Hiring at Edzy has gradually evolved into a process that prioritizes observation over projection. For college students and recent graduates, resumes and interviews only go so far. They often reflect preparation rather than real working style. Over time, it became clear that short conversations and credentials were insufficient to judge how someone thinks, collaborates, and responds to ambiguity. From an SEO standpoint this relates to startup hiring practices, early career hiring, and fresher recruitment, but internally it has been about finding a method that aligns better with how we actually work.
The shadow day format has emerged as the most reliable approach so far. We invite candidates to spend a day in the office, usually structured as a small hackathon or what we sometimes call an HR sparkathon, depending on the role. The environment is intentionally informal. There is no attempt to simulate pressure beyond what naturally comes from problem-solving. The goal is exposure. Candidates see how the office functions, how conversations flow, and how decisions are discussed. At the same time, we get to see how they show up when the setting is real rather than hypothetical.
The core of the day is built around three problems, each roughly two hours long, tailored to the candidate’s field. These are not trick questions or artificial puzzles. They resemble the kind of thinking the role would actually demand. The time constraint matters, but completion is not the primary metric. What matters more is approach. How they break down the problem, how they ask questions, and how they respond when stuck. This reveals far more than polished answers ever could. It also reduces the imbalance between interviewer and candidate by centering the interaction around work rather than performance.
Equally important is the space between the tasks. The chit chat, informal discussions, and unstructured interaction often provide clearer signals than the exercises themselves. Culture fit is not about agreement or personality similarity. It is about comfort with the pace, communication style, and level of ownership expected. Some candidates solve problems well but disengage socially. Others communicate clearly but struggle with execution. Seeing both sides in the same day helps avoid false positives and false negatives.
Writing this down is a way of clarifying why this process feels right for us. It is slower than conventional hiring, and it does not scale easily, but it aligns incentives on both sides. Candidates get a realistic preview of what working here feels like. We get a grounded sense of skill and fit. For early-stage teams, this kind of alignment matters more than speed. Hiring mistakes are expensive, not just in time but in momentum. The shadow day reduces that risk by replacing assumptions with shared experience.