About the Recruiter Role at Profound

Profound is the marketing platform for the AI era, helping brands see and act on how AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini represent them. Backed by Lightspeed, Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and Khosla Ventures at a $1B valuation, the company runs a lean, fast-moving team across NYC, SF, Buenos Aires, and London. This Recruiter role sits on the Recruiting team within General & Administrative and is explicitly a generalist "flexible engine" role: where GTM and Technical recruiters go deep, you go wide, owning full-cycle hiring across engineering, sales, marketing, operations, finance, and net-new roles that don't fit neatly into any box.

Profound is looking for a versatile, high-agency recruiter who thrives on variety and ambiguity. You'll flex between requisitions, reprioritize on a dime, stand up sourcing playbooks for first-of-their-kind searches, and partner directly with founders and hiring managers on scorecards, loops, and tight SLAs, all while keeping the funnel instrumented through ATS hygiene and conversion data. A track record at fast-growing startups and familiarity with the NYC ecosystem are strong pluses.

Quick Stats

* Typical process: 4 to 5 rounds, roughly 2 to 4 weeks

* Format: Recruiter screen by phone or video, then onsite in the NYC or SF office (this is an on-site role)

* Core focus: Full-cycle recruiting across functions, sourcing from scratch, comfort with ambiguity, high agency, data and process rigor, candidate experience

* Difficulty: Moderate to hard, because you must prove you can pick up unfamiliar roles fast and build sourcing playbooks where none exist, not just run a single specialty

What Profound Looks For

* Versatile, full-cycle recruiting across multiple functions, energized by variety rather than one specialty

* Comfort with ambiguity: getting smart fast on unfamiliar roles and building a sourcing plan from scratch

* High agency and adaptability, able to reprioritize quickly as the business shifts

* Data- and process-minded execution: time to fill, source yield, ATS hygiene, and unblocking bottlenecks

Round 1: Recruiter or Talent Lead Screen (~30 minutes)

What to Expect

This first call is typically with the head of talent or a recruiting team lead. Expect a quick review of your background, why Profound and why a generalist role, and a high-level walk through your full-cycle experience across different functions. They will want to confirm you are energized by variety rather than looking to specialize, and that you are comfortable with the on-site NYC or SF requirement, the pace, and the compensation band ($160K to $215K plus equity).

Example Questions

* "Walk me through the range of roles you've recruited for, and which functions felt least familiar to you."

* "Why a generalist recruiting role rather than a GTM or technical specialty?"

* "What draws you to Profound and recruiting at an AI-era startup?"

* "How do you typically get up to speed on a role you've never hired for before?"

Tips

* Lead with breadth: name the specific functions you've hired across (eng, sales, marketing, ops, finance) and quantify volume where you can.

* Show you understand Profound's stage and mission so your "why here" feels specific, not generic.

* Use Nora's Standard Mode to rehearse this classic screen mix so your pitch, motivation, and background story land crisply in under 30 minutes.

Round 2: Full-Cycle Recruiting Deep Dive (~45 to 60 minutes)

What to Expect

This round, usually with the recruiting lead or a peer recruiter, drills into how you actually run a search end to end. Expect to walk through building sourcing strategies for unfamiliar roles, partnering with hiring managers on scorecards and interview loops, setting SLAs, and moving candidates from first outreach to signed offer. Because this role absorbs overflow and takes point on net-new searches, they will probe how you build a playbook where none exists.

Example Questions

* "Describe how you'd stand up sourcing for a first-of-its-kind role no one on the team has hired before."

* "How do you partner with a hiring manager to define a scorecard and interview loop from scratch?"

* "Tell me about a hard-to-fill req: how did you identify the bottleneck and unblock it?"

* "How do you keep a high-touch candidate experience when you're moving fast across multiple reqs?"

Tips

* Bring a concrete example of a search where you built the sourcing plan yourself, ideally for an unfamiliar function.

* Speak in specifics about scorecards, loops, and SLAs, since the posting names all three as core partnership deliverables.

* Practice with Nora's Technical Mode to sharpen the craft-heavy answers on sourcing strategy, scorecard design, and funnel mechanics.

Round 3: Behavioral and Ambiguity Round (~45 minutes)

What to Expect

Expect a behavioral round focused on high agency, adaptability, and thriving in ambiguity, likely with a founder or a cross-functional hiring manager. Since this role reprioritizes "on a dime" and plugs into the most important open need each week, they will test how you handle shifting priorities, competing stakeholders, and picking up something completely new without a playbook. STAR-style stories are your friend here.

Example Questions

* "Tell me about a time your top priority changed mid-week and how you re-sequenced your work."

* "Describe a situation where you had to get smart on an unfamiliar domain fast to source effectively."

* "Give an example of pushing back on or realigning with a founder or hiring manager under time pressure."

* "When have you built a network in a space where you had none, and how did you do it?"

Tips

* Prepare three to four crisp STAR stories that each showcase high agency, adaptability, and building from zero.

* Emphasize outcomes: filled roles, time to fill improvements, candidate quality, and how you handled reprioritization.

* Run Nora's Behavioral Mode to tighten your STAR delivery and make sure your ambiguity and high-agency stories stay concise.

Round 4: Data, Process, and Offer Alignment (~30 to 45 minutes)

What to Expect

The final stage typically covers your data and process discipline plus alignment on offer details. Expect questions on how you instrument a funnel, track time to fill and source yield, keep ATS hygiene tight, and iterate quickly on what's working. This is also where the recruiting team will confirm the full compensation package (base, equity, benefits) and finalize logistics for the on-site NYC or SF role.

Example Questions

* "Which recruiting metrics do you track weekly, and how do they change your day-to-day decisions?"

* "How do you keep ATS data clean when you're juggling many active reqs?"

* "Walk me through a time conversion data told you to change your approach mid-search."

* "What are your base and equity expectations, and how do you weigh the two at an early-stage company?"

Tips

* Come with real metrics you own: time to fill, source yield, offer accept rate, and how you use them to unblock funnels.

* Know your number and anchor within or above the $160K to $215K band based on your experience, while showing you value equity at this stage.

* Use Nora's Salary Negotiation Mode to practice the offer back-and-forth so you can discuss base, equity, and benefits without underselling yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) How many rounds are there?

Plan for about 4 to 5 rounds: a recruiter or talent lead screen, a full-cycle recruiting deep dive, a behavioral and ambiguity round (often with a founder or hiring manager), and a final data, process, and offer alignment conversation. Profound does not publish its exact loop, so treat this as the realistic structure for a generalist recruiter at a company of this stage.

2) What topics are most common?

* Full-cycle recruiting across multiple functions and building sourcing playbooks from scratch

* High agency, adaptability, ATS hygiene, and metrics like time to fill and source yield

3) How long does the process take?

Typically 2 to 4 weeks end to end, though a lean, fast-moving team like Profound can compress this considerably when there is urgency and mutual interest.

4) How should I prepare?

* Map your experience to the posting: list the functions you've hired across and pick your strongest net-new or unconventional search story.

* Prepare metrics you own (time to fill, source yield, offer accept rate) and a clear example of unblocking a funnel bottleneck.

* Research Profound's mission and stage so your "why here" and your understanding of hiring at a $1B AI-era startup feel specific.

* Rehearse with Nora: Standard Mode for the screen, Technical Mode for the recruiting craft deep dive, Behavioral Mode for STAR and ambiguity stories, and Salary Negotiation Mode for the offer conversation.