You Don't Have to Be the Expert | Oscar Perez

<p><strong>Summary</strong><br>Oscar Perez spent 8 years building DEI recruiting at Meta, then became the first people hire at Equilibrium Energy, a startup. Before HR, he taught 10th grade English with Teach For America. He and Maddie talk about the executive who walked out of a pitch Oscar&#39;s team spent weeks preparing, then approved all of it over email a few days later. They also cover what the classroom taught him about people who show up with really big feelings, and why he thinks failure should be something you leave space for, especially now with AI.<br><strong>Takeaways</strong></p><ul><li>The moment you build up in your head might turn out to be something that could have been an email.</li><li>At a startup, everything is on your plate. You don&#39;t have to be the expert on every topic, but you do have to learn enough to come back with thoughtful recommendations, like three options to choose from.</li><li>Recruiting results come from the top of the funnel. At UCLA, Oscar&#39;s team built referrals in the spring, months before fall deadlines.</li><li>Leave room to fail. Practice a skill on the side where no one has to see it.</li></ul><p><br>Oscar now helps early-stage founders build their people operations: <a href="Summary Oscar Perez spent 8 years building DEI recruiting at Meta, then became the first people hire at Equilibrium Energy, a startup. Before HR, he taught 10th grade English with Teach For America. He and Maddie talk about the executive who walked out of a pitch Oscar's team spent weeks preparing, then approved all of it over email a few days later. They also cover what the classroom taught him about people who show up with really big feelings, and why he thinks failure should be something you leave space for, especially now with AI. Takeaways The moment you build up in your head might turn out to be something that could have been an email. At a startup, everything is on your plate. You don't have to be the expert on every topic, but you do have to learn enough to come back with thoughtful recommendations, like three options to choose from. Recruiting results come from the top of the funnel. At UCLA, Oscar's team built referrals in the spring, months before fall deadlines. Leave room to fail. Practice a skill on the side where no one has to see it. Oscar now helps early-stage founders build their people operations: https://www.oscarperezconsulting.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.oscarperezconsulting.com<