---
title: "Interviewing"
description: "How to interview and hire outliers."
---

import { FaDiscord, FaMap } from "react-icons/fa";
import { Steps } from "nextra/components";

## Interviewing

Our talent pipeline is an organizational moat. This guide walks you through our interviewing process.

### Process

Menlo's interview process is designed to be self-serve.

1. **Application**: Candidates apply through our [careers page](https://homebrew.bamboohr.com/careers). We use a combination of AI and human review to shortlist candidates.
2. **Initial Screening**: Shortlisted candidates are invited to a 30-minute initial screening, usually with HR/founder.
3. **2-3 Interviews**: Candidates are interviewed by 2-3 team members. Each interview is 30-45 minutes long.
4. **Founder interview**: The final interview is with one of the founders. This is a 30-minute interview.
5. **Deliberation**: Candidates are evaluated based on their interviews and portfolio. We aim to make a decision within 1 week.

We aim to be data-driven, and each open role is tracked in our ATS (BambooHR). We use this data to improve our hiring process.  

> Historically, our acceptance rate has been less than 1% of all applications. For direct referrals, this rate is higher at >10%.

### Preparing for Interviews

To start interviewing, please follow these steps:

- [ ] Indicate your interest in helping with interviews to HR.
- [ ] Shadow existing interviews (2-3) to understand our process and ask questions.
- [ ] Create a [Google Appointments link](https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_sg/resources/appointment-scheduling/) for your interviews. Make sure to set a default Google Hangouts link. Share the link with HR.
- [ ] New candidates will automatically schedule interviews with you using the Google Appointments link.
- [ ] If you have an upcoming interview, review their resume and prepare thoughtful questions.
- [ ] Input **detailed evaluations in BambooHR ATS** after each interview.

### Evaluation

We do not use a scoring system for interviews and prefer to encourage natural conversation.

However, if you do need an evaluation template, you can use the following:

| Criteria                | Description                                                                 | Response | Notes                                      |
|--------------|----------------------------------------|--------------|--------------------------------------------|
| Technical Skills | Proficiency in relevant technical areas (AI, robotics, programming, etc.) indicated in the resume  |||
| Fundamentals | Understanding of core concepts in the candidate's field of expertise (math, statistics, ML, physics, etc.) |              |             |
| Problem-Solving Ability | Ability to approach and solve complex problems   |||
| Communication Skills   | Clarity and effectiveness in communication       |||
| Cultural Fit          | Alignment with company [values](/handbook/philosophy/humanity) and [culture](/handbook/who/curiosity)     |||
| Overall Impression      | General impression of the candidate's suitability for the role   |||