Where to Find Great Talent
- Merve Kagitci Hokamp
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
(And Why You Might Be Looking in the Wrong Places)
Whether you're a founder building from the ground up or a corporate executive scaling a regional team — eventually, you’ll hit the same wall:
Not product. Not process. People.
“I just need someone great.”
“Where do I find these unicorns?”
“Everyone I interview feels... fine. Not game-changing.”
Hiring great talent is the real growth unlock. But here’s the part most leaders don’t say out loud: You’re probably looking in the wrong places, using the wrong filters, at the wrong moment.
Let’s shift that.
First: Define “great” Talent
Before you go searching, ask yourself what “great” actually means for your team right now.
Are you hiring for:
High-volume execution?
Calm-in-the-storm judgment?
Early-stage scrappiness?
Mature-stage scale thinking?
Culture shaping and cross-functional leadership?
Great isn’t universal. It’s contextual.
One exec’s “brilliant operator” is another’s organizational liability.
A corporate-trained leader may bring structure but freeze in ambiguous environments.
A startup veteran may thrive on chaos but derail in matrixed teams.
If you don’t define what kind of great you need, you’ll hire someone else’s version — and regret it.
So, where do you find great talent?
Let’s break it down.
1. Look beyond the usual suspects
Many execs still default to the same criteria:
→ Top-tier school
→ Big-name brands
→ Clean, upward résumés
→ Same industry background
But some of the best leaders I’ve coached came from:
Adjacent verticals (e.g., ops in logistics moving into healthcare)
Former founders who “failed” but built deep range
Mid-level managers who were over-performing under poor leadership
High-potential stretch candidates inside the company
People with unconventional paths — but strong pattern recognition
Don’t just hire pedigree. Hire for clarity, self-awareness, and adaptability.
2. Recruit talent like you mean it
A job spec alone won’t bring in the right people. Passive sourcing brings passive fits.
Whether you’re in a startup or a global org, great talent often isn’t applying — they’re being approached.
→ Ask your most trusted team members: “Who’s the best person you’ve ever worked with?”
→ Get on the phone with peers, mentors, former colleagues
→ Use niche, high-trust networks—founder circles, executive communities, industry Slack channels
→ Engage alumni networks (school, company, leadership programs)
Don’t just post and pray. Be intentional.
3. Stop under-selling the role
If you want people to own the mission, sell them more than a job description.
If you’re hiring for leadership, give them a seat at the table — not just a backlog of tasks.
Great talent doesn’t choose based on salary alone. They ask:
→ Who’s in the room?
→ What decisions will I own?
→ What will success look and feel like here?
If you want leaders, stop pitching like you’re hiring individual contributors.
4. Get real about scope and expectations
This one shows up a lot in both startup and corporate hiring:
“We need someone who’s strategic and hands-on. Visionary and tactical. Bold and humble. Fast and thoughtful.”
Translation: You want a unicorn. But your budget —and your org— probably can’t support one.
So choose.
Do you need execution? Or strategic partnership? Do you need speed right now or the ability to scale 18 months from now?
Don’t hire for both and hope they figure it out. It’s unfair to them, and costly to you.
5. Ask better questions
Most leaders aren’t bad at interviewing. They’re just asking the same safe questions.
Try these instead:
→ “What would you prioritize in your first 30 days with zero onboarding?”
→ “What do people misunderstand about your leadership style?”
→ “What systems have you outgrown in past roles — and how did you know?”
→ “What have you built that you’re still proud of?”
You’re hiring for how someone thinks, not just what they’ve done.
Final Thought on Talent Recruitment
You’ll never find great talent by chasing titles or optimizing for lowest risk.
The best leaders:
✓ Define what “great” means for their context
✓ Build roles worth saying yes to
✓ Search where others aren’t looking
✓ Hire for thinking, adaptability, and trust — not just CVs
Because talent isn’t just an asset. It’s a multiplier. Or a very expensive liability.
And whether you’re a startup founder or a corporate leader — finding the right people is your real job.
Hi, I’m Merve 👋
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