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Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

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Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#71

Post by dchhugani »

itschai wrote: post #70

Hey Deepak - love the idea. I was fortunate enough to go to a "target" school but still had a tough time doing finance recruiting without the help of some very kind classmates. Your post brought back some memories of how much wasted effort could have been redirected positively if I had some initial guidance instead of learning everything the hard way. One of my "side projects" when I was still in school was collating…

Thank you! Glad to hear you saw the same problem and would have benefitted from The Lobby. I was personally surprised by the amount of people we get from "Target" schools using the service because it's also very competitive to get the 5-10 spots every bank allocates for hundreds of applicants at those schools. Feel free to email me at deepak@thelobby.io - would love to get you involved!

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#72

Post by ronilan »

ztratar wrote: post #52
ronilan wrote: post #25

> it's controversial to build a recruiting-focused company that charges job seekers instead of just the companies. There is no controversy. It’s just plain wrong.

Care to try to explain more, Ronilan?

It should be one of those things that are self-evident, but since YC backed this “thing” I guess it is not. So in the shortest possible form:

There exist an imbalance of power between the people “on the inside” (or “on the couch”) and the people on the outside.

Generally speaking, a business meant to exploit the imbalance is wrong. One that does so at the expanse of the outsiders and for the benefit of the insiders is just plain wrong.

Specifically, job seekers are, while seeking, a “vulnerable” population (just as an example, so are renters and migrants). These are people, who for a certain period of time, and due to certain circumstances, find themselves, on the outside looking in, at that very thing they desperately want or need.

Charging a jobseeker for the job (via commission on future salary for example) is wrong, but debatable. Charging, a jobseeker for the “hope” of getting a job is just plain wrong.

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#73

Post by gwbas1c »

ronilan wrote: post #25

> it's controversial to build a recruiting-focused company that charges job seekers instead of just the companies. There is no controversy. It’s just plain wrong.

A phrase that often passes through these forums is, "if it's free, you are the product!"

I encounter a lot of clowns when I work with recruiting firms. I'm open to new ideas where I'm treated as a valuable customer instead of a product.

[Edit] This is because I'm finding that recruiting is turning into spamming. Every recruiter gets lucky from the few candidates they place so they make a decent income from their commission.

[Edit] If I pay to work with someone who handles a high volume, would it streamline the process? Avoid the spam? I don't know, but I'm frustrated enough with the process to keep an open mind.

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#74

Post by RockyMcNuts »

ronilan wrote: post #25

> it's controversial to build a recruiting-focused company that charges job seekers instead of just the companies. There is no controversy. It’s just plain wrong.

Indeed, most companies' HR would ban their employees from monetizing their positions at the company in this fashion.

If this works, how about vendors paying IT personnel for inside dope on how to sell to the company, or paying them directly to come in and make a pitch? Where do you draw the line?

There are gray areas, how different is it to pay for a fancy night out to 'pick your brain' about networking? Or use 'expert networks' for research. Internships are another area that can be useful, or abused in the sense that people have to be able to work for free to even be considered.

You'd have to make a very good case that it will improve hiring. But if it improves hiring, maybe the company should be paying, to improve their internal outreach and give their people proper incentive to spend time on the recruiting process.

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#75

Post by Invictus0 »

dchhugani wrote: post #69
Anderkent wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree. Main reason why I don't talk to recruiters is the incentive mismatch - they work for the company, not for the job seeker, and I can't really trust their advice. In a model where a recruiter is paid by the jobseeker; i.e. he's the agent, this problem mostly goes away. A recruiter who say takes 5% of my next years salary if I accept a job, and therefore is incentivised to find me the best job possible... That…

I agree with a lot of this. One thing to note is that with this model the recruiter is incentivized for you to take the highest paying job, maybe not the best job for you. As stupid as that may sound (because everyone generally wants to make more money), it also means the first high paying job offer you get, they will probably push very hard (against your own interest) for you to accept it. That's the only way they'l…

To be fair, they didn't shut down so much as the founder sold out.

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#76

Post by dchhugani »

gwbas1c wrote: post #73
ronilan wrote: post #25

> it's controversial to build a recruiting-focused company that charges job seekers instead of just the companies. There is no controversy. It’s just plain wrong.

A phrase that often passes through these forums is, "if it's free, you are the product!" I encounter a lot of clowns when I work with recruiting firms. I'm open to new ideas where I'm treated as a valuable customer instead of a product. [Edit] This is because I'm finding that recruiting is turning into spamming. Every recruiter gets lucky from the few candidates they place so they make a decent income from their comm…

agreed!!!

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#77

Post by RockyMcNuts »

Anderkent wrote: post #63
ronilan wrote: post #25

> it's controversial to build a recruiting-focused company that charges job seekers instead of just the companies. There is no controversy. It’s just plain wrong.

Disagree. Main reason why I don't talk to recruiters is the incentive mismatch - they work for the company, not for the job seeker, and I can't really trust their advice. In a model where a recruiter is paid by the jobseeker; i.e. he's the agent, this problem mostly goes away. A recruiter who say takes 5% of my next years salary if I accept a job, and therefore is incentivised to find me the best job possible... That…

wait...recruiters do take x% of your salary if you take the job, that's what pays for all the spam.

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#78

Post by dchhugani »

RockyMcNuts wrote: post #74
ronilan wrote: post #25

> it's controversial to build a recruiting-focused company that charges job seekers instead of just the companies. There is no controversy. It’s just plain wrong.

Indeed, most companies' HR would ban their employees from monetizing their positions at the company in this fashion. If this works, how about vendors paying IT personnel for inside dope on how to sell to the company, or paying them directly to come in and make a pitch? Where do you draw the line? There are gray areas, how different is it to pay for a fancy night out to 'pick your brain' about networking? Or use 'expe…

I agree that if not controlled properly - it can take all sorts of shapes and forms. The best we can do is work with good intentions, put measures in place to avoid bad behavior, and focus on driving more of the positive kinds of interactions.

I think our model is worth trying because the alternative is the status quo, where the only ones with access to this information are family members, top school alums, or people in the elite circles. If you have ideas for how we could do this differently or put measures in place to avoid all the negative examples you gave - I'd love to hear them. deepak@thelobby.io.

I don't think there's a black & white answer here - it will be nuanced and require good execution. Think of all the ways something like Airbnb could go wrong without security checks, going against landlord laws, etc. It still seems to be an overwhelmingly positive addition to the world - we think this can be the same.

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#79

Post by vadym909 »

dchhugani wrote: post #31

I know this isn't quite on topic, but this is the best possible crowd and I can't resist mentioning. I'm looking for a technical partner/CTO for The Lobby in NYC (I'm the founder/CEO of The Lobby to be clear): https://blog.usejournal.com/im-looking-for-a-technical-partn...

Advice: You could write a book "How I got into YC without a technical cofounder" and sell a million copies to solo non-technical founders.

Re: Launch HN: The Lobby (YC W18) – 1-on-1 calls with company insiders to get hired

#80

Post by dchhugani »

vadym909 wrote: post #79
dchhugani wrote: post #31

I know this isn't quite on topic, but this is the best possible crowd and I can't resist mentioning. I'm looking for a technical partner/CTO for The Lobby in NYC (I'm the founder/CEO of The Lobby to be clear): https://blog.usejournal.com/im-looking-for-a-technical-partn...

Advice: You could write a book "How I got into YC without a technical cofounder" and sell a million copies to solo non-technical founders.

Haha will keep it in mind!! Thank you!
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