Frequently asked questions
HookStep connects companies that need technical and specialist talent with people who are actively looking for the right role. Here are clear answers to what we hear most often from both sides of the marketplace.
General
What is HookStep?
HookStep is a hiring platform and public job board for tech roles, based in Mumbai, India. Employers publish jobs, manage applications in one place, and move candidates through their process. Job seekers browse open roles, keep a single profile, and apply without re-uploading the same information for every company. For employers, HookStep also supplies India-based engineers on contract, contract-to-hire or permanent placement; see IT staff augmentation in India.
Who is HookStep for?
Teams hiring for software, data, ML/AI, platform, and related roles, and professionals who want a clear, professional apply experience. What we can staff is listed on our About page.
Who are the HookStep (hookstep.in) founders?
Saraswati is CEO, Mohan is COO, and Sakshi is Head of Sales. They are listed in the team section of our About page; the homepage also shows the team behind the product.
Is HookStep a staffing agency?
It is both a platform and a staffing partner. On the platform, employers hire directly: you publish roles, review applicants and make your own hiring decisions. Separately, if you would rather not run the search yourself, share a brief and HookStep puts forward India-based engineers on contract, contract-to-hire or permanent placement. You interview the shortlist, and nobody starts until you approve. Details are on IT staff augmentation in India.
Is HookStep related to the HookStep dance app?
No. HookStep at hookstep.in is a hiring platform. It is not related to the HookStep dance app, hookstep.net, or the "hook step" dance term.
What else does the HookStep team build?
The same team also builds Hookpost, a social media scheduler; Tablamigo, a solo-travel app for meeting other travelers nearby; and Bird on Perch, a cozy focus timer with a bird for company. They are separate products with their own sites.
For employers and recruiters
How do we get started?
Choose Hire a Talent, sign in with a business email, complete onboarding, and publish your first job with a clear title, location, skills, and description. Active listings posted in the last 90 days appear in the public jobs directory. If you would rather talk first, use the recruiter contact page; it books a 30-minute call.
Can HookStep find engineers for us?
Yes. Share a brief on the recruiter contact page with the stack, seniority, time zone overlap, budget and engagement type. HookStep matches it against engineers it already knows, sources for the gaps, and sends profiles against that requirement with contact details masked until you shortlist. You interview them yourself. Role pages: AI engineers, forward deployed engineers, full stack developers, data engineers, DevOps engineers and QA engineers. All of them are listed under hire engineers.
How much does it cost to hire engineers through HookStep?
Permanent placement in India: 6% of the hire's annual CTC, invoiced only after the person joins. Nothing is charged before that. Contract and contract-to-hire: we take roles budgeted at ₹2 lakh a month or more. The rate is agreed per role, against your brief. There is no fixed monthly rate card for engineers. What other companies budget for contract roles is in IT staffing rates in India, and published salary data is in what an AI engineer costs in India.
What should a good job post include?
Specific responsibilities, stack or domain requirements, seniority, location or remote policy, and what success looks like in the first months. Posts that read like internal reqs, not generic copy, attract stronger applicants and fewer mismatches.
How do applications arrive?
Candidates apply through HookStep; their profile and materials are attached to that job in your dashboard so your team shares one record of who applied and when.
Can we close or pause a role?
Yes. Update the job status when a role is filled or on hold so candidates see accurate information. Only active jobs posted in the last 90 days appear on the public jobs page.
For job seekers
How do I apply?
Sign in, complete your profile (experience, skills, links, resume if you choose), then open any active listing and submit an application. You can track where you have already applied from your dashboard.
Does HookStep charge candidates?
No. Creating a profile, browsing jobs and applying cost nothing on HookStep, and the product has no payment step for candidates. If anyone asks you to pay to be considered for a role, email support@hookstep.in.
Why was I asked to use a business email as a recruiter?
That path reduces spam and helps us route company inquiries correctly. Candidates may use the providers supported at sign-in.
Accounts, privacy, and safety
Where is your privacy policy?
See our Privacy Policy for what we collect, why, retention, and your choices. The Terms of Service describe acceptable use of the site.
Who sees my resume and profile?
Employers you apply to receive the application materials you submit for their roles. Do not include passwords, government ID numbers, or other sensitive data that employers do not need to evaluate fit.
How do I report a problem?
Email support@hookstep.in. For a hiring enquiry, use the recruiter contact page instead.
Regions and listings
Which regions do you support?
Employers pick a country, state and city, or Remote, for every listing, and each job page shows where the role is based. The engineers HookStep supplies are based in India (IST, UTC+5:30) and work remotely from India or on-site at your office in India; for US or European teams the overlap hours are agreed in the brief.
How often is the jobs list updated?
Employers add, change and close roles as they hire. The public jobs page lists active postings from the last 90 days only; a posting leaves the list on the day it turns 91 days old, and every job page shows the date it was posted.
Read How HookStep works, the hiring guide, or see how to hire AI engineers in India. Or return to the homepage.