This article was taken from the March 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
https://www.wired.co.uk/topic/amazonSorry, recruiters -- the startups have disrupted you.
It's boom time for east London startups -- you can tell by the number of politians dropping by. But how can fast-growing firms find the talent they need? Their answer: to run their own version of the university milkround. And it's working.
Silicon Milkroundabout invites more than 100 UK startups, offering 500 jobs to 1,200 candidates. Companies such as Shazam, Last.fm and Mozilla pay between £200 and £2,000 for a spot at the event. "At the first event," explains founder Ian Hogarth, also CEO and cofounder of live music site Songkick, "one in four attendees got hired on the day. We estimated that if you used a recruiter to hire those people, you'd probably have spent £250,000. "One company shouting in to the dark that they're hiring a developer isn't going to compete with Goldman Sachs if you're a startup. Get 100 startups together with 500 jobs and it levels the playing field a bit." A third event is planned in May, at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, London.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
