Dwarkesh Patel's $2000 Thumbnail Competition

Dwarkesh Patel, a popular YouTuber, recently took an innovative approach to hiring. He launched a public competition to find talented thumbnail designers for his channel.

The Power of Thumbnails

Thumbnails are crucial for YouTube success. They're the small preview images that appear alongside video titles. Research shows that 85% of video views depend on the idea, title, and thumbnail. So, Patel's focus on finding a great thumbnail designer makes sense.

The Competition Details

Patel shared the competition details on his social media platforms. The competition guidelines included:

Patel wrote a detail guide on the thumbnail competition with deadline, prize, and how you will be judged.

He has a significant following, with 336,000 YouTube subscribers and 75,300 followers on X (formerly Twitter). The competition guidelines included:

• A clear deadline

• Prize information

• Judging criteria

The ultimate goal? To hire a thumbnail designer for future episodes.

A Smart Hiring Approach

This strategy is clever. It allows Patel to:

1. Tap into his existing audience

2. Skip traditional hiring platforms

3. Find talented individuals directly

Unexpected Results

Despite Patel's large following, the competition only received 9 applications. This surprising outcome likely stems from 2 factors:

1. Mismatched audience: Patel's followers are primarily "nerds," not thumbnail designers.

2. Free work concerns: Some people dislike doing unpaid work as part of a hiring process.

Potential Improvements

To attract more applicants, Patel could:

1. Partner with influencers who have a YouTuber-focused audience, especially Thumbnail Designers, like Colin and Samir or Paddy Galloway

2. Share the competition in thumbnail designer communities like YTJobs.co

3. Offer paid compensation for all entries to address concerns about free work

Patel's thumbnail competition showcases an innovative hiring strategy. While it faced some challenges, this approach demonstrates the potential of leveraging an existing audience for recruitment. With some tweaks, this method could be a powerful tool for finding talented team members.

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