Cocoguru has now grown into a 25-member organization, with immediate plans to expand to 35. When we began operations a year ago, our hiring approach was simply to select anyone willing to work with us, without much regard for their skills or attitude. Fortunately, we were able to find a few good people, and some of them were groomed to be disciplined and develop a sense of ownership in their roles. Now that we’ve laid a solid foundation, we plan to hire more selectively. In this post, I share my experiences—and frustrations—with the hiring process and what we expect from candidates. Attracting quality talent to a rural startup is no small challenge.

Preparation

Our job advertisements clearly mention the company name, address, work location, vacancy, qualification requirements, contact details, and sometimes even the salary range. Yet, many candidates apply without reading the details and later back out due to reasons already disclosed in the ad. Good candidates, on the other hand, visit our website, learn about our products, perform background checks (sometimes by speaking to existing employees), and genuinely visualize themselves working here for the long term.

The Classic Opening Question

The job market has shifted decisively in favor of employees, who now often dictate the conversation. Here’s how many calls start:

Candidate – “Is this Cocoguru?” (Often, they mispronounce the name.)
Me – “Yes, sir.”
Candidate – “You’ve advertised for a vacancy, right?”
Me – “Yes, that’s right.”
Candidate – In a disinterested or rude tone: “What’s the salary?”
Me – Disappointed at the direction of the conversation: “How much do you expect?”

What follows is usually a meaningless exchange with both sides trying to protect their ego, ending in frustration. The conversation ends before it even begins.

I believe money is not everything. It is merely a currency of value. A business should earn profits as a reflection of the value it creates for customers. Likewise, employees should be paid well when they do valuable work. The focus should be on creating value—money will follow.

A better conversation might go like this:

Candidate – “Hello, my name is Vaibhav. I saw your ad in today’s Suddi Bidugade and I’m interested in applying for the Sales Executive position.”
Me – “Okay, good. Tell me more about yourself.”
Candidate – “I’m from Sentyar, a B.Com graduate with six years of experience in line sales, the last four with Dash Marketing Agency selling ITC cigarettes in and around Puttur, Sullia, and Subramanya.”
Me – “Why do you want to leave your current job, especially when selling cigarettes for a brand like ITC is relatively easy?”
Candidate – “I enjoy the job as it allows me to meet new people and build relationships with retailers. I’m simply looking for better prospects.”

It would be a mistake to say something like “Cigarettes are injurious to health, but coconut oil is healthy,” because it implies you're switching for our benefit rather than your own. That kind of answer only reveals dishonesty.

Me – “How do you plan to increase our sales?”
Candidate – “Sir, can you tell me about your current distribution setup and the areas you cover?”

This shows not only self-awareness but also genuine interest in the role and the company.

Brain Drain

Dakshina Kannada is known for its bright minds and excellent educational institutions, consistently producing top ranks in SSLC, PUC, and CET exams. However, many of these talented individuals migrate to cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune—or even abroad to the Gulf and the US. They are happy working for others but rarely take the risk to build a dream company in their hometown or support someone trying to do so (like Cocoguru). It makes sense if suitable opportunities aren’t available locally, but when they are and are still overlooked, that’s unfortunate. Most decisions are made based only on salary comparisons, ignoring non-monetary benefits like living with family, low commute time, cleaner environments, and lower cost of living.

Influence

Political or personal influence may help get a job in the government sector where performance is often not tracked. But in a startup, some candidates try to use influence despite lacking merit. The influencers won’t take responsibility for the candidate’s performance, yet they threaten negative consequences if the candidate isn’t selected.

Fixed Salary, Routine Job

Since we see the candidate only briefly during interviews, it’s difficult to assess their long-term value. That’s why we place new hires on probation with a modest salary and a clear intention to revise it once they prove themselves. Even after becoming permanent, employees go through periodic performance appraisals. Unfortunately, many candidates think short-term. They assume their probation salary is final and compare it with others’ permanent packages. They also limit themselves to their current skill set and have no plans to upskill. They seek a routine job with clearly defined SOPs and panic when asked to step outside that comfort zone.

Office Work vs. Field Work

We receive far more enquiries for office-based roles like accounting than for field roles like sales. Yet, hard work—especially sales—usually pays more. A salesperson exceeding targets can earn commissions, while an accountant may receive a bonus at best. When we opened our factory last year, about 50 local women applied for indoor packing jobs at ₹80/day but were unwilling to work on nearby farms offering ₹250/day. It’s not just the nature of the work—it’s also about social prestige. Factory work is perceived as more respectable than agricultural or domestic work.