Employer brand: 2.3x more applicants in 2 months

Situation

An 80-person fintech urgently needed to hire 8 engineers and 4 business analysts. Hiring ran 2–3 months per candidate, and the company kept losing its strongest people to better-known employers. Top candidates walked away with a familiar line: "I don't know your company — I'll take the name-brand employer."

Diagnosis and approach

The root cause was a missing reputation in the talent market among technical specialists. The hiring process was stalling too: redundant stages and as many as 6 interviews with different people wore down even the most motivated candidates.

Solution

Employer brand and value proposition

We articulated what made the company a compelling place to work: a seat at the leading edge of Russian fintech, decisions made without bureaucracy, real growth (from zero to 80 people in 3 years), and competitive pay with equity.

We launched a campaign: articles on Habr, video interviews with engineers, posts on LinkedIn. All of it cost ₽50K and two weeks of work — and the engineering community finally took notice.

Streamlining the hiring process

We cut the funnel from 5 stages to 2: a conversation with HR and a technical interview. We kept the final meeting with the founder — candidates valued it. And we set a hard rule: a decision on every candidate within 48 hours of the last interview.

Sharper role descriptions

We rewrote every job posting from scratch: in place of dull, formal language, we used clear, human copy. We added honest detail on pay, equity, and company culture.

Outcome

Within 2 months, applicant volume rose 2.3x. Average time from first interview to offer fell from 67 days to 28. We filled 6 of 8 engineering roles and 3 of 4 business analyst positions. And cost-per-hire dropped 35% — thanks to a shorter funnel and less time spent on each candidate.