We are always looking for great talent for our company. Over the years we have reviewed thousands of resumes and interviewed hundreds of candidates. This cumulative experience has helped us develop a keen understanding of what makes a great team member.
Our recruitment process includes a dive into previous work and experience as well as a series of tests, interviews, and pair programming sessions. We have carefully designed these to figure out whether the candidate is a good fit for us and, equally as important, if we are a good fit for the candidate.
The central question both parties want to know is: Will this relationship be successful?
Oftentimes companies focus only on their side of the equation and this all can be a nerve-racking experience for prospective employees. We always make sure to answer the questions a prospective employee may have about the workplace. Candidates are often curious about the company’s culture and the kind of people they’ll be working with.
In this blog post, we want to shed some light on this by describing the profile of a member of our team. Fitting this profile will hopefully help candidates understand what success looks like in our recruitment process as these are the things we look for and care about.
Our team members are:
Smart & able to get things done
Since our early beginnings, we have been influenced by Joel Spolsky’s ideas. As he has famously written extensively about, we also believe that great software is made when you have a team of smart teammates who are able to get things done. In our company, you will find the right mix of smarts and pragmatism with the ability and drive to execute. We have found no better way to make things happen and working with people who share these traits is a joy!
Independent, managers of one
Everyone in the company needs to be able to manage themselves. Being a manager of one means that you are capable of coming up with your own goals and executing them. We strive to have teams with members who can work independently and without supervision, being able to determine what needs to be done and acting accordingly.
Committed to their craft
Our team is full of people who have a real passion for what they do. We love to design, code, and solve technical problems. Passion and commitment are very strong drivers for us and we pursue excellence in everything we do because we enjoy it. Our commitment starts by having purpose and we embody this in the first of our six values: Ask Why? [read more].
Caring and attentive to detail
At SISU we do things with care and invest ourselves in our work. Creating high-quality software requires a great deal of attention to detail. Our team members are detail-oriented, do things with purpose, and with great care for quality. We believe there is no task trivial enough to be done sloppily. Our second value expands on these ideas [read more].
People who own their work
We are a team who really values their own work, both the product and the process. Every project here starts by listening to our potential clients and asking the right questions. We strive to go beyond the what and the how; we want to understand why our work matters. Our third value reflects on what it means to “own” our work [read more].
Curious and eager to learn and improve
We like to think of ourselves as eternal students who love to learn. Our industry and problem space is always evolving, that’s why we value the ability and willingness to learn over knowledge itself. This means that you will find teammates who care more about learning and understanding than about being proven right. Learning and sharing come hand in hand. We love to share our experiences and knowledge with others. We understand that learning is part of a continuous improvement process, that is why our fourth value speaks of the importance of this [read more].
Good communicators and great teammates
We organize ourselves in teams around projects, but as a company, we are also a big integrated team, looking after each other. As such, being a good communicator and having the ability to express our ideas in a clear way is crucial. We do not look for “rock stars” who go at it alone, we much rather have a group of great teammates, supporting each other. Our fifth value expands on these ideas [read more].
Long-term vision aligned
Great software requires great people who are committed to their work and their teammates. We hire people who share a long-term vision with the company. Our team believes in what we do, love their work, and want to make a career out of it. The company constantly strives to improve and be the place where people want to make their careers. Long-term vision requires tenacity and a sustained effort. This is embodied in our sixth and last value [read more].
Final thoughts
These are some of the characteristics that you will find in the people that work at the company. If this sounds like you and the teammates you want to have, make sure to have a look at our careers page. And if you are looking for a team full of talented people to work on your digital product or service idea, drop us a line!