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How to Make a Deck
How to Make a Deck
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Track 07Full course

The recruiting deck

The pitch used in a live interview loop to convince a senior candidate the risk of joining is worth taking.

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Step-by-step curriculum with modules, quizzes, teardowns, and a scored audit.

Reader
A VP eng, first head of sales, or staff-level engineer candidate weighing your offer against a bigger-name company or staying put.
Context
Shown or walked through in a late-stage interview or closing conversation, after the candidate already understands the product.
Read budget
10 to 15 min, walked through live with a founder, not read alone
Length
8 to 12 slides
Success
Candidate says yes, or names the specific concern left standing so the founder can address it directly.

The jobs, in order

The slide-by-slide argument structure. Skip a job and the reader feels the hole.

  1. 01State the role's mandate and what changes in the business if it's done well
  2. 02Show why now is the moment: stage, inflection point, or gap that makes this role high-impact
  3. 03Show traction proof that de-risks the 'is this real' question
  4. 04Show the team already in place: who they'd work with, their backgrounds
  5. 05Give a clear picture of authority and scope: budget, headcount, decision rights
  6. 06Address the top three reasons a candidate at this level says no
  7. 07Show comp and equity in concrete numbers, not ranges with caveats
  8. 08Show what the next 12 months of the role look like, concretely
  9. 09Give a reference list or way to backchannel the founders
  10. 10Close with a specific, time-bound ask
Keep · earns the next meeting
  • Concrete scope and decision rights for the role, stated in one slide
  • Named team members and their prior companies
  • Traction numbers that de-risk 'will this company survive'
  • Specific comp, equity percentage, and vesting terms
  • Direct address of the top objections for this seniority level
  • A backchannel or reference offer, not just 'trust us'
Cut · triggers a pass
  • Generic mission and values slides with no operational specificity
  • Full investor-style market sizing
  • Perks and benefits lists as a substitute for scope and equity clarity
  • Vague 'wear many hats' language instead of a stated mandate
  • Long product demos better suited to an earlier interview stage
  • Competitive landscape slides aimed at investors
Starter · first slide template

Adapt this sentence to get past the blank page. Replace every bracket with a concrete noun, number, or role.

The [role] mandate: [what changes in the business in 12 months]. Scope: [budget, headcount, decision rights]. Comp: [base + equity %].
Weak vs. strong · the opening line
Weak

"We're looking for a rockstar VP Engineering to join our mission-driven team and help us scale."

Strong

"VP Eng mandate: take Nimbus from $196K to $2M ARR without doubling infra cost. 6 reports, $1.2M budget, ships the platform roadmap. $220K + 0.9%, 4yr."

States the business outcome the role owns, the operating scope, and the comp without ranges or caveats. Senior candidate can decide in one read.

Where attention concentrates

Scope, team, and comp specificity dominate; mission framing matters only after those are credible.

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Sources

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