Using Trello for Hiring

Early in CloudHealth I used Trello as a quick and easy way to manage my time. Having a visual board gave me a sense of order that helped better manage my Lean validation. As time went on and the company was formed, I found new uses for Trello, such as managing my sprints, roadmap, personal to-do list and even product documentation.

As we started ramping our 2015 hiring, our HR manager and I decided to try a new use for Trello: as a hiring board. The model we adopted was simple: cards as candidates and color-coded labels to denote our different sources (e.g. referral, recruiter, internally sourced). For lanes we decided on the following:

Engaging - Engineers we’d like to connect with.
Phone Screen - Engineers we’ve spoken with either via coffee, Hangout or phone.
1st Interview - Engineers we've had to our offices to meet members of our team.
2nd Interview - Engineers who have come in for a final interview.
Hired - Engineers we hired.
Not Hired: Not a Fit - Engineers we identified as not a fit.
Not Hired: But a Fit - Engineers we didn’t hire for one reason or another but felt were potential fits for the future (e.g. not ready to move yet).

As engineers move through our process, we move them to the appropriate lane and update their card's comments with any additional details.

I’ve surprised at how effective Trello can be for hiring. In one simple board I can visually see the status of our hiring process, and always know the latest engagement with a candidate by just clicking on a card. I can also much more easily spot potential issues that will impact our velocity (e.g. a slow down in one area of our pipeline).

I know there are many things not to like about Trello (e.g. managing large lists, search, customizability), but simple uses like this continue to make me an unabashed Trello fanboy.