How much do people and talent jobs pay?

Typically USD 110k to 180k a year, with a median of USD 150k, where the posting states a salary.

Which startups are hiring people and talent roles?

Talentful.ai (40 roles), TakeTwo (13) and Joko (9) have the most; 540 startups are hiring in total.

Do I need to be senior?

Most roles are senior (50% of those that state a level), and 13% are junior or intern.

People & Talent Jobs at Startups: Roles and Salaries

Working in people & talent at a startup

In an early-stage startup, People & Talent professionals build the team and the systems that support it. You might spend your days sourcing candidates for hard-to-fill technical roles, then switch to designing an onboarding program or coaching a manager on difficult feedback. The work is hands-on and broad, often covering recruiting, people ops, culture, and workplace logistics before specialized teams exist.

What people and talent work involves at an early-stage startup

You recruit, then you build the hiring process you just used. The same week can include sourcing engineers, writing an onboarding plan and coaching a first-time manager. Large companies split those into separate teams that rarely speak.

Day to day

Source, screen, and manage candidates through the full recruitment lifecycle
Build and maintain talent pipelines for current and future hiring needs
Coordinate interviews and communicate with candidates and hiring managers
Develop and implement onboarding, training, and employee engagement programs
Act as a trusted point of contact for employee relations and HR questions
Create and update people policies, compensation benchmarks, and performance review processes

Skills and tools

Full-cycle recruiting and sourcing (LinkedIn, Boolean search, referrals)
Familiarity with applicant tracking systems like Greenhouse, Lever, or Ashby
Written and verbal communication across all levels of an organization
Empathy and conflict resolution for sensitive employee matters
Organizational skills to manage multiple open roles and competing priorities
Basic HR compliance knowledge (employment law, offer letters, equity basics)

How to get into people & talent at a startup

Background

People & Talent roles often require a bachelor's degree in HR, business, psychology, or a related field, but many practitioners come from liberal arts, communications, or even nontraditional backgrounds - direct startup experience and people skills often matter just as much as formal education.

Career path

This role typically progresses into senior people leadership positions such as Head of People, VP of People, or Chief People Officer, and can also branch into broader startup operations or founder roles.