Get out and meet them (and their friends) in person. Nothing beats networking. I personally only work through my network when I'm searching for a job.
The other key is to move fast. If you want one of these people, don't waste their time with phone interviews and things like that, just get them scheduled to come in as soon as possible.
At my last two companies we would bring people in for an afternoon of interviews and have an offer ready for them at the end of the day if things worked out. That's the kind of process you need to have to snag people like this.
As a simple case study, the last time I decided to get a job I had 3 offers within two weeks. All through my network.
Currently, I left my last startup in the middle of last week. I haven't started actively looking for something else to do yet, and I've already had one offer through my network.
If you want one of these people, don't waste their time with phone interviews and things like that, just get them scheduled to come in as soon as possible.
I wouldn't worry about skipping the phone screen. But if your phone screener comes away saying "wow, this guy is amazing", bring them in for face-to-face meetings as soon as you can.
It's far more important to make sure that when you bring someone on-site, you make good use of that time. I'll forgive an hour spent on a phone screen far more easily than a day wasted because I flew down to San Francisco for a day of interviews with the wrong people.
Followup question: How do I know I have "one of these people" such that I can not waste their time with phone interviews, etc? Letting in a lot of chaff in hopes of not turning away wheat is not scalable, and if I already knew who the good ones were without phone screening them, I could probably cut down on the interviewing as well.
I'll grant you that true networked hires may have earned a skip-the-phone stage, though I'd still rather answer THEIR questions on the phone than find a no-fit after 3 hours in-office.
Be able to move fast is always good advice though!
Personally I like phone interviews. I don't like to in-person until we are serious and chance of hire is relatively high.
I've been fortunate thus far and always looked for a new job when I want to try something new, not when I'm out of work and hungry. Taking time off of work to interview for a bunch of low-chance jobs is not something I'll do unless I'm extremely excited about the company.
Maybe this isn't a bad thing (you want excited people), but how many employers work at companies people wake up knowing they have to work there.
That's an interesting question that I don't really know the answer to, short of falling back on the generic "trust your network" sort of answer.
Also, I'm not suggesting that you cut out the phone interview all-together, just keep it short and be ready to schedule an in-person interview them as soon as possible, preferably while you have them on the line.
When I'm looking at a company, I'm trying to determine if they're a good fit for me just as much as they're trying to determine if I'm a good fit for them. A big part of this is showing me that you have the ability as a company to recognize talent and execute accordingly.
The other key is to move fast. If you want one of these people, don't waste their time with phone interviews and things like that, just get them scheduled to come in as soon as possible.
At my last two companies we would bring people in for an afternoon of interviews and have an offer ready for them at the end of the day if things worked out. That's the kind of process you need to have to snag people like this.
As a simple case study, the last time I decided to get a job I had 3 offers within two weeks. All through my network.
Currently, I left my last startup in the middle of last week. I haven't started actively looking for something else to do yet, and I've already had one offer through my network.