In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks to Tom Case. Tom is the head of Talent at Cerebras Systems, a computer systems company,  building a new type of computer optimized for AI work and contains the world’s largest computer chip.

Tom has an Executive search background that began in an agency, went to Facebook, and worked at Intel Capital as Talent Partner before joining Cerebras.

Tune in to listen to Tom sharing his passion for Start-Up recruiting and the nuances that make it such a giant leap from his Talent Partner role, where he was serving start-ups on a much more ad-hoc basis. Tom shares experiences working in different roles and how to establish a working recruitment team that benefits both the company and the employees. He also gives tips on building a talent strategy, how to bring in a new team, why diversity and inclusion are important for startups, and other informative topics.

[02:01] What Tom is most passionate about as a recruiter

[04:54] Working as a Talent Partner

[05:55] Should companies pay more attention to a working talent strategy?

[06:57] Perception on talent strategy as a roadmap

[11:25] Establishing a recruiting team

[16:30] Recruiting process and organization’s culture

[21:18] Appreciating employees

[23:25] Flat structure vs. Management structure

[24:26] How management helps people improve

[25:21] Diversity and inclusion for startups

[29:30] Key challenges when raiding the number of employees

[32:55] Bringing in new people into the organization

[38:08] Figuring out what to take to the market as recruiters

 Notable Quotes

• Startups don’t have many resources. They need to double down to the single one or two things that move the company forward
• If you build a recruiting team, you have to get the right people to do that.
• If you are bringing in managers, you gonna make sure you’re bringing the right ones. And you gonna make sure that people see the value in going from flat to management structure.
• The more diversity you have, the more diversity you recruit.
• Sometimes, it’s like we only hire the most exceptional people. But it’s not true. There are not many exceptional people, and when you get one, they move your company 10x more than anybody else.

Connect with Tom

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-case-81b8504/

Cerebras Systems Website https://cerebras.net/