365 Days of Stories - Day 25: Navigating Hiring Challenges & Building a Strong Team

With 4 freshers joining in a week, the focus shifted to hiring 2-3 senior folks to handle the workload for long-term stability.

I asked the recruiter to help me find senior candidates with 8-12 years of experience who could join immediately or within a month. However, most candidates struggled to clear even basic programming tests. I was clear: we needed hands-on talent with strong programming skills.

💡 Hiring Challenges

We conducted weekend drives but still couldn’t find anyone passing the test. My recruiter wasn’t happy, so we changed our approach. I said, “Let’s focus on candidates from well-reputed companies. If we need to wait 2-3 months, so be it, but we need the right talent.”

🔍 The New Approach

We began receiving better candidates skilled in programming. I realized that, as a non-big brand, attracting perfect candidates in all areas would be tough. So, I decided that programming and design were non-negotiable, while other skills could be flexible.

🎯Securing the Right Talent

We finalized 2-3 senior candidates and offered them more than they asked for, ensuring no last-minute rejections. This process took almost a month. Meanwhile, I continued training the freshers and worked on key bugs to improve the 3 KPIs we agreed on with the customer.

📈 Progress & Improvements

After another month, we saw notable improvements:

🔹 Transaction SLA – We reached 95-97% success in T+1 day processing.

🔹 Response Time – We fixed the response time issue, and the system performed well even at peak times.

🔹 Team Growth – We had fresh grads contributing to the team.

🔹 Senior Hires – We finalized 2 senior hires who would join in 2-3 months.

The customer removed the threat of contract cancellation, and our CEO was happy with our progress.

🎮 Taking Full Control

With the CTO moving to another project, I took full charge of the account. But I realized juggling design, training, and management was getting difficult.

🧑‍💼 Hiring a Project Manager

I decided to hire a Project Manager to handle day-to-day operations, allowing me to focus on big-ticket items. I was fortunate to hire someone within a week. He shared that this was his first corporate job after running his own venture for 10 years. I was sold by his entrepreneurial experience, and having gone through the same journey, I respected him immensely. I offered him more than he asked for, and he joined us within a week.

💡 The Key Lesson

One important lesson I learned from hiring—whether freshers or seniors—is never take advantage of someone’s situation. Pay them fairly based on what they deserve, not what they ask or their previous salary. This principle has helped me build strong employee loyalty.

👉 What are your thoughts on fair compensation and hiring practices? Let’s discuss.

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