Boston continues to make waves in the tech industry, and many companies are gearing up for expansions and growth in 2022. Hiring trends currently and significantly favor applicants — and with so many prospective candidates waiting for the right fit, organizations are paying close attention to what attracts (and retains) the kind of talent they’re looking to employ.
That attraction isn’t just a bigger salary, or 401k matching. Company culture, the right work pace and opportunities for professional development are often just as enticing. 2021 has marked a significant shift in what defines a fulfilling job, and those qualifications don’t seem going anywhere.
These nine local leaders shared what attracted them to their current role and how their experience has changed since the new-hire days. Bonus round: we also got some insider knowledge regarding what they look for in applicants. If you’re scoping out a new role, one of their open positions might be for you.
What they do: CarGurus uses data and technology to make car shopping simple, giving people the tools they need to confidently find, buy, finance or sell a car.
Why did you first apply to join CarGurus, and how has your experience changed over time?
CarGurus initially reached out to me about a product management role, and upon meeting with the team, I was completely sold on the culture and people. The scope of my responsibilities has evolved during my time here; one thing that has stayed consistent, though, is the support I’ve gotten from my co-workers. In particular, I’ve had some of the best managers of my career at CarGurus. My experience so far would be drastically different if they hadn’t been there to provide guidance and push me to be better.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at CarGurus?
For me, the most important trait in a candidate is an insatiable curiosity. I love when people ask bold questions during interviews, and I like to encourage new employees to spend as much time asking “what” and “why” while they have a fresh perspective. This is important to CarGurus because one of our core values is, “we are pioneering.” I believe that innovation and discovery come naturally when we are constantly learning and questioning everything around us.
What they do: Mendix is a low-code platform that helps users make everything from enterprise-grade apps that help factories run smoothly to simple tools to save people time.
Why did you first apply to join Mendix, and how has your experience changed over time?
I joined Mendix more than six years ago, and was initially intrigued by Mendix’s mission to improve collaboration between business and IT. I knew a little bit about the problems associated with traditional software development, and took a leap of faith that this low-code, visual development platform would be relevant in the years to come. Today, I couldn’t have imagined it would turn out this well.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Mendix?
We are always looking for new people to join the Mendix team. The employees who have had the biggest impact and most success here are naturally curious, passionate about using technology in innovative ways, and want to help companies realize there is a better way to build applications. In candidates, we look for alignment with our company values: put the customer first, think big, innovate, nurture talent, hear every voice, own it and have fun.
What they do: Indigo improves grower profitability, environmental sustainability and consumer health through the use of natural microbiology and digital technologies.
Why did you first apply to join Indigo, and how has your experience changed over time?
I had started really sweating the climate crisis. I didn’t feel I was doing enough by composting my kitchen scraps and putting solar panels on my house. I wanted to contribute my skills to one of the many solutions we’ll need to solve this issue as a society. I heard about Indigo and its approach to sustainability through regenerative agriculture, and I found its strategy of turning an industry that has historically contributed to greenhouse gasses and soil carbon depletion into a key player in the solution interesting. In the last 18 months, we’ve come a long way in building out the capability to generate carbon credits via agricultural changes. We’ve been doing a tremendous number of things for the first time, and it feels like we have found nearly every pothole in the road.
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
Balancing a good experience for our farmers with the requirements of a scientifically rigorous carbon credit program. To generate high quality credits, we need a lot of information from our farmers, and the first version of our software was pretty onerous for them. They’re busy in the field actually farming and can’t spend hours inputting data online. So we leverage some amazing technologies to make our system easier and more efficient to use, and to minimize the overall ask, so they can get it done on a rainy afternoon.
What they do: Wistia builds video marketing software that integrates with user tech stacks and can send engagement data straight to CRMs and ad platforms.
Why did you first apply to join Wistia, and how has your experience changed over time?
I first applied to Wistia because I was looking for a company that would continue to develop my leadership skills and embrace my culture without judgement. After seeing there was a Black, female senior leader in the company, I knew Wistia at least provided the opportunity to anyone who showed they deserved it. I am learning more every day about how to navigate Wistia’s unique culture as a part of a limited representative minority group.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Wistia?
When I look to grow my team, I look for candidates who constantly seek opportunities to grow both professionally and personally. They have a desire to understand what they do not know in all ways of life, which shows me they will persevere if things do not go the way they expected.
What they do: Digital consumer goods company Thrasio is the largest acquirer of Amazon FBA businesses. Its innovation platform brings high-quality products to market across digital marketplaces and retailers globally.
Why did you first apply to join Thrasio, and how has your experience changed over time?
I was excited by Thrasio’s business model and its rapid growth, and the prospect of making an impact in our growing data and analytics team. I work with a fantastic and inspiring team, and it is truly fulfilling to know my team’s efforts create actionable insights that help scale our brands. Thrasio is a data-driven company, making the work of the data and analytics team all the more important to influence critical decisions for the entire business.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Thrasio?
Being inquisitive. As experts in data and analytics, our team must constantly ask questions to derive more knowledge. We want our team to understand the nuances of our business, understand why the business is using certain metrics to measure performance, and why we are using certain processes or technologies.
I believe asking “why” and questioning the status quo will help us adapt to new challenges and create better data products that are impactful for our business.
What they do: Zus Health empowers a new wave of healthcare builders to create technologies and services without the usual blockers.
Why did you first apply to join Zus Health, and how has your experience changed over time?
Zus Health found me! I don’t recall how the first call was arranged, but I do remember being very impressed with the confidence and caliber of Zus. In particular, I wanted my career to focus on cloud, data and critical software services, and Zus Health was targeting a problem set that covered it all. I’m three months in and I know I got it right — the velocity is high, the product is converging, I have and continue to learn a ton and we’re hiring some great talent from diverse backgrounds. It’s fun building the product, but also very rewarding to be contributing to the culture and decision-making processes.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Zus Health?
Critical thinking. It’s important to witness firsthand how someone reacts to an open-ended problem, organizes their thoughts, forms an approach to a solution, and how all of the above is communicated. When an especially-skilled candidate can involve the interviewer in the process, I know that’s the type of team member I’d want to involve in a coding problem I’m actually facing. I’m looking for candidates who have a depth of collaborative experiences (both failures and successes) in their professional life and makes their ability to problem solve apparent.
What they do: Benchling enables rapid, iterative development in the life sciences, empowering faster and smarter decision-making and accelerating the move to labless companies.
Why did you first apply to join Benchling, and how has your experience changed over time?
I applied to join Benchling because my background is in biological engineering, and I wanted to put my life sciences background to use without going back to doing wet lab work. I joined the customer experience team when there were 80 people at the entire company, and only two of us in the Boston office. Now, two and a half years later, I’m in a product manager role, and when we go back into the office, the Boston office will have close to 100 people! It’s been unbelievable to see Benchling grow, yet still maintain such a strong mission that the entire company rallies around.
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
I’m working with my team to build a new product that enables scientists to track and analyze assay data. We’re working with customers to understand their workflows and pain points today, and it’s been incredibly exciting to think about how we can design an experience that exceeds their expectations and makes their lives easier. I work side-by-side with my designer and engineering lead, which has been fantastic. We constantly trade ideas to make sure that we all have the same understanding of the customer use cases and needs.
What they do: Tamr is a data connection/data fusion platform that dramatically reduces the time and effort required to connect and enrich data sources. Tamr combines machine learning and advanced algorithms with collective human insight to identify data sources, understand relationships and curate siloed data at scale.
Why did you first apply to join Tamr, and how has your experience changed over time?
I first applied to join Tamr as a marketing design intern when I was a graduate student, and my experience has changed pretty significantly from then. I began with simply creating banner advertisements to promote events and marketing content. But since then, I have transitioned into a full-time role as a graphic designer and social media specialist. I now focus more on creating marketing collateral, helping to maintain our website, and running Tamr’s social media channels.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Tamr?
I think a desire to learn, innovation and self-motivation are the most important traits when looking for candidates and are qualities I most look up to most in my teammates. I think they are especially important traits at Tamr because things move so quickly. The most impactful people are those who see a challenge and think of an outside-of-the-box way to fix it, rather than having the mindset of, “the way we do things now is working well enough.” At this stage in the company, seeing something that can be improved upon and acting on it can make a big impact.
What they do: Peapod Digital Labs is the e-commerce engine of Ahold Delhaize USA, one of the nation’s largest grocery retail groups. The company supports grocery brands as they leverage significant consumer bases to grow using new e-commerce and digital capabilities.
Why did you first apply to join Peapod Digital Labs, and how has your experience changed over time?
I applied initially because of the Peapod reputation and because working with food is fun and exciting. In the past few years, I transitioned from Peapod to Peapod Digital Labs and that changed how I think of my role. We now provide the technology that brings groceries into people’s homes. As the world evolves and consumers are looking for an easy way to feed themselves, we bring a critical and much-needed service to East coast customers.
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
One of my favorite aspects of my job is working with many players at our sister brands to launch projects or make unified decisions. It’s a challenge in that many players can be involved at all different levels, and there are unique customer profiles in the various markets we support. As a result, it can sometimes be tough to get coordination and agreement when needed. I rely on various methods of communication and the relationships I have built to help navigate these challenges every day. The trust you build with co-workers evolves over time, but leads to amazing partnerships where everyone can have a voice at the table.
