I believe this logic is flawed, and that if you care about your company’s longevity, writing off a generation of new workers is a strategic error. At Tinder, we are taking the contrarian bet: We are going all-in on early-career talent.
Here is why every forward-thinking company should do the same.
AI Nativity Versus Experience
Today, AI is enabling companies to build new products faster and better serve their customers. It’s clearly a game-changer. And Gen Z is the only generation that has a native relationship with this technology. That’s why every company should want them on their team to reshape everything it makes and does.
These days, when I hire early-career developer talent, I’m looking for “slope”— the rate at which they learn and get better. In a world changing this rapidly, a young engineer might have a far steeper learning curve — but thanks to her native fluency in AI tools, she will surpass today’s expert.
Today’s hiring manager should prioritize foundational knowledge, work ethic, and adaptability over the pedigree of a degree or years of experience even from top companies.
The Multiplier Effect
Today, a lot of companies talk about efficiency. But what we see now is nothing compared to the efficiency AI will create.
AI agents have become powerful enough to make individual engineers 10 times as productive as they were a decade ago. But rather than using this multiplier to freeze hiring or optimize costs, companies should use it to expand ambition.
That means hiring thoughtfully because AI allows engineers to punch above their weight class immediately. This “multiplier effect” enables companies to create their most ambitious roadmaps ever.
It’s a mindset shift: Companies that hire pilots for these powerful tools and deliver exponentially more value to their users will outcompete companies that freeze hiring and focus on reducing costs.
The Moneyball Approach
It’s also important to think about efficiency in hiring dynamics. The market for senior talent is efficient. By the time a senior engineer has proven themselves, the market knows their value. They command a premium, and they are difficult to pry away from the technology giants with the deepest pockets, like Meta or Google.
The market for early-career talent, however, is notoriously inefficient. Most companies are terrible at evaluating potential that hasn’t been proven yet. This creates an arbitrage opportunity to get undervalued talent, like the Moneyball approach made famous by the Oakland Athletics baseball team.
By building better systems to spot high-potential candidates, you can bring incredible people into the fold before the rest of the market realizes their value. For a strategic hiring manager, that means looking at their projects, their curiosity, and their drive rather than just their resumes.
Proximity to the Customer
Finally, you cannot build the future if you don’t understand the people living in it.
Gen Z is setting trends, shaping culture, and shopping differently than any previous generation. To engage them, companies cannot rely on their old playbooks. This is existential for Tinder. Gen Z views dating, relationships, and identity through a lens that is distinct from Millennials or Gen X.
It’s important for all tech companies to not just hire Gen Z talent; they should also empower them. This means creating a new generation of leaders and ensuring the customer’s voice is represented in every API call and feature spec. Our product roadmap isn’t just built for Gen Z, but inspired by Gen Z.
Give Young Talent a Chance
With the right investment in coaching, early-career talent eventually transforms into the future leadership of your company.
Early-career hires are formative; they soak up your culture and your way of operating. I see this firsthand on my own team. Every single member of my engineering leadership team has been at the company for over five years. They grew through our ranks. They possess deep expertise in our tech stack, but more importantly, they carry the DNA of our culture.
Hiring early-career talent is not a gamble, and it’s not charity. It is an investment in growth.
