Talent Acquisition Intern

Location: Bengaluru
Work model: In-office
Stipend: INR 25k
About Profound
Profound is building the infrastructure that changes how professionals get hired. We’re building a platform where candidates are represented accurately and hiring teams can find people who genuinely fit. Our services team works directly with funded startups on live hiring mandates, while our product is building the matchmaking engine underneath it all. We’re a small, Seed-funded team led by operators who move fast, take ownership, and expect the same from the people around them.
About the Role
As a Talent Acquisition Intern, you’ll work directly with Profound’s talent team and own sourcing across multiple live hiring mandates.
You’ll be responsible for identifying candidates, running outbound conversations, evaluating technical fit, pitching opportunities, and moving candidates through the funnel.
This is a high-ownership role with a strong focus on execution. You’ll work across roles spanning backend, ML, data, and other technical functions, while learning how recruiting works inside a fast-moving startup environment.
What You'll Own
Source across multiple mandates: Identify, engage, and qualify candidates across four active roles simultaneously.
Run high-volume outreach: Have around 20 candidate conversations every day and convert them into 7–8 completed Profound calls.
Evaluate technical fit: Understand the differences between backend, ML, and data roles and assess candidates beyond keyword matching.
Pitch candidates: Make compelling pitches for both the role and Profound, including to candidates who aren't actively looking.
Build targeted searches: Use Boolean search and structured LinkedIn searches to find candidates beyond the obvious profiles.
Own the pipeline: Track performance, identify bottlenecks, and take action when a pipeline starts running thin.
You'll Be A Great Fit If
You have prior startup recruiting experience, ideally through 2+ internships totaling 6+ months.
You’re already comfortable with Boolean and LinkedIn search and know how to build targeted candidate searches.
You understand how technical roles differ and connect, particularly backend, ML, and data engineering.
You have a good understanding of the Bengaluru startup ecosystem and where strong technical talent tends to work.
You’re comfortable selling opportunities, not just screening candidates.
You take ownership when something isn't working and try to solve the problem before escalating it.
You’re highly driven, comfortable with volume, and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment.

Work arrangement
No