"If you're not OpenAI or Anthropic, hiring is more challenging than ever. The billboard didn't say "Listen Labs." It didn't say anything about hiring. It consisted of just a plain white background with "https://" and a single line of grouped numbers hanging over Nob Hill, San Francisco. Last month, Alfred Wahlforss, the startup's CEO, posted on X that whoever cracked the code and completed a subsequent challenge would win a trip to Berlin and get on the guest list for the ultra-exclusive nightclub Berghain."
"One of the more elaborate tech startup recruiting stunts in recent memory worked, Wahlforss later told me. Within days, the billboard garnered millions of views online, attracted media coverage, collected 10,000 email sign-ups, and led to roughly 60 interviews with potential candidates. In recent conversations I've had with Wahlforss and other startup founders, it's clear that, even for well-funded firms, attracting top technical talent is more challenging than ever."
AI startups outside top firms face steep recruiting difficulties as top engineers concentrate at major AI companies. Startups are deploying elaborate, expensive stunts to capture attention and attract candidates. A San Francisco billboard linking to a coded challenge offered a trip to Berlin and a Berghain guest list, generating millions of views, media attention, 10,000 email sign-ups, and about 60 interviews. Founders report spending heavily to advertise to engineers rather than on traditional company marketing. Even well-funded firms struggle to compete for technical talent amid intensified demand from leading AI organizations.
Read at The Verge
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