The story
When you’ve got business-critical messages to send, Messente makes sure they get delivered.
Built specifically for companies that send business-critical messages every month, Messente’s the preferred messaging partner for cybersecurity, banks, insurance, and other message-heavy industries that need a reliable way of contacting their customers.
Learn more about Messente here
Read more: how an Estonian-based SaaS grew to €10m ARR
Hiring challenges
Per role
Product Manager:
- A unique role that required building a completely new function at Messente.
- The candidate needed to be hands-on while taking a strategic approach. Typically, hands-on individuals lack extensive experience, while experienced professionals prefer not to be hands-on product managers.
- Commercial acumen needed.
- Needed to identify market pain points and adapt product strategy.
- Dealing with a small talent pool in Estonia meant we had to source candidates from markets across the EU.
Python Developer:
- Needed strong Python skills.
- Cultural fit with a youthful, social team was essential.
Business Development Manager (BDM):
- Experience selling aggregators.
- A hungry and driven personality was essential.
Hiring process
1. Candidate profile refining
Before intensive talent sourcing, we helped Messente map out the candidate profile and create job descriptions. From there, we did market research and sourced a few LinkedIn profiles as a reference point to receive quick feedback.
2. Sourcing candidates
Once the criteria was set, we proceeded to headhunt candidates from both local and European markets. We achieved a 65.6% response rate by combining three touchpoints: LinkedIn, calls, and email.
3. Screening call
The purpose of the screening call was to assess the candidate’s main character traits and skills. In the end, 15 of the 48 sourced candidates moved onto the interview stage (31.5% conversion rate).
4. Interview with hiring manager
Messente was satisfied with the level of the candidates we submitted throughout the process. 9 out of the 15 (60%) interviewed candidates moved on to the case study phase.
5. Case study
The remaining candidates underwent a final assessment during which they had to present their home task to the team.
6. Offer stage
The final step included making an offer to the selected candidates.
Focus on seeking cultural fits
Messente’s culture is defined by a dedicated team working towards a common goal, where everyone knows and takes ownership of their unique responsibilities.
The social aspect is equally vital, with numerous events bringing people together from across Europe.
It was crucial to find individuals with a hungry mindset, driven to achieve and grow within the company. Equally important was their willingness to socialize and connect with the team. A sense of humor and the ability to engage in lighthearted interactions were key indicators of how well they would integrate.
