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Why the best engineers never apply- and how to hire them anyway

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Last updated: July 7, 2025

If you want to hire top talent, stop looking at resumes.

Truly outstanding people never look for a job- they’re already excelling somewhere. And the moment they think of switching, they already have six offers on their hands.

In this article, we’ll be sharing some tips that helped us assemble our dream team at Upstream.

✨Hey! Louis speaking here. I’m the CEO and co-founder of Upstream. This blog post is part of our Startup & Company Building stories, in which we share learnings from our founding journey with Upstream (YC S23). ✨

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In summary

The best talent doesn’t apply - they get recruited. If you're looking through a pile of resumes, you're probably not hiring the top 1%.

💡 Why great engineers don’t apply

They're already in-demand. The minute they even consider a change, their network floods them with offers.
They don’t need a resume. Their work speaks for itself. GitHub commits, product launches, peer recommendations.
They aren’t on job boards. Because they’re not looking - and when they are, it’s often invisible to the market.

So how do you hire them? There are two options.

🕝 1. Present a better opportunity at the right moment.

But here’s the catch: you’ll rarely know when that moment is coming.

🔝 2. Be top of mind before they start looking.

And that means building the relationship now. Before you need them. Before they’re even considering a switch.

🧗 The price of building a truly world class team

The only way to be there is to start the relationship now. Reach out, today. Build a connection - not as a faceless recruiter, but as a peer who’s just as eager to learn from them
Keep showing up. Keep the conversation going. 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years… However much time it takes
It’s hard. It’s slow. It’s frustrating when your company is growing fast. But if you do it with enough people, it will pay off

That’s the price of building a truly world-class team. No shortcuts.

Here’s how we’ve approached it at Upstream:

Reach out before you're hiring.
Build a genuine connection - founder to builder.
Keep the relationship warm over months (or years).
Show them your culture through your process.

It’s slow. It’s painful when you need to scale fast. But the payoff is huge: a team of true A-players who raise the bar.

Original Insight: resume piles are signal noise

💡 If you're staring at a pile of resumes, you can be confident the best people aren't in there.

The top engineers we’ve hired had:

No recent resume
No active job search
Often came via referral or long-standing connection

That’s not luck. That’s the compounding power of long-term recruiting.

In summary

The best talent doesn’t apply - they get recruited. If you're looking through a pile of resumes, you're probably not hiring the top 1%.

💡 Why great engineers don’t apply

They're already in-demand. The minute they even consider a change, their network floods them with offers.
They don’t need a resume. Their work speaks for itself. GitHub commits, product launches, peer recommendations.
They aren’t on job boards. Because they’re not looking - and when they are, it’s often invisible to the market.

So how do you hire them? There are two options.

🕝 1. Present a better opportunity at the right moment.

But here’s the catch: you’ll rarely know when that moment is coming.

🔝 2. Be top of mind before they start looking.

And that means building the relationship now. Before you need them. Before they’re even considering a switch.

🧗 The price of building a truly world class team

That’s the price of building a truly world-class team. No shortcuts.

Here’s how we’ve approached it at Upstream:

Reach out before you're hiring.
Build a genuine connection - founder to builder.
Keep the relationship warm over months (or years).
Show them your culture through your process.

It’s slow. It’s painful when you need to scale fast. But the payoff is huge: a team of true A-players who raise the bar.

Original Insight: resume piles are signal noise

💡 If you're staring at a pile of resumes, you can be confident the best people aren't in there.

The top engineers we’ve hired had:

No recent resume
No active job search
Often came via referral or long-standing connection

That’s not luck. That’s the compounding power of long-term recruiting.

In summary

The best talent doesn’t apply - they get recruited. If you're looking through a pile of resumes, you're probably not hiring the top 1%.

💡 Why great engineers don’t apply

They're already in-demand. The minute they even consider a change, their network floods them with offers.
They don’t need a resume. Their work speaks for itself. GitHub commits, product launches, peer recommendations.
They aren’t on job boards. Because they’re not looking - and when they are, it’s often invisible to the market.

So how do you hire them? There are two options.

🕝 1. Present a better opportunity at the right moment.

But here’s the catch: you’ll rarely know when that moment is coming.

🔝 2. Be top of mind before they start looking.

And that means building the relationship now. Before you need them. Before they’re even considering a switch.

🧗 The price of building a truly world class team

That’s the price of building a truly world-class team. No shortcuts.

Here’s how we’ve approached it at Upstream:

Reach out before you're hiring.
Build a genuine connection - founder to builder.
Keep the relationship warm over months (or years).
Show them your culture through your process.

It’s slow. It’s painful when you need to scale fast. But the payoff is huge: a team of true A-players who raise the bar.

Original Insight: resume piles are signal noise

💡 If you're staring at a pile of resumes, you can be confident the best people aren't in there.

The top engineers we’ve hired had:

No recent resume
No active job search
Often came via referral or long-standing connection

That’s not luck. That’s the compounding power of long-term recruiting.

📢 Want to support us?

👉 Sign up for our waitlist and be the first to try Upstream.

🧠 FAQ

Q: Isn’t this slower than traditional hiring?
Yes. But also more effective. You trade speed for quality.

Q: What if I don’t have time to build these relationships?
That’s like saying you don’t have time to build a great product. Hiring is the product.

Q: Should I stop using resumes altogether?
Not necessarily. But don’t expect the top 1% to be in that stack.

Q: How can I start?
Identify 10 dream hires. Reach out this week. Ask to learn from them - not pitch a job.