From 0 to Offshore: A 90-Day Roadmap for Your First Hire

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Introduction

Most startups take longer than they should to make their first offshore hire. Not because they lack conviction, but because they don't know where the process starts.

This post is a concrete, step-by-step roadmap: what you do in each of the three months from decision to productive contribution.

If you run this through Exordiom, we compress the sourcing and compliance phases significantly. But even if you're DIY, this is the process.

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Month 1: Decide, Define, Source

Week 1: Decide what you're actually hiring for

Before you write a job description, answer three questions:

1. Is this a backfill or a new capability? If you're replacing a US engineer who left, you have context on what the role should produce. If you're adding capacity, be specific: what projects will this person own? What does done look like?

2. Does this role require deep US time zone collaboration, or can it operate async? Some roles need real-time interaction: a tech lead who drives architecture decisions in weekly syncs. Others don't: an engineer who works from well-defined tickets, or a CS rep who handles email-based support. Be honest about which category you're filling.

3. What does success look like in 90 days? Write this down. "Shipping features" is not specific. "Has shipped two tickets from the roadmap independently, owns the data pipeline codebase, and doesn't need a sync to get unstuck" is specific.

Week 2: Define the role and compensation

Write a role brief covering:

• Core responsibilities (3–5 bullets, outcome-focused, not task-focused)
• Required technical skills (be honest — what's truly required vs. nice to have)
• Communication requirements (written English level, timezone overlap hours)
• Seniority signals (not just years of experience — what they should have shipped)
• Compensation budget

Compensation benchmarks (all-in via Exordiom):

• India: Engineers $3,000–$8,000/month, AI/ML $4,500–$10,500/month
• Philippines: CS/Support $1,800–$4,000/month, SDRs $2,500–$4,000/month

Week 3–4: Sourcing and initial screens

If using Exordiom: share your role brief. We return a shortlist of 2–3 pre-vetted candidates within 3–5 business days.

If DIY: post on LinkedIn (India/Philippines-specific), Naukri (India), JobStreet (Philippines). Expect 100–200 applications for senior roles. Screening time: 15–20 hours.

First screen focuses on:

• Written communication quality (read how they email, not just what they say)
• Compensation alignment
• Timezone and availability
• High-level technical/functional fit

Goal: 4–6 candidates moving to the formal interview stage.

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Month 2: Evaluate, Decide, Offer

Week 5–6: Technical/functional evaluation

Run a focused 2-stage evaluation:

Stage 1: Async take-home task (3–5 hours)

• For engineers: a representative coding problem or a system design write-up
• For CS/ops roles: a mock customer scenario in writing, or a sample QBR slide
• Evaluate: quality of thinking, communication clarity, time management

Stage 2: Live interview (45–60 minutes)

• Technical depth discussion
• Behavioral questions (past examples of async work, handling ambiguity, giving/receiving feedback)
• Culture and expectations alignment

For senior hires, add a reference check with a direct manager from a previous role.

Week 7: Decision and offer

Move quickly. Strong candidates in India's tech market are interviewing in parallel. A decision that takes 3 weeks after the final interview will lose you candidates.

Standard offer components (India):

• Monthly compensation (all-in through Exordiom, no separate benefits negotiation)
• Start date
• Reporting structure
• 90-day trial period (standard in Exordiom agreements — gives you structured exit if needed)

Notice periods in India: Typically 30–90 days. Build this into your timeline. Most standard is 30 days for early-career, 60–90 for senior. If time-sensitive, Exordiom can sometimes negotiate shorter transitions or buy out notice periods at cost.

Philippines: Notice periods are typically 30 days. More flexibility on start dates.

Week 8: Offer accepted — start pre-boarding

Don't wait for Day 1 to begin. During the notice period:

• Share the product and codebase onboarding docs
• Set up email, Slack, and tool access in advance
• Assign a first 30-day project
• Introduce the team asynchronously (a Loom or written intro works well)

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Month 3: Onboard, Integrate, Evaluate

Week 9–10: First two weeks

The first two weeks should be structured, not open-ended.

Day 1–3: Orientation

• Product walkthrough (use pre-recorded Loom, not live call, to save time)
• Codebase / tool setup
• Review the 90-day success criteria you wrote in Week 1
• First 1:1 with their direct manager

Day 4–10: First contribution

• Assign a well-scoped, non-critical ticket or task
• Purpose: validate tool familiarity and async communication style, not raw output
• Check: are they proactively asking clarifying questions? Do their updates make sense? Are they communicating blockers?

Day 11–14: Feedback loop

• 15-minute check-in: what's working, what isn't
• Identify any gaps in documentation or process that are causing friction
• Adjust scope of responsibilities if needed

Week 11–12: Full ramp

By the end of Week 12, your offshore hire should be:

• Working from the standard ticket queue independently
• Participating in async standups and weekly reviews
• Aware of who to go to for what
• Producing output that doesn't require daily oversight

If they're not there, diagnose why. Most issues at this stage are documentation gaps or misaligned expectations, not talent gaps.

Day 90: Structured review

Run a formal 90-day review:

1. Did they hit the success criteria you defined in Week 1?
2. What's the feedback from the team they've worked with?
3. What adjustments are needed for the next quarter?

If the answer to #1 is yes: you have a repeatable model. Scale it.

If the answer is no: diagnose whether it was the hire, the role definition, or the onboarding. Usually it's the latter two.

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What Exordiom Handles

If you run this through Exordiom, here's what changes:

Phase	DIY	With Exordiom
Sourcing	3–6 weeks	3–5 days
Initial screening	15–20 hours	Done for you
Compliance/EOR setup	2–4 weeks, $300–500/mo per hire	Included
Offer/negotiation	You handle	We coordinate
Replacement if needed	Start over	90-day guarantee

The 90-day roadmap above compresses from 13 weeks to 6–8 weeks when Exordiom handles sourcing and compliance.

Start your first offshore hire with Exordiom — share your role brief and we'll have profiles in your inbox within a week.

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Exordiom places engineers, SDRs, CS professionals, and AI/data talent from India and the Philippines. All-in pricing from $1,800–$10,500/month. Most placements: 2–4 weeks to shortlist.