Free hiring tools
Free hiring tools for startups
Three tools for founders hiring product, marketing, compliance and finance roles. They run in your browser. Nothing is submitted, stored or emailed, and there is no login.
Tool 1
Role-brief builder
Answer a few questions and get a clean, one-page role brief you can share with your team or a recruiter.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
One item per line.
Role brief
Role Product manager Seniority Individual contributor Company stage Pre-seed or seed, under 20 people Why this role exists now [Add one sentence] First 90 days - [Add an outcome] Must-have skills - [Add a skill] Nice-to-haves - [Add a nice-to-have] Location Remote Timeline As soon as possible Decision owner [Add name]
Hiring for one of these roles? See product managers, product marketers, growth marketers, product designers, compliance officers, financial controllers or FP&A analysts.
Tool 2
Screening checklist: the Distributed Systems Filter
This is TTR's screening checklist. Every candidate TTR introduces passes the Distributed Systems Filter. Use the same questions on your own shortlist.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
0 of 10 checked
Gaps to probe. Ask for specific examples before you move this candidate forward.
- 0–4 Gaps to probe. Ask for specific examples before you move this candidate forward.
- 5–7 Mixed signal. Run a focused follow-up on the unchecked items.
- 8–10 Strong evidence. Check references and move quickly toward an offer.
A guide to the evidence TTR looks for, not a score or a prediction of performance.
Tool 3
Hiring-path chooser
Answer five questions and get an honest recommendation for how to run this hire. It does not always point to TTR.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
A rule of thumb, not advice tailored to your company.
Compare your options
Agency vs in-house recruiter vs freelance recruiter vs specialist recruiter
There is no single right way to run a hire. This is how the five common options compare in plain terms. Cost models are described, not priced, because fees vary by firm. Where a figure appears, it is a TTR-reported benchmark.
| Option | Best when | Typical cost model | Speed | Risk | Who owns sourcing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-house recruiter | You have steady hiring volume and want lasting knowledge of your team and culture. | A salary and benefits for an employee, plus recruiting tools. No per-hire fee, but a fixed cost whether or not you are hiring. | Slow to start, because you have to hire the recruiter first. Steady across many roles after that. | Fixed cost if hiring slows. A generalist in-house recruiter may not have the network for a specialist role. | Your recruiter, inside your team. |
| Contingency agency | An important, well-defined role in a broad market with no fixed deadline. | A fee paid only if you hire a candidate the agency introduced, usually linked to that hire's salary. Nothing up front. | Often quick to send CVs. Depth varies with how many roles the agency is filling at once. | Less depth in how candidates are qualified. Several agencies can submit the same person. | The agency, often alongside other agencies on the same role. |
| Retained executive search | A senior leadership or board-level mandate with a budget and time for a full process. | A retainer paid in stages, starting up front, whether or not the search ends in a hire. | A structured, multi-stage process. Usually the slowest of these options. | You pay before you see results. Hard to justify for roles below leadership level. | The search firm, on an exclusive mandate. |
| Freelance recruiter or marketplace | Short-term or project work, or extra recruiting capacity for a burst of hires. | Hourly, day-rate or per-project fees for a freelance recruiter. Platform fees on a freelance marketplace. | Fast to get someone started on project work. | Quality and continuity depend on the individual. Marketplaces are not designed for permanent first-of-function hires. | The individual freelancer, or you, through the marketplace's reach. |
| Specialist recruiter like TTR | A critical product, marketing, compliance or finance hire at a recently funded startup, with a deadline and little internal recruiting time. | Terms are confirmed on the intro call and are not published here. TTR offers a 100% refund guarantee on terms you confirm before you engage. | TTR benchmarks: 3–5 days to a first introduction and 14–21 days to offer, against an industry range of 60–90 days. Benchmarks, not promises. | A narrower focus, so it is not built for high-volume hiring across every function. TTR reports 400+ placements and 98% long-term retention. | TTR, as one advisory relationship. Every candidate TTR introduces passes the Distributed Systems Filter. |
TTR's view of how these models generally work, not advice tailored to your company. Ask any firm you consider for its terms in writing. TTR figures are firm-reported benchmarks, not independently verified statistics.
Not sure which fits? Use the hiring-path chooser above, or book an intro call with Emily Landon (opens Calendly in a new tab).
Related searches
Hiring for a specific role?
Product · Venture-backed and early-stage companies
Hire product managers who can own the next product decision
See the search →Marketing · Positioning · Venture-backed companies
Hire product marketers who can make the product clear to its buyers
See the search →Marketing · Growth · Venture-backed companies
Hire growth marketers around the growth problem you actually have
See the search →Product · Design · Venture-backed companies
Hire product designers for the experience your company needs to build
See the search →Compliance · Risk · Venture-backed companies
Hire compliance officers for the obligations your company must own
See the search →Finance · Accounting · Venture-backed companies
Hire financial controllers for dependable finance ownership
See the search →Finance · Planning and analysis · Venture-backed companies
Hire FP&A analysts for the decisions behind your financial plan
See the search →FAQ
Questions about the free hiring tools
Are these hiring tools free?
Yes. All three tools are free, with no login, email or sign-up.
Is anything I type stored or sent to TTR?
No. The tools run entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is submitted, saved or sent anywhere, and refreshing the page clears it.
What does the role-brief builder produce?
A one-page brief with the role, seniority, stage, first-90-day outcomes, must-have skills, nice-to-haves, location and timeline. You can copy it or print it. It does not suggest salaries.
What is the Distributed Systems Filter?
TTR's screening standard. Every candidate TTR introduces passes it. For technical roles it looks for depth in distributed systems. For every role it looks for owned scope, shipped outcomes, clear async communication and reference signals. The checklist shows the criteria. It is not a score.
Does the hiring-path chooser always recommend TTR?
No. Depending on your answers it can recommend an in-house recruiter, a contingency agency, retained executive search or a freelance marketplace, with links to TTR's comparisons.
Should a startup use an agency, an in-house recruiter or a freelance recruiter?
It depends on hiring volume, urgency and budget. An in-house recruiter fits steady volume or no budget for search fees. A freelance recruiter or marketplace fits short-term or project work. A contingency agency fits a well-defined role with no fixed deadline, and retained search fits a senior leadership mandate with time and a retainer budget. For a critical first-of-function hire with a deadline and little internal recruiting time, a specialist recruiter like TTR usually fits best.
Can I talk the results through with someone?
Yes. Book an intro call with Emily Landon (opens Calendly in a new tab) and bring your brief.
Next step
Have a brief? Put it in front of Emily Landon
Bring the role, even if the scope is unsettled. The intro call is where Emily Landon pressure-tests it with you.