Adam Ward, Head of Talent at Cursor and 20-year veteran recruiter, argues that the standard recruiting funnel produces mediocre hires by design. He calls it the 'funnel of doom': post a job, collect applicants, filter down, settle. Cursor, one of the fastest-growing developer tools on record, does not operate that way.
Ward's alternative is a 3-step playbook: scoping the exact person you need, mapping where they actually exist, and pursuing them directly regardless of whether they applied. The conversation also covers the rise of the forward deployed engineer, the single worst question to ask when sourcing candidates, and why most founders mistime their first recruiter hire in ways that cost them years.
The full episode is worth reading for the mechanics, not just the framework. Ward names specific failure modes, gives concrete sourcing tactics, and explains what a 'tale of two cities' talent market means for companies hiring in AI right now. Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
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