Photo of Mike Curtis, VP of Engineering at Airbnb, via The New York Times.

A competitive job market centered on tech giants and startups alike in Silicon Valley is nothing new; it’s part of what makes Silicon Valley Silicon Valley, and part of the reason why tech companies so frequently emphasize perks, salaries and strong corporate culture. Anything that can make your company stand apart from the next one is worth shouting about.

But thanks to the emergence of unicorns – the term that’s become shorthand for American startups that have received $1 billion valuations – the job market of late has become particularly cutthroat, with talent raids occurring on a much larger scale than ever before.

As described in the New York Times, companies like Uber and Airbnb, two of the largest and most talked-about unicorns, have gone on a poaching spree, going after employees of juggernauts like Google in particular.

How does it work exactly?

Let the Times‘ Mike Isaac explain: “To snag employees from large rivals, unicorns have a simple recruiting pitch: They are on a path to success, as illustrated by their rising valuations. Many offer generous equity packages of restricted stock units that can later translate to big paydays for employees if the unicorn goes public or is sold — a lure that neither Google nor any other public tech company can dangle. Also, the unicorns say they are far more fleet-footed and cutting-edge than large organizations.”

It’s a hard sell that is designed specifically to showcase the strengths inherent to startups that larger established companies can’t always effectively counter. And it’s working.

Uber has “plundered” Google’s mapping department, and Airbnb has poached as many as 100 employees. And it isn’t only the engineers and workers with specialized technical backgrounds. According to the paper, both startups have successfully lured away a chef each from Google’s kitchens, as well. Yelp and Twitter are two other popular targets.

The Times quoted Yelp COO Geoff Donaker as recently acknowledging that poaching from unicorns was slowing down the company’s recruitment process.

“We will do what we can to hold the dam on that whole thing and ride it out,” he is reported to have said on a call with analysts last month.

For their part, established companies are stepping up their tactics used to retain talent, reportedly issuing counteroffers to staffers who are looking to accept positions at Uber, Airbnb, Pinterest and Palantir specifically. It’s a precarious time for the company, as questions about how its recently announced restructuring will affect staff allows for a prime opportunity for a unicorn to sweep in.

For their part, Yelp thinks the issue can be solved by looking at the bigger picture.

“This competition for talent has a better chance at being solved if tech companies work together to increase the talent pool,” Shannon Eis, a spokeswoman at Yelp, told the Times. “We have to encourage students to train for careers in the fields that are growing our industry and our economy.”

That may work in the long-term, but a refocusing on company culture in meaningful ways to keep current employees happy – and in the building – may do more immediate good.