Some companies are so widely known they don’t need further explanation. Dropping a household name like “Tinder” or “DoorDash” is enough to impress old classmates at a 10-year high school reunion.
But astute employers know that attracting — and retaining — top talent requires more than brand awareness.
That’s why big-name brands and smaller startups alike are going the extra mile to appeal to qualified candidates. Interesting challenges to solve, thoughtfully developed team cultures and carefully curated company values add another layer of purpose to work. Below, discover the unique team traits of seven San Francisco tech companies that are all actively hiring.
What they do: DoorDash connects people with their favorite food in their city. The company helps local businesses generate extra income and creates jobs for delivery drivers.
One thing that would surprise people about DoorDash: “At DoorDash we have a program called “We Dash,” where once a month employees are required to put themselves in the shoes of another piece of our company or marketplace,” Senior Manager Jessye McCormick said. “Dashing is one of the options, as well as phone support or learning more about a cross-functional team. Our team will dash each month in a small group to pick up our lunch for the office. We are lucky enough to have group cart meals daily from nearby restaurants, provided to us by DoorDash.
“To get the experience of what it is like to be a dasher, we will be assigned to the order, go pick it up and bring it back to the office. We get to see how our DoorDash Dasher app works in detail, as well as the opportunity to answer questions from the restaurant about DoorDash when we go there in person.”
Our team is always in it together when we share best practices.”
One trait all team members share: “‘One team, one fight’ is one of our company values,” McCormick said. “DoorDash is a complex business with millions of micro-transactions occurring a day with customers, dashers and merchants, which means there is a lot to learn and a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. Our team is always in it together when we share best practices, get into the details on what happened during an order, and are there to boost each other up when we have tough times, such as a site outage. We are growing at such a quick rate that answers to questions tend to evolve daily, which is why we know we can always rely on each other. This value captures the spirit of how we believe in being a team.”
What they do: Unity Technologies is a software platform that develops 3D technology and VR visualization tools with the goal to make physical navigation more accessible. It works with companies in the gaming, automotive, film and architectural industries to enhance their operations with the help of 3D interfaces.
One thing that would surprise people about Unity Technologies: “Unity is truly a global company. While our HQ is in San Francisco, we were founded in Copenhagen with offices in more than 40 countries, with locations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region,” said Amber Hayes, a recruiting executive. “We grew by 40 percent last year with plans to do the same again in 2020. We're more than 3,200 people strong and counting.”
We believe the world is better with more creators in it.”
One trait all team members share: “The Unity team is driven by a purpose. We believe the world is better with more creators in it,” Hayes said. “We live our values and operate under the notion that the best idea wins. We have an open line of communication across our entire company, and people are encouraged to share their ideas and perspectives.”
What they do: Tinder is a mobile dating app with over 6 million subscribers. Originally launched on a college campus in 2012, the app is now available across 190 countries.
One thing that would surprise people about Tinder: It only takes a small team to power a global app. “With only 250 engineers that work here, we support over 1.6 billion swipes every day and saw over $1 billion in revenue last year in 2019,” Senior Engineering Manager Aibo Tian said.
With only 250 engineers that work here, we support over 1.6 billion swipes every day.”
One trait all team members share: “One thing our team shares is a passion for learning and implementing new technology,” Tian said. “We also love working together. Being such a small group here, it's important to share that desire to collaborate and work together.”
What they do: Fivetran replicates applications, databases, events and files into cloud warehouses so that data analysts can focus less on engineering and more on driving insights.
One thing that would surprise people about Fivetran: “At Fivetran, we feel safe sharing our voices, finding a connection with each other, and being our authentic selves,” Lead Technical Recruiter Angeline Lo said. “We have several Slack channels and subjects that run the gamut, from a knitting club to cooking and baking tips, to random topics like cutting your own hair at home or promoting your favorite accordionist streaming a live performance.
“If we have a passion or interest that's either work-related or not, we share it. Because of this very inclusive culture with psychological safety embedded into it, the feeling of belonging gets expedited for our new team members.”
At Fivetran, we feel safe sharing our voices, finding a connection with each other, and being our authentic selves.”
One trait all team members share: “Openness,” Lo said. “This underpins our highly collaborative work culture, our dedication to inclusion and our trust in each other. We also have an oft-cited value that seems to resonate a lot with the employees: ‘one team, one dream.’ Work becomes something special when we open ourselves up to each other and toward the same goal.”
What they do: Grammarly’s AI-powered digital assistant helps more than 20 million people write more clearly and effectively every day.
One thing that would surprise people about Grammarly: “There is a strong spirit of collaboration and support within Grammarly,” Christina Dillingham, a marketing manager, said. “During my interview process as a candidate, I almost couldn’t believe that Grammarly team members could be so genuinely kind. It makes working here that much better.”
There is a strong spirit of collaboration and support within Grammarly.”
One trait all team members share: “We recognize how important it is to be human,” Dillingham said. “We’re all highly motivated to achieve our professional goals while maintaining balance in our lives. This means making sure that we’re supportive and trusting of one another, always treating each other with respect. This is true of everyone I’ve worked with across the organization, not just the lifecycle marketing team. And I think it fuels how effective we are.”
What they do: HouseCanary uses data and analytics to predict the future of residential real estate. The technology creates predictions for over 100 million properties up to 36 months into the future.
One thing that would surprise people about HouseCanary: “Even though we are in the real estate data and analytics industry, we don’t always require our employees to have a real estate background,” Ivy Rivero, a talent recruiter, said. “What we look for is talented and driven people who want to solve big problems and help disrupt the overcomplicated residential real estate space. It's important to have a diversity of thought and we want our team to have varying opinions, skills and ideas. We truly believe that all of our team members bring something different and special to HouseCanary.”
We like to work hard, but we also like to play hard and celebrate our wins.”
One trait all team members share: “We like to work hard, but we also like to play hard and celebrate our wins,” Rivero said. “Our team does a great job of balancing work with meaningful relationships with colleagues through fun culture-building activities. This is what unites our teams and spurs us to excel both when working and socializing.”
What they do: Atlassian is a software company that has produced development tools like Bitbucket, Jira and Trello. The tools are meant to be used worldwide by Agile teams.
One thing that would surprise people about Atlassian: “While so much of Atlassian’s approach to work is uniquely our own, our culture is informed by our people and those who collaborate with our internal and external partners, foster international community, and most importantly, build tools to help unleash the power of individuals and teams,” the team said.
What we’re really proud of at Atlassian is how frequently and successfully our teams collaborate.”
One trait all team members share: “What we’re really proud of at Atlassian is how frequently and successfully our teams collaborate,” their team said. “Specifically, how they help each other out even when the work is exclusively connected to a single team’s long-term goals.”
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