Waze co-founder Uri Levine explains the 30-day test for new employees
New hires can’t catch a break: Waze co-founder Uri Levine has revealed that after countless rounds of testing interview And checkUnder his leadership, they must spend their first 30 days proving they’re right for the job—or they’ll be fired.
Traffic and navigation app mastermind and serial entrepreneur spoke Lenny’s podcast that he started his recruiting operation after noting that “about half” of the failed startups he said blamed their demise on not having the right team.
The “scary” part, the Israeli boss added, is that they all know which workers are unsuitable within weeks of them starting work.
“If in the first month you know that the group is not right and you do nothing, the problem is not that the group is not right,” he added. “The problem is that the CEO didn’t make the tough decisions.”
Levine has founded 10 companies (including two unicorns and Waze, which he sold to Google because 1.1 billion USD in 2013), serves on a board of 20 and has advised more than 50 startups.
Finally, he warns that underperforming employees can erode company culture, fire top performers, and make succeeding at a startup a “mission.” impossible”.
That’s why he advises: “Every time you hire someone new, what I really want you to do is mark your calendar for the next 30 days and ask yourself one question: Know what I know today, would I hire this person?”
If the answer is yes, he recommends reaching out to employees immediately, giving them more equity in the company to buy their “lifelong loyalty.”
But if the answer is no, he advises: “Fire them immediately” – for the benefit of both them and the business.
“They are already on a trajectory of failure, and they are creating damage for you, for the rest of the team, and for themselves,” says Levine.
“They deserve to find another place where they can succeed.”
But it’s a two-way street
The 30-day review process doesn’t have to be limited to new hires. Levine says he uses it for all his activities—work or personal.
“Everything in life, ask yourself, knowing what you know today, would you do anything differently? If the answer is yes, then do something different today,” the 59-year-old serial entrepreneur added. “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
That’s why the 30-day review applies as much to employers as it does to new hires.
At least, that’s the advice Levine gave his five children, who are in their 20s and 30s, when they struggled in their careers.
“Basically, I tell them, if you’re going to work in a place and you don’t like it, what I want you to do is ask yourself why you don’t like it and is there anything you can do about it? do or not. change,” he said.
“I will ask you the same question in 90 days and if this still happens then give up.”
Why 90 days? Because some decisions take a little longer. For example, you might wait for your manager to approve changes if you express dissatisfaction with a certain aspect of your role or team.
Whether it’s 30 days or 90 days, putting that date in your diary is what’s important: “If you don’t set a timeline, it’ll never happen,” Levine concludes.
Luck has reached out to Google and Levine for comment.
