Startup Hiring Trends: What to Expect for 2026
Dover
May 9, 2025
•
5 min
After two quiet years, venture investments jumped in 2024 and continued rising through Q1 2025. The uptick stems from:
AI hype is real: Breakthroughs in large language models created a wave of new infrastructure startups and reopened late-stage checks.
Dry-powder pressure: Funds raised in 2021–22 are still expected to deploy, so investors need to place bets.
Disciplined spending: Boards want headcount tied to clear milestones, so every role added must push revenue or defensibility.
Early-stage teams will likely feel the pressure in two areas:
Specialist roles: Machine learning, security, and revenue operations talent see multiple offers again.
Budget guardrails: Even with multiple funding offers, investors favor startups with a slow burn. Founders who keep monthly cash outflow under control keep the upper hand in board conversations.
“Today’s most coveted hire is the engineer who speaks product fluently. Founders who give that person fractional recruiting support win the race.”
Sara Holt, Partner at Firefly Ventures
Recruiting volume will not return to 2021’s spike, but the quality bar rises, while investors expect startups to have lean burn rates. In this case, teams that replace ad-hoc sourcing with data-driven funnels get ahead faster in building their dream teams.
A fractional recruiter is a seasoned pro you hire by the hour or by the sprint. What began as a workaround for CFOs has turned into a talent-acquisition norm. Three factors explain the shift:
Variable demand: Most seed and Series A startups hire in bursts, then stop. Paying a full-time recruiter during downtime is not reasonable.
Network depth: Fractional recruiters often spent years at top startups or agencies and arrive with a huge network and systems in place.
Cost transparency: Hourly billing opens room for transparency. A four-week sprint at $150/hour (about $24k) can fill three mid-level roles, far below the average 25% charged by agencies as fees on each $160k salary.
When the Fractional Model Shines
Here are a few scenarios where the fractional model works best for founders.
First GTM Build-Out
Scenario: You need to hire an AE, SDR, and RevOps team in under 90 days.
Rationale: A fractional recruiter brings proven playbooks from past launches and can hit the ground running.
Why it fits: You get speed and strategy without the cost of building an internal team from scratch.
One Critical Executive Hire
Scenario: You’re hiring a VP or Head of Sales, and traditional agencies quote 25–30% of first-year compensation.
Rationale: A fractional partner who works closely with the founder can often source and close top talent at half the fee.
Why it fits: You get senior-level recruiting with more flexibility and cost control.
Post-Funding Hiring Sprint
Scenario: After raising a round, you need to make 12+ hires in 6 months, then growth slows.
Rationale: A fractional recruiter can scale up during the sprint and scale back later without long-term overhead.
Why it fits: It’s flexible recruiting that matches your funding and headcount pattern.
A note on tools: Dover’s marketplace matches startups with vetted fractional recruiters who plug into the free ATS in minutes. This workflow allows founders to get instant metrics without paying extra for software.
Generative AI hit recruiting hard in 2024. By mid-2025, nearly every ATS claimed some form of smart ranking or writing support. But real gains come from three use cases:
Resume scoring. Large language models read entire work histories, surface red-flag gaps, and rank matches in seconds. Dover’s AI resume scoring module, for instance, tags core skills and filters by must-have criteria automatically.
Outbound sequencing. A LinkedIn sourcing extension can scrape contact data, craft a short email, and schedule follow-ups…no separate CRM needed.
Predictive analytics. Time-to-fill dashboards update daily, and offer-acceptance predictions guide founders on when to offer equity or adjust start dates.
The upshot: one fractional recruiter plus smart software can outproduce agency teams from 2018, without bloated retainers.
Roles and Skills Set to Surge
A few roles and skills you need to keep an eye on:
Role | Why Demand Spikes | Typical 2025 Total Comp (US) |
|---|---|---|
AI/ML Engineer | Product roadmaps now include embedded LLMs and custom models. | $240k–$280k |
Platform Engineer | Low-latency infrastructure is needed for AI workloads and global usage. | $180k–$210k |
Security Engineer | New privacy laws and more data pipelines raise risk. | $175k–$200k |
Full-Stack Engineer | Rapid MVP iterations across web and mobile. | $150k–$180k |
RevOps Lead | Founders want every pipeline step quantified for boards. | $145k–$165k |
Fractional Recruiter | Flexible talent engine for bursts of hiring. | $150–$250/hr |
Source: Levels.fyi, Built In, salary surveys of 150 VC-backed startups.
Not obvious but worth remembering: AI product managers who can talk GPU cost and brand voice will be scarce. If that role matters to your roadmap, start nurturing candidates a full quarter before you open a requisition.
Compensation and Flexibility in the New Normal
Salaries dropped in 2023–24, but top talent in key roles still earns a premium. Equity is less predictable; some founders now offer 1-year cliffs and push refresh grants to year two, so teams stay motivated even if exits take longer.
What you can expect candidates to ask for now:
Hybrid autonomy: Two or three office days if travel stipends cover commuters outside core metros.
Upskilling budgets: Online AI courses and conference passes rank high on wish lists.
Transparent pay range: Posting the range early builds trust and speeds close rates. This saves back-and-forth on both ends.
Fractional hires suit your startup best here. They weigh hourly rate, project impact, and freedom to choose clients over the above benefits. If your company conveys a high-impact narrative and mission clearly, you will sign them faster
Action Checklist for Seed-to-Series B Teams
Hiring for startups can get confusing without an action plan. So this checklist helps Seed to Series B teams stay focused, efficient, and aligned as they scale:
Map your headcount plan in 90-day blocks so you buy the right number of recruiter hours.
Draft job descriptions with salary and equity ranges up front.
Set up AI scoring before the first inbound wave. Better data leads to a smoother hiring funnel.
Publish a public candidate journey so applicants know what to expect.
Hold a 30-minute weekly sync with your fractional recruiter and hiring managers.
Track three funnel metrics: applicants per hire, onsite pass-through, and offer acceptance.
Run a quarterly DEIB audit. Structured interviews and rubric scoring fight unconscious bias.
FAQ
Final Thoughts: Scale Your Hiring For 2026
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