Alley vs. Valley: How to Hire Tech Talent in NYC vs. SF
By Jodi Jefferson of Riviera Partners, NYC
The Silicon Valley may be the reigning king in the tech industry, but New York is definitely giving the Bay Area a run for its money, with New York City investment levels at an all-time high. In fact, it’s one of the top markets for tech funding in the country, as new startups continue to crop up left and right. While the coasts have a lot in common in terms of forward-thinking innovation and a need to be successful, finding and hiring the right people in these two different markets must be approached very differently.
San Francisco has a Much Larger Talent Pool
As noted above, Silicon Valley has been in the tech game the longest, and it has more technology companies than anywhere else in the world. Similar to how you might expect to find a lot more bankers in the Tri-State Area, there are a lot more engineers the Bay Area. This means that if you’re hiring, you have a relatively large and diverse pool of people to potentially choose from in San Francisco, and a lower concentration of technical talent in New York.
What this means for hiring: As a recruiter or hiring manager in New York, you’ll often be reaching out to the same people for similar roles so you may want to cast a wider net in terms of requirements for the role — for example, if you are looking for a data scientist consider those in a business analyst field, as they are typically well-trained in data analysis. By having this analyst report into a more seasoned Data Scientist, startups can help play their part in developing and fostering more talent in NYC. In San Francisco, you’ll have access to more people, but will also be competing with more companies, so it may benefit you to be more specific in exactly what skills you’re looking for. In either case, if you’ve got your eyes on a seasoned engineering leader, be aware that those people are wanted by dozens of other companies, and are probably getting emails to that effect multiple times per day. It’s critical that any communication be on point and laser focused on the benefits of working for your company. Customize your outreach, and get to the point quickly.
New York is More Cash-Focused
People on both coasts expect and receive comparable overall compensation packages, but while workers in San Francisco tend to want more equity, those in New York tend to lean toward a larger overall cash package.
What this means for hiring: This one’s pretty straightforward — if you’re hiring in New York, know your candidates sweet spot, or present two offers; one richer in cash comp, vs one richer in equity. You can’t risk losing a candidate by presenting an offer that makes them feel slighted. Offer a generous annual bonus structure, and perhaps a signing bonus as well, in addition to equity. In the Bay Area, you may be able to secure a top candidate with a lower salary offer if you include a generous equity stake.
San Francisco is Much Bigger
Geographically speaking, anyway. Obviously, New York is a far bigger city than the city of San Francisco, which is only 49 square miles with a population of roughly 800,000. But when you consider the greater Silicon Valley, it’s much more spread out — and the public transportation network (read: trains) isn’t as extensive throughout the greater area.
What this means for hiring: In the Bay Area, people are less likely to work on the Peninsula if they live in the City — and vice versa. Unless you have a shuttle with WiFi, and even that will depend a bit on the convenience factor (timetables and pick-up locations). Conversely, the idea of commuting into New York City from suburbs as far as Long Island, or the Tri-State area, such as Connecticut or New Jersey, is pretty ingrained into the culture, so you’re not as limited to looking for talent that lives in the immediate NYC 5 Borough area. On either coast, it may be beneficial to offer a day or two to work from home as incentive for people who don’t live near the office.
New York is not a Predominant Tech City
Tech isn’t the end-all, be-all in New York; and that’s ok. When you walk into an event, you’ll likely meet folks that work in tech, finance, actresses, publishers, artists and many others. Conversely, it’s unlikely to visit any function, event or restaurant in the Bay Area without hearing some snippet of conversation about technology (perhaps a derisive one, these days).
What this means for hiring: New York has firmly established itself as a startup hub, therefore odds are your friends in finance have friends in tech. Just because you’re not at a “tech” event doesn’t mean you can’t meet your next engineer or co-founder by mingling in New York’s eclectic professional ecosystem. In defining your requirements, you’ll want to get creative and be flexible; focus more on potential than experience. In San Francisco, you can be a little more particular on narrowing down for specific languages or startup tech experience.
Regardless of your company’s zip code, understanding your region and the markets your recruiting while expedite securing the person you want.
