Most recruiting teams hire against a job description.
Patrick Circelli, Head of Talent at Cognition, thinks that's backwards.
In this episode, Patrick breaks down how Cognition builds one of the leanest, highest-performing recruiting teams in tech, from hiring around exceptional people instead of rigid roles, to treating recruiting as the company's most important operating function.
He also shares what "intensity" actually means, why founder-led recruiting scales further than most people think, and the questions that reveal whether a candidate is truly aligned with your company.
In this episode:
- Why the best recruiters bet on founders—and exceptional people—not perfect role fit
- The interview question that reveals whether someone will thrive in an intense culture
- How an eight-person recruiting team hires 10–20 people a week
- Why candidate experience compounds into your best future hires
Watch the full episode:
