. Facebook Lost Out to Twitter Recuiting Highly-Respected Algorithms Engineer Pankaj Gupta. Facebook Has Had Trouble Finding a Director of Monetization.
Case 1
Facebook's Recruiting Problem, Explained
CFO Gideon Yu's controversial departure from Facebook has increased focus on the company's problems retaining top talent.
But Facebook's people problem isn't limited to executive retention. The hot startup with over 200 million users also has a surprisingly hard time recruiting new employees -- from top executives to college grads to star Googlers. Sources familiar with the situation tell us Facebook's "close rate" on new employees it wants to hire hovers around 80%. One former Facebook employee -- who like many former employees, might have an agenda -- puts the rate below 50%. Either way, for a company with the potential to mint hundreds of millionaires in a rare Silicon Valley IPO, both numbers seem low. "It's never been as high as we wanted it to be," says one source.
After an unsuccessful search for departed CTO Adam D'Angelo's replacement, Facebook finally elevated VP Mike Schroepfer to engineering lead. Facebook lost out to Twitter recuiting highly-respected algorithms engineer Pankaj Gupta. Facebook has had trouble finding a director of monetization.
After speaking with a range of industry sources -- including former Facebook executives -- there appear to be three main factors contributing to Facebook's challenges with recruiting and retention. * There's stiff competition from companies like Google and Microsoft, which are willing to pay through the nose to retain their own talent. Sources familiar with the company's practices say Google will sometimes double an employee's salary and stock to keep them from going to Facebook. These companies will also play on prospective Facebook employees' fears, reminding them of the startup's non-existent profits, executive turnover, and valuation questions. * To a lesser extent, Facebook's senior management team has a maligned reputation in Silicon Valley. This may or may not be deserved, but it exists. * Finally, Facebook only recently "professionalized" its
Facebook's Recruiting Problem, Explained
CFO Gideon Yu's controversial departure from Facebook has increased focus on the company's problems retaining top talent.
But Facebook's people problem isn't limited to executive retention. The hot startup with over 200 million users also has a surprisingly hard time recruiting new employees -- from top executives to college grads to star Googlers. Sources familiar with the situation tell us Facebook's "close rate" on new employees it wants to hire hovers around 80%. One former Facebook employee -- who like many former employees, might have an agenda -- puts the rate below 50%. Either way, for a company with the potential to mint hundreds of millionaires in a rare Silicon Valley IPO, both numbers seem low. "It's never been as high as we wanted it to be," says one source.
After an unsuccessful search for departed CTO Adam D'Angelo's replacement, Facebook finally elevated VP Mike Schroepfer to engineering lead. Facebook lost out to Twitter recuiting highly-respected algorithms engineer Pankaj Gupta. Facebook has had trouble finding a director of monetization.
After speaking with a range of industry sources -- including former Facebook executives -- there appear to be three main factors contributing to Facebook's challenges with recruiting and retention. * There's stiff competition from companies like Google and Microsoft, which are willing to pay through the nose to retain their own talent. Sources familiar with the company's practices say Google will sometimes double an employee's salary and stock to keep them from going to Facebook. These companies will also play on prospective Facebook employees' fears, reminding them of the startup's non-existent profits, executive turnover, and valuation questions. * To a lesser extent, Facebook's senior management team has a maligned reputation in Silicon Valley. This may or may not be deserved, but it exists. * Finally, Facebook only recently "professionalized" its