When searching for a new job opportunity, selecting the right fit is an imperfect science. Goals and preferences at one career stage may look entirely different a year or two later, making it even more important for job seekers to find a team and company culture that can keep up with its employees’ unique development.
So what makes for a perfect match? For Julia Bronstein, solutions marketing manager at Nuance, it was the relationship between work product and real-world impact. With previous product and marketing experience at a healthtech startup, Julia “was eager to see how innovative solutions were being delivered at scale and the real-world impact they were having on patients and clinicians.” Joining skills with visible results is a powerful formula for fulfillment, and the accompanying motivation keeps Julia engaged and confident as new projects arise.
In accepting a software engineering position at LogRocket, Lexi Spikerman followed a similar calling. For Lexi, a demo sealed the deal: “I immediately recognized the value of the product when I saw a demo and knew what kind of impact that could have when trying to reproduce customer issues,” she said. This foundational interest and belief in the product made room for ownership and creativity. The connection she has developed to her work has carried her from independent contributor to team leader, giving her a platform to share her enthusiasm and insight with budding LogRocket leaders.
For more inspirational first impressions, we met with four local leaders to hear what attracted them to their roles and learn about new projects they’re tackling. We also got a few insider tips on what they look for in new hires — if you’re ready for a new opportunity, one of their open roles may be a match.
Energy is powerful, and inspiring leaders can be the catalyst for an immediate attraction to a company and its mission. In choosing Soofa, Molly LaFlesh credits a powerful company mission, compelling leadership and a shared excitement for the product’s potential.
Why did you first apply to join Soofa, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
I met Soofa’s cofounders, Sandra Richter and Jutta Friedrichs, in the summer of 2018. I remember feeling electrified being in the same room as them, and I jumped on board right away. I grew from focusing mainly on recruiting and developing the workspace to building and running the human resources department in a leadership role in my first two years. My dad taught me how to gamble — and in this case, I bet right.
We launch, then iterate — and we iterate on ourselves too!”
When growing your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at your company?
For any new hire at Soofa, we look for four core characteristics. The first is curiosity about our product, the role and team, the industry, and how to get involved in collaborative projects. The second is having the drive to do whatever it takes to succeed, and the third, time management; everyone wears many hats on our team of 30. Last but not least is coachability. We launch, then iterate — and we iterate on ourselves too! We are a team that cares deeply about diversity, equity and belonging, and we’re constantly learning how these characteristics manifest differently when people have unique life experiences. Everyone brings something different to the table, and making space for that is what equity and belonging are all about. So, there is no perfect answer when you’re interviewing at Soofa, except maybe “I love Soofa.” And, if I’m interviewing you, please tell me everything about your dogs.
The opportunity to marry previous experience with visible real-world impact led Julia Bronstein to Nuance. This relationship to both the product itself and the people who use it gives Julia a meaningful connection to her work, keeping her engaged and motivated as new projects arise.
Why did you first apply to join Nuance, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
Having previous product and marketing experience at a healthtech startup, I was eager to see how innovative solutions were being delivered at scale and the real-world impact they were having on patients and clinicians. Since joining Nuance, I have learned a tremendous amount in a short period of time, largely due to my colleagues’ unwavering support and patience. Nuance’s dedication to continuous learning, transparency and teamwork has enabled me to dive quickly and confidently into projects large and small.
Since joining Nuance, I have learned a tremendous amount in a short period of time, largely due to my colleagues’ unwavering support and patience.”
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
As radiologists continue to embrace AI in their workflow, the downstream benefits to patients, their specialists and the general healthcare system are profound. I’m currently working with different teams, partners and customers to share a larger, cohesive story on how Nuance’s solutions extend value beyond the reading room and across the continuum of care for the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference. Crafting messaging for this conference is both exciting and challenging because it must resonate with multiple audiences and a variety of stakeholders. I’ve been able to make meaningful contributions and assist the team with this initiative, thanks to their guidance and persistent collaboration.
If you are who you hang around with, chances are you want to surround yourself with intelligent and kind people. In choosing Indico, Sasha Freese did exactly that — and discovered a culture of positivity and encouragement that keeps everyone invested in professional growth and mutual support.
Why did you first apply to join Indico, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
I wanted to be a part of a company where I felt that the product could succeed and that the culture was productive — and if the product was using machine learning to help people, all the better! I feel very lucky that the company turned out to be even better than it seemed while I was applying and interviewing. Everyone is so intelligent and kind, something that is rare to find. I’m constantly impressed by my colleagues and I’m constantly able to learn and grow as a team member and as an individual on my career path. The team is great with communication and transparency, and even as we’ve grown, all input is welcome to help the company grow and succeed.
I feel very lucky that the company turned out to be even better than it seemed while I was applying and interviewing.”
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
The most exciting work-related challenge we have right now is transitioning our organizational strategy from sales-led to product-led. The product team is rethinking the analytics we’re collecting, how to better pinpoint personas and ultimately how to build a better product that will help more people succeed with automation as it relates to unstructured documents. It’s an all-company cross-functional effort, and teamwork makes the dream work! Ultimately at Indico, the sum is always better than the parts, so we’re meeting this challenge through collaboration towards communal successes.
Sometimes, a demo is all it takes. Lexi Spikerman’s immediate belief in LogRocket’s product led her to join their team, and that engagement has supported her professional growth into a team leader.
Why did you first apply to join LogRocket, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
I was first drawn to LogRocket because of the product — especially how developer-focused it is. I immediately recognized the value of the product when I saw a demo and knew what kind of impact that could have when trying to reproduce customer issues. I thought it would be a place where I could really experience that impact myself and through our customers, and I have definitely proven that thought to be correct!
My experience has evolved from more of an independent contributor role to a team leader. Engineers get a lot of ownership over the work that they do and the solutions they implement, which allows for a lot of opportunity for growth. I’ve especially gotten more involved in our product decisions and hiring process!
Engineers get a lot of ownership over the work that they do and the solutions they implement, which allows for a lot of opportunity for growth.”
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
I worked on enabling customer trials of self-serve pro features a couple of months ago, which we’re now trying to extend to a couple of other new features! Prior to that project, customers needed to contact us directly to get started on a pro features trial, which can definitely be a barrier for some. Now, customers can sign up on their own for a full two-week trial to try out features like metrics, heatmaps and performance monitoring without ever having to get in touch with us. In the time since we built that method for pro features, we have new add-on features that are separate from our pro features that we want to allow our customers to try out, so I’m working on extending that original approach to be more generic.
