The stars at night aren’t the only big and bright things on the Texan horizon. As Silicon Valley loses its luster, Texas is steadily becoming one of the most appealing destinations for tech companies looking for a change of scenery. Texas is pitching a compelling vision to attract new companies to the state. The invitation is extended with their famous Southern hospitality, but Texans mean business. Companies are sitting up and taking notice.  For tech companies, California has three big strikes against it: high taxes, high cost of living, and strict business regulations. These ..read more

The job search is a daunting endeavor. Nobody relishes this step of professional development. Whether you’ve lost your job, or you’re stuck in a role that no longer aligns with your goals, you’re at that point where your current career path isn’t going to get you to where you want to go. The job search starts when you’re ready to do something about it.  It’s not for the faint of heart, even when it’s unavoidable. On average, it takes 21 to 80 job applications to get one job offer. It’s no time to stop and enjoy the scenery- once you start, you want to move through the job searc ..read more

All successful companies share a common denominator: they prioritize their people.  Simon Sinek puts it this way: “Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” This reality is especially true for tech startups. When it’s time to scale, hiring looks a lot like bringing people on board while the founders are still building the train. It’s a necessary, but precarious, step. A wrong fit costs time and money, and it tarnishes the emerging culture. It’s difficult to recover once employee turnover derails momentum. The success of the company depends on the l ..read more

Employee turnover kills momentum in your company. The reasons why people leave are usually predictable. Like putting breakup ballads on the “Do Not Play” list for your wedding reception to keep the party jumping, it’s smart to preempt the excuses your top talent will most likely use to slip out.  In this context, I’m identifying top talent as the type of employee that’s a high performer, and a potential future leader because of their desire to lead and capacity to critically think. Anyone in this category is susceptible to considering a better offer when it floats into their in ..read more

There’s no such thing as a perfect fit, whether it be jeans or jobs. Unfortunately, this reality doesn’t always stop us from embarking on far-fetched searches. Perfectly fitting thrifted jeans only exist in the world of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. We’ll still spend way too much time scrolling through thredUP on the hunt for the elusive pair. Candidates and hiring managers are also guilty of holding out for a nonexistent option. The effort wastes precious time, money, and energy.  In 2023, candidates are rethinking their quest for greener grass. After a record nu ..read more

“When Life shuts a door, open it. It’s a door. That’s how they work.” When you’re searching for a tech job during an economic downturn, it’s no time to be passive. It’s time to put a proactive plan together.  Whether you’re a college graduate, recently unemployed, or just looking for a better-fitting gig, you’re in good company. LinkedIn posts are communicating the same message: tech workers feel like they’re fighting for the same roles. And right now, 73% of #jobseekers say that the job search is one of the most stressful events of their entire lives. To land a new j ..read more

First impressions matter. Clients, customers, and candidates form their initial opinions about a company’s reputation based on its online presence. When we’re hiring, we need to pay close attention to our company’s image on its website and social media because 75% of job hunters will research an employer’s brand before applying for a role. And whether we like it or not, our online presence also includes reviews on sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn. We can’t ignore bad reviews. On one hand, negative online reviews are ubiquitous. Artist Amber Share created a New York Times ..read more

Let me say it again: good communication requires repetition.  The hiring process has a lot of moving pieces. Clear communication is the grease that enables an efficient hiring process to run like a well-oiled machine. Without it, the system bogs down resulting in frustration and bad decisions based on misinformation. How well you communicate is a reflection on your culture and company’s values. Bad communication will contribute to a negative reputation and the inability to hire top talent for your positions. When you’re a tech startup ready to scale, these are setbacks that you can’t aff ..read more

Does your company have a solid onboarding process?   Many CEOs treat onboarding as an afterthought. It’s something they know they should do. But because there are so many urgent tasks demanding their attention, they don’t always prioritize it. It can feel like trying to eat home-cooked vegetables when you drive past a gauntlet of fast-food restaurants at the end of a long day. When time and money are tight, we gravitate to the quick fixes. We hit that drive-thru…   According to a recent survey, 36% of employers don’t offer a structured onboarding process for new employees at all.And ..read more

A tech startup thrives when its leader attracts a strong team to pursue the company’s mission. But, with the possible exception of Miranda Priestly (the unapologetic mascot for toxic workplace bosses,) a leader won’t keep the right team unless they intentionally nurture a healthy corporate culture.    A recent Glassdoor survey found that 77% of prospective employees take a company’s culture into account before applying. 57% of workers who quit their job did so because they felt disrespected at work.   Gallup loosely defines corporate culture a ..read more