How recruitment changes as affiliates scale

When I joined Alts Digital, we were a small team of around 20 people. Before I joined, in those early days, our hiring approach was heavily focused on cultural fit and potential. We were looking for people who were curious, adaptable, and ready to embrace the challenges of a growing company. Work experience or specific expertise wasn’t the priority, it was all about energy and flexibility.

At this stage, our recruitment approach had a process, but it had some ad-hoc points. We hired people through networking and referrals or good (from the few) organic applications, and the goal was to find candidates who could "wear many hats."

What to expect:

• Candidate profiles: Generalists, often without deep expertise in the field.
• Process: Simple and ad hoc. Spontaneous and flexible. Not very scalable processes.
• Challenges: Finding people who can adapt to a less-structured environment and are enthusiastic, without being too random of a person.

Practical tips for recruiters:

• Leverage your network and encourage referrals. This is where you’ll find your best hires early on.
• Focus on cultural fit and adaptability 99% rather than hard skills.
• Keep the process simple but make time for meaningful conversations.

Hiring international talent

As Alts Digital started to grow, so did our hiring needs. Suddenly, we weren’t just looking for local talent anymore. We were hiring for international roles and highly specialised positions, such as English-speaking SEO content experts with a focus on crypto, specifically to support our crypto product. This forced us to rethink how we approached recruitment.

Bringing on a dedicated recruiter was an important step. We started building a more structured sourcing process, exploring new markets, and adjusting our strategies to attract global talent.

But this phase wasn’t without its challenges. We had no idea where to find the right candidates, which countries to focus on, or what backgrounds we should prioritise.

What to expect:

• Candidate profiles: Specialists or candidates with specific skill sets, often in different locations.
• Process: Focus on sourcing candidates. Structured sourcing and targeted outreach, but with a lot of trial and error.
• Challenges: Building a pipeline when you know almost nothing about the talent’s characteristics.

Practical tips for recruiters:

• Do your homework. In the early stages, you’ll spend a lot of time figuring things out through trial and error. You’ll test how candidates based in different locations respond to your messages and what they value.
• Talk to other recruiters. Others have been through this or something similar. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Learn from their experiences.
• Brace yourself. The pressure to deliver results will be real, even when you don’t have all the answers yet. Managing expectations can be tough, but it’s part of the journey.
• Be flexible. What works in one market might completely fail in another. Adjust your sourcing strategies as needed to align with different markets.
• Craft a strong narrative. Make sure you clearly communicate what makes your company stand out. This is key to attracting international talent who does not know you yet.

Balancing quality and process

As we grew past 50 people, recruitment became more layered. More stakeholders were involved; hiring managers with varying levels of recruiting experience joined the process, and this added complexity. It became a balancing act between maintaining quality and keeping things efficient.

One of the biggest takeaways from this phase was how crucial alignment is, since hiring managers often have different ideas about what the "ideal candidate" looks like.

What to expect:

• Candidate profiles: A mix of candidates with potential and relevant experience, depending on the role.
• Process: A more structured process, but still adaptable to new needs or insights.
• Challenges: Juggling multiple stakeholders with varying recruitment experience while ensuring alignment and maintaining consistency.

Practical tips for recruiters:

• Don’t overengineer processes. When things get more complex, it’s easy to lean on rigid tools like overly detailed scorecards or endless alignment sessions. Avoid this. It kills the flexibility you need to figure out what makes the “right” candidate. Remember, it’s normal for hiring managers to still be figuring out what they want.
• Prioritise alignment moments. Whether it’s a Slack thread or a quick video call, meet with hiring managers during the process to ensure expectations are clear.
• Track conversion rates closely. If a stage has unusually low or high conversion rates, that’s usually a signal to review expectations or refine how it’s being assessed.
• Encourage collaboration between stakeholders. Get everyone directly involved—recruiters interviewing with hiring managers, hiring managers interviewing with the C-suite, and so on.
• Create an open feedback loop. Share sourced profiles with hiring managers or, better yet, ask them to share examples of their “ideal” candidates.

Higher specialisation with maturity

Now that Alts Digital has matured further, our hiring needs have shifted once again. We’re no longer prioritising generalists or even junior specialists. Instead, we’re seeking experienced professionals with deep expertise who can deliver immediate value to our team.

This evolution has required hiring managers to become more discerning in their approach. However, we’re still navigating the complexities of balancing this new phase with the demands of the previous one, which brings its own set of challenges.

Challenges we’ve faced in the past year:

• Extended time-to-fill for certain roles.
• Frequent iterations on candidate profiles. Finding the "right" profile often takes longer as expectations evolve.
• Greater difficulty attracting highly specialised talent.
• Hiring managers still learning. Some managers are refining their understanding of what they need in a candidate while also figuring out how to assess whether someone truly meets the requirements.

Advice for recruiters

At this stage, as a recruiter, you need to step up your game. Here’s what matters most:

• Deeply understand the industry you’re hiring in. This goes beyond surface knowledge; it means knowing where the best talent is and what motivates them.
• Be a true partner to hiring managers. Your role isn’t just to support them, it’s to guide and collaborate with them. Ask the right questions to “educate” and align. As a team, both of you need to understand the talent landscape: where to find the right candidates, what they value, and how to assess fit effectively.
• Master the roles you’re hiring for. Invest the time to learn the nuances of each function (e.g.: What does an SEO specialist in my company and what SEO specialists do in other companies?) and how it contributes to the company’s success.
• Know well your EVP. Highly experienced candidates will have higher expectations and ask tougher questions about your company. They’ll want to know where you stand, both in terms of the industry and your internal growth.

Not a static process

Recruitment isn’t a static process: it evolves alongside your company. At Alts Digital, we’ve seen how each phase of growth brings new challenges and opportunities.

To recruiters on a similar journey, I hope these reflections offer some valuable insights. But I’ll bet you this: a year from now, this article will look different. Things change quickly, and the best approach is always the one that aligns with your unique needs and values. What truly matters is staying open to learning and adapting as you continue to grow.