Mo Bhende, Karat CEO Discusses Tech Hiring & Global Talent Acquisition

Full Episode Description

About the Guest(s): Mo Bhende is the co-founder and CEO of Karat, a company that has made notable strides as the world's largest interviewing company. With a backstory rich in entrepreneurial ventures, Mo's experience ranges from running his own startup, Topic magazine, to holding key positions at Microsoft. He served as a General Manager for Xbox, overseeing global strategy, product, and business teams. Mo's passion for combining the vibrancy of a good business with strong hiring processes and his understanding of the critical role that talent plays in a company's success led to the genesis of Karat. Episode Summary: In this eye-opening episode of "Growing Your Business with People," host Jeff Lackey engages in a profound discussion with Mo Bhende, a thought leader who transformed his insight into the tech hiring dilemma into an innovative business solution. Mo shares his journey from recognizing the gap in hiring practices within the engineering domain to founding Karat. His pursuit to professionalize and optimize the interviewing process has revamped how companies find and secure top tech talent. The conversation delves into the philosophy that just because one excels in their professional realm does not necessarily imply prowess in interviewing and selecting the right candidates. With Karat's latest innovations, like the introduction of 'Caret Qualify,' Mo outlines how to streamline the interviewing process, combat biases, and ensure a diverse and competent workforce. As he provides a detailed overview of the platform's development, Mo emphasizes how essential it is for CEOs and business leaders to be intricately involved in the hiring processes and consider every candidate as a potential brand advocate. Key Takeaways: Professional excellence does not guarantee interviewing skills, a realization that propelled Mo Bhende to create Karat Karat's innovative approach includes a top-of-funnel quiz designed to replace resume screening and reduce bias, thereby identifying the best candidates more effectively. Feedback from candidates is crucial and should be actively sought out to improve hiring processes and treat candidates as potential future customers. Hiring decisions and processes have a significant impact on the business's bottom line, making it paramount for leaders to be closely involved. Diversity in hiring not only addresses bias but also attracts top talent, which in turn creates a virtuous cycle drawing in more quality candidates. Notable Quotes: "Just because you're a really good professional doesn't mean you're a very good interviewer." "The business of selecting talent and hiring talent and interviewing talent is unto itself its own expertise, its own business." "It's all about getting the best talent you can." "If you treat candidates like customers, there's a level of professional empathy and engagement that a CEO should demand from their company." "Every candidate is your customer." Resources: Karat's website: [Please note, the URL was not explicitly mentioned in the transcript.] Intuit, the tax software company, referenced as a case example by Mo Bhende. Jeff Lackey's contact or show information was not explicitly mentioned in the transcript.