Hire missionaries, not mercenaries

There is no future if we hire people who do not identify with our https://awellhealth.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AH/pages/3499655169, https://awellhealth.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AH/pages/3503783957, and https://awellhealth.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AH/pages/3500081160. We will become an undifferentiated crowd of uninspired people who will not have a shot at creating a generational company.

Passion is the one thing you cannot train, so we need to hire people who are already passionate about our mission. From silicon valley product group.

Culture first

One bad hire can have a massive impact on the culture of a company our size so we will over-index culture fit relative to skills & experience. We need a 4 or a 5 out of 5 for culture, otherwise, it will be a hard stop.

Hire slow (but have a short interview process)

As the first 30 people will define the company culture of Awell forever, these hires need to be “spot-on”. We’d much rather take more time to find the right person than rush getting someone in the team to scale up faster.

However, this doesn’t mean that we believe the hiring process should take a very long time. We’re also considerate of the time candidates invest in the interviews.

Every new hire must raise the bar

When a good hire joins, it raises morale and productivity across the whole team. Likewise, a bad hire is a wet blanket on the whole team. Therefore, every new hire must raise the bar and make the whole team better.

Barrel or ammunition?

Our ability to execute is limited by the number of barrels in our team. We need both barrels and ammunition, but understanding the distinction between both and looking at a candidate through this lens is crucial.

Giver or taker?

Aligned with our value to “Give and expect a lot”, we aim to hire givers, not takers into our team.

The airport test

If I’m stuck at the airport for three hours in a snowstorm, would I be comfortable passing those hours with this person?

Relentlessly resourceful

We’re building towards our mission against all odds. The only way we have a shot at getting there is by hiring a set of relentlessly resourceful people. Has the candidate shown relentless resourcefulness somewhere in their life?

Would I be comfortable working for this person?

In a different universe, if this person would be interviewing me and I would be working under them, would I feel comfortable doing that? This lens is related to the bar raiser question: by all means, we should avoid hiring people who we deem less capable than ourselves. On the contrary, we should be hiring people that surpass our abilities.

Is the person hungry?

If the candidate is not coming straight from school, they have prior work experience. Maybe they’ve been so successful at their prior company that they’ve lost the appetite to prove themselves and are just looking to copy the playbook. We want to hire people who are hungry to grow personally and change the world for the better.