Elevating recruitment in design at Sweatcoin / Sweat Economy
Introduction: finding the right people in a fast-moving environment
Hiring the right people in the fast-paced world of design, especially at Sweatcoin / Sweat Economy, is no easy task. We need individuals who not only have strong skills but also align with our core values. We look for Senior Product Designers who can work independently, think proactively, and thrive in a team environment.
My role in improving the recruitment process
As Product Design Lead and Team Manager at Sweatcoin / Sweat Economy, I helped improve our recruitment process. We needed a system to find candidates who were not only experts but also a good cultural fit. We created a multi-step approach to meet this need.
A clear, step-by-step recruitment journey
At Sweatcoin / Sweat Economy, we built a detailed recruitment journey to find the best design talent. This process helps us see how well candidates match our culture and mission, not just their skills. Here’s how our hiring process works:
Portfolio review: We start by reviewing portfolios, checking for creativity and alignment with our design philosophy.
HR screening: An initial conversation with HR to ensure the candidate fits the role’s needs and our team culture.
Live design task: A 1.5-hour session where candidates complete a real-world design challenge.
Project management chat: A short conversation with a project manager to check communication and teamwork skills.
Founder interview: A final talk with a founder to provide insight into the company.
We aim to complete this process in about two weeks, offering feedback at each step.
The live design task: a candidate favourite
The live design task is one of the most popular parts of our hiring process. It gives candidates a taste of our culture and values while testing their problem-solving skills and creativity in real-time. It’s more than just an evaluation—it’s a chance for candidates to be involved in a realistic design scenario.
This part of the process is essential because it shows us how candidates handle pressure and new challenges, key qualities in our fast-paced environment. Feedback from candidates has been very positive, with many praising how engaging and effective this stage is. The live design task has become a vital tool for finding top talent in design.
Handling a large number of applications
We receive about 800 applications for design roles across various platforms, including LinkedIn and Dribbble. This number is much higher than the 20-30 applications our developers typically get. To manage this, we have a system in place to quickly and efficiently find the best candidates.
Making candidate selection easier
To streamline the selection process, we ask specific questions upfront. For example, for web3 design roles, we ask about experience with web3 technologies. This helps us filter candidates early on, ensuring those who move forward are the best fit for the role. This approach helps us handle the high number of applications and focus on candidates who are likely to succeed in our environment.
Conclusion: always improving the process
At Sweatcoin / Sweat Economy, our recruitment strategy is always evolving. By refining our process, we ensure that our team consists of individuals who not only have the right skills but also share our passion and vision. Using this approach, we successfully expanded our design team from 3 to 9 designers over 1.5 years, and all team members are still with the company, happy and engaged. This is reflected in our 100% eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score), confirming that our recruitment and team-building efforts are creating a positive and fulfilling work environment.
.see also
