When First Round invests in a startup, the first request we usually get is for help with hiring. A great team is the backbone of every successful company and recruiting the right folks all over the org chart is critical — but it’s not easy.

By building the team from the ground up, startup recruiters have the ability to make a massive impact on the business for years to come. Given the potential to leave such a large footprint on a startup’s foundation, plenty of folks hope to make a career pivot into recruiting. But despite the massive need across the startup ecosystem for more recruiters, it’s tricky to get your foot in the door with no experience. While we’ve found that some of the best recruiters come from non-traditional backgrounds, busy hiring managers often don’t feel they have the time to teach on-the-job skills — like the secrets of sourcing, conducting a phone screen, and negotiating an offer.

There are already courses out there, but most of them help existing recruiters sharpen their skills, instead of providing the hands-on Recruiting 101 newcomers need. We think we can help close this gap, and that’s why we’re launching Recruiting Track — to teach you the foundations of recruiting and send you down a new career path in one of the best roles at a startup.

Whatever your background, we believe that detail-oriented, organized operators who are natural connectors make the sharpest recruiters, and we’re excited to help you make a career transition. Share your information here if you're interested in getting notified about the next cohort.

Recruiter Track is an exclusive program to help folks transition into a recruiting role at an early-stage startup. We’ll host 7 sessions in April where we’ll cover the foundations of recruiting with hands-on practice. Sessions will be taught by First Round’s very own Talent Team with guest instructors from top tech startup.

In building out the curriculum, we took a magnifying glass to each step of the recruiting process. We’ll cover the fundamentals of recruiting, from building an interview funnel from scratch to sourcing your candidates, partnering with hiring managers, and closing the deal with a dream candidate. But this won’t just be a series of presentations — you’ll get a ton of opportunities to practice and mimic on-the-job experience, with the First Round Talent Team on hand to give feedback and answer all your questions. Past Recruiter Track participants have landed recruiting roles at startups like Sprig, Superhuman, Instrumental, Coda, and more.