from Uber and why you should remember to thank your recruiter

(1:00:09) Rapid fire round

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The Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:

• How GenAI is reshaping tech hiring https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/how-genai-changes-tech-hiring

• Hiring software engineers https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/hiring-software-engineers 

• Hiring an Engineering Manager https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/hiring-engineering-managers

• Hiring Junior Software Engineers https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/hiring-junior-engineers

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See the transcript and other references from the episode at ⁠⁠https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcast⁠⁠

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