Signals

For decades, we've relied on proxies.
Resumes.
Referrals.
Polished interviews.

These were our best guesses about someone’s potential. A list of experiences, a few references, a good chat - that was enough to make a six-figure bet.

But the reality is, proxies are bad predictors. Talking about work isn’t the same as doing the work. Yet most companies still base hiring decisions on how confidently someone talks in a 45-minute Zoom call. We ask for stories, anecdotes, STAR frameworks - all signals, very little substance.

That made sense when technology constrained us. Now it doesn’t.

Today, we have the tools to simulate real work. We can create environments where people show how they think, solve, and build - in collaboration with us. The best way to predict future performance isn’t a clever answer. It’s a small, real project. Together.

Shifts

There are two overlapping shifts happening: one psychological, one technological.

The psychological shift is generational. People entering the workforce today grew up in multiplayer environments. They learned by doing - coding side projects, editing wikis, collaborating on Notion docs. They don’t want to be evaluated by monologue. They want to contribute.

The technological shift is infrastructure. We now have real-time collaborative tools in the browser. With AI, we can co-create intelligent assessments that simulate work. We can personalize challenges to the job description. We can watch people think.

Together, these shifts are pushing us into a new hiring paradigm - one based on interaction and output, not performance and promise.

Collaboration

When someone applies to a job, they’re not applying to talk - they’re applying to work. So why don’t we start there?

Hiring should begin by doing something small together. A short project. A problem-solving session.
A paired design critique.
A strategy doc.

This is how we learn whether someone’s a fit: not by asking what they would do, but by seeing what they do.

It’s faster. It’s more accurate. And it’s fairer.

Collaboration reveals how someone thinks, not just how they talk. It shows their level of agency. It shows how they handle ambiguity. It reveals real skills that no conversation can expose.

Most importantly, it replicates the environment they’re being hired into.

Bias

Conversations carry bias. The more subjective the format, the more room for noise. Accent, appearance, cadence, confidence - all these leak into our decision-making unconsciously.

Structured collaboration reduces that.

When you're working together on a challenge, you naturally focus on output. You’re asking: is this insightful? Is it useful? Can I see myself working with this person?

The decision becomes more grounded. Less about pedigree, more about value creation. Less about charm, more about capability.

Bias won’t disappear, but we can shrink its footprint by shifting attention from talk to task.

Experience

Interviews are often transactional. Cold. Asymmetrical.

Collaboration flips that.

When candidates get to work on a real-world challenge - with context, support, and purpose - they feel respected. They’re treated like a peer, not a suspect. It doesn’t feel like a test. It feels like a preview of what working together might be like.

That makes a difference. Even rejected candidates walk away with a sense of clarity. They got to do something, not just talk. That builds brand equity. And it dramatically increases the odds of future interest.

The best candidates want to be evaluated by contribution, not charisma.

Efficiency

Hiring cycles are bloated. First screen, second screen, panel interview, culture round, take-home. We do all this to de-risk. Ironically, it adds more noise than signal.

A single collaborative session - scoped, structured, contextual - can give you more insight than four interviews combined. It shows what actually matters: how they think, how they contribute, how they respond to feedback.

It also reduces ghosting. When candidates invest effort in solving real problems, they build commitment. And when they get a taste of your team and culture, they're more likely to move forward.

The future of hiring is leaner, faster, more decisive. Collaboration compresses the funnel without sacrificing quality.

Trust

Hiring is a trust transaction. You’re extending your company’s identity to someone else. That decision shouldn’t be based on performance art.

You don’t trust someone because they told you a good story. You trust them because you’ve built something with them. Even if it’s small.

Shared output creates shared confidence. That’s the foundation of trust. That’s how great teams are built.

Startups especially need this. Every hire is a risk. Collaboration helps you manage that risk with real data - not guesses.

Scalability

This isn’t just for senior roles or specialized talent. AI is making this scalable.

We can now build collaborative AI interviewers that simulate tasks, support candidates, and auto-evaluate performance. Not robotic MCQs. Not awkward chatbots. Actual problem-solving environments with contextual feedback.

Every role - from GTM to engineering - can have real-world simulations that map to what they’ll do on the job. These simulations aren’t static. They adapt. They evolve.

That means companies can evaluate thousands of candidates - fairly, quickly, and contextually - without burning out hiring teams.

Collaboration becomes infrastructure. Not a luxury.

Verification

There’s a deeper layer to all of this.

As collaboration becomes the norm, we start to generate verified records of demonstrated skill. Not degrees. Not endorsements. Real history of contribution.

Think of it like GitHub, but for all skills. A shared record of who built what, how they solved problems, and how they worked with others.

This is where hiring gets interesting. You no longer start from scratch. You search the graph of verified collaboration. You see proof.

The resume dies. The portfolio lives.

This is how talent markets evolve. Not around job titles - around demonstrated value.

Networks

Here’s the longer arc: collaboration-first hiring creates better networks.

People who’ve worked together once are more likely to do it again. Even if they don’t join. Even if they’re rejected. These micro-collaborations seed future teams, referrals, partnerships.

You’re building a network of co-creators, not just applicants.

That’s powerful. It shifts hiring from transaction to ecosystem.

And in a world where talent moves fast, ecosystems win.

Momentum

The best founders I know already think this way. They don’t waste time with five rounds of conversation. They say, "Let’s build something together." If it clicks, great. If not, move on.

They use collaboration as a filter. It saves time. It sharpens signal. It finds high-agency talent fast.

This is especially true for AI GTM, AI developers, operators. People who can move fast, think clearly, and solve problems in messy environments. You don’t find these people through back-and-forth emails. You find them by watching them work.

And they prefer it that way.

Direction

This is not a trend. It’s a redefinition.

The future of hiring is:

• Collaborative, not performative
• Verified, not speculative
• Demonstrated, not declared
• Continuous, not episodic

And it starts with a simple mindset shift:

Don’t start by asking someone what they’ve done. Invite them to do something with you. Even for 20 minutes. That single act gives you more clarity than any resume or reference ever will.

The best people don’t want to impress you. They want to build with you. Give them that chance.