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This time I talked to Tom Scott, a founder at Verified, an invite-only design network. We revealed the myth that TOP-1% of talent includes only FAANG companies, and uncovered emerging challenges in talent acquisition, such as finding designers with strong business literacy. My favorite part was exploring the differences in hiring for early-stage startups, Series A+, and Scale-up, where we shared advice to founders who are looking for talent, as well as for anyone who is exploring a career shift.

Beyond that, we discussed the future of work in the tech industry, including the rise of fractional roles and the importance of flexibility.

If you find this show valuable, please share it with one of your colleagues or friends — it gives huge support to continue creating it. To receive all episodes right in your inbox — subscribe to katesyuma.substack.com

This episode is supported by Appcues — the platform that helps you design, deploy, and test captivating onboarding experiences.

Appcues created the Product Adoption Academy to help you level up your product adoption for free. Check out the template that I created to help companies uncover meaningful improvements. Find an example of Dropbox Onboarding inside and apply it to review any growth flows: appcues.com/growthmates

Key highlights from this episode:

* The top 1% of talent varies depending on the needs of different companies and is not limited to individuals from well-known companies (like FAANG 😉)

* Designers need to have strong business literacy and keep up with new technologies to be successful in the current market.

* The “businessification of UX” requires designers to have a growth mindset and understand the impact of their work on the organization.

* Alternative career paths for designers include transitioning to product or engineering roles, working in HR or VC, or starting their own businesses (YES 🙌)

* When hiring design talent, it is important to consider their mindset, soft skills, and growth potential, rather than just their job title or previous company.

* When hiring for scale-ups, it is important to hire people who have experience working on larger teams and can navigate the politics.

* The future of work in the tech industry is moving towards fractional roles and increased flexibility.

* Companies should look beyond big names and focus on hiring for potential and cultural fit.

For the 1st year of Growthmates, we’ve collected from dozens of leaders from Dropbox, Amplitude, Canva, Coda, Atlassian, and now I need your take.👉 Take a 10-min survey and get the first copy of “The PLG Playbook“🎁

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Where to find Tom Scott, founder at Verified:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomscottt/

Where to find Kate Syuma, Growth Advisor (ex-Miro):

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/

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* X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/kate_syuma

What we’ve covered in this episode:

00:00 Introduction and Background

02:40 Defining the Top 1% of Talent

06:32 Challenges in Talent Acquisition

10:56 The Businessification of UX

20:07 Role Models and Inspirations

23:09 Hiring Design Talent at Different Company Stages

33:10 Hiring for Scale-Ups

35:34 Embedding Design in Large Organizations

36:24 Challenges in Transitioning from Startups to Scale-Ups

38:23 Design Leadership in Scale-Ups

42:15 The Future of Work in the Tech Industry

48:55 Advice for Job Seekers and Companies

58:00 Lightning Round

Resources referenced:

* — Design Leadership at Scale Course on Maven: https://maven.com/rachel-kobetz/design-leadership-at-scale

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Top 1% Talent Tactics: Navigating Startup & Scale-up Hiring | Tom Scott, Founder at Verified

Growthmates: Create and Grow Meaningful Products & Careers

Top 1% Talent Tactics: Navigating Startup & Scale-up Hiring | Tom Scott, Founder at Verified