The tech industry is all about spotting potential, although most of the time the focus is on founders who have capitalized on untapped market opportunities or disrupted antiquated industries. However, tech workers also need to be adept at spotting potential, specifically when it comes to the job search. Being able to see how you can help realize a company’s full potential can make the difference between landing a job that challenges and excites you and one where you spin your wheels and wait patiently for pay day.
For example, as a developer, Peter Kim could probably have landed a job at any Seattle tech company. But he chose to join Sleep Doctor, which at the time of his arrival had only a handful of employees.
“I joined Sleep Doctor back when the company had just five employees because I saw an opportunity to be a part of something big,” Kim said. “I’ve been able to grow professionally while contributing to the growth of the business, and today the team is over 60 people.”
Kim isn’t the only Seattle techie who has been rewarded for his ability to strike while the iron is hot. Built In recently spoke with four other Seattle tech workers who all saw something special in their companies during the job hunt. The good news? You can follow in their footsteps; all five of their organizations are currently hiring.
Companies like DocuSign, General Motors and Twitter use Highspot’s sales enablement platform to close more deals. Highspot’s platform offers a single place to store and access training guides and content and is designed to help onboard new reps faster, increase prospect engagement and upskill teams.
Why did you first apply to join Highspot, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
Highspot initially appealed to me for two reasons: the product and the market. The product had a reputation for being the best in the sales enablement space, and the proof came not only from our solution owners but from sellers themselves. Then there was the sales enablement market. This function is growing by leaps and bounds and there’s a huge amount of innovation happening. Some of the world’s smartest, most innovative people are sales enablement professionals. Those are the kinds of market conditions, and the kinds of customers, I love to be around.
I only became aware of Highspot’s supportive, collaborative and high-energy culture once I started the interview process. My final interview was on a Friday and wrapped up right before lunchtime. In pre-pandemic times the whole company ate lunch together and then attended an all-hands meeting. The person who interviewed me, who is now my manager, invited me to stay for lunch. I was all-in on Highspot after that experience. In the nearly three years I’ve been a Highspotter, our culture hasn’t changed that much. It looks different at our scale, but at the core it’s the same.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Highspot?
Part of Highspot’s core mission is to deliver a great customer experience at every turn. That’s expected of all Highspotters but is particularly required from the services team. When we’re recruiting, we look for people who genuinely love to help customers perform their jobs effectively. Our team is composed of highly effective communicators who are natural teachers and coaches, people who generously share their expertise with customers and each other.
Sleep Doctor is a health media company that creates evidence-based content that is written and reviewed by subject matter experts. The company’s properties include the websites Testing.com, SleepFoundation.org and Tuck.com.
Why did you first apply to join Sleep Doctor, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
I joined Sleep Doctor back when the company had just five employees because I saw an opportunity to be a part of something big. I’ve been able to grow professionally while contributing to the growth of the business, and today the team is over 60 people.
My experience at Sleep Doctor has been really fun and exciting. I get to work with great people who not only challenge me to be better but also support me in various ways. I strive to keep building and expanding my skill set, and I’ve appreciated my manager coaching me and investing in training and resources that help me continue to learn and develop my skills.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Sleep Doctor?
We’ve grown quite a bit during my time at Sleep Doctor, but we’re still harnessing that small team mentality. Generally, I think the folks who really thrive here are the ones willing to get their hands dirty and who have that ‘get things done’ attitude. At times we’ll move fast to push projects past the finish line, so being able to quickly pivot is something that goes a long way. Mistakes happen, and sometimes we’ll miss a target, but we like to see our team approach these situations as opportunities to learn and improve.
Mothership is a logistics technology company that connects companies with freight transportation companies on-demand, whether they need cargo shipped across the country or locally within the same day.
Why did you first apply to join Mothership, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
Fast and reliable shipping is the new norm, and that’s why I was intrigued when I first found Mothership. They were actively working to break through dated last-mile shipping practices and make same-day delivery the new standard.
When I first joined, Mothership had one last-mile delivery network: Los Angeles. In hindsight, carriers on our platform probably thought we were crazy to offer same-day service at the rates we did. Today, we have 12 same-day networks and no plans to slow down. I look forward to the many months ahead as we continue to scale and open the world to what Mothership has to offer.
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
As we work to bring on larger clients and expand into new markets, there’s a challenge on the accounts payable side to balance rigid accounting practices with scalable technology solutions. How do we find this balance, and how do we continue to provide ease of use to our customers? I’m working alongside the product, marketing and engineering teams to find that balance. We’re working to understand our customers’ needs and determine how we can leverage software services and integrations to solve one of the most significant problems in logistics: dated accounting practices.
ExtraHop is a cybersecurity company. Enterprise businesses use its artificial intelligence-powered platform to secure themselves against cyber threats and respond to security breaches faster.
Why did you first apply to join ExtraHop and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
When I joined ExtraHop 12 years ago, I cared about being part of a nimble, collaborative company where I could make a difference. We’ve grown by leaps and bounds since then — I was one of the first 20 employees and now we have about 500 ExtraHoppers — but I still feel that my voice matters and that the opinions of my teammates matter. I think it’s pretty cool that the company has maintained this focus on collaboration and inclusiveness.
This also directly relates to my job. When every voice matters, the opinions, feedback and needs of the customer are especially important. As a regional sales manager, I get to be the voice of the customer internally. I love seeing the impact of my work and how it makes our customers’ lives better, easier and more secure.
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
The part of my job that brings me the most joy are face-to-face customer interactions. Throughout the pandemic, it’s been a fun challenge to put myself behind a computer screen and figure out how to connect with people. A lot of sales is about the personal relationship and the ability for a prospective customer to trust me. I used to build that trust by grabbing lunch and chatting about hobbies or learning about their families.
Now, I actually get to see their kids or their pets on Zoom. I think the realization that we can still build meaningful relationships and get our jobs done has opened my eyes to new possibilities. This allows us to hire people in different locations, support employees with young and growing families, and offer a more supportive and flexible work environment.
Optimize Health is a healthtech company whose remote patient monitoring software and hardware are meant to make it easier for healthcare workers to monitor the status of patients from afar.
Why did you first apply to Optimize Health, and how has your experience changed over time since you were a new hire?
I joined Optimize Health because of the mission, the company’s impact on patients’ lives and because of leadership’s commitment to building a great place to work. I was also excited to build out a people team that supports each and every team member as well as the company’s goals. Since joining, I have become invigorated by working with ‘Optimizers,’ which is what we call ourselves. We are trying to solve a hard problem. There are some hard days, but it’s all worth it to work with a group that is so passionate about making an impact. Optimizers are just a fun group of people to learn from, lean on and build a team with.
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Optimize Health?
Now is a really fun time to join because of the impact each team member can make. Everyone has the ability to contribute to decisions that shape the way we improve patients’ lives. We are growing fast and only going to grow faster in the next couple of quarters. All this growth means we as a people team need to be able to build for scale. The people team is focused on creating a best place to work that is inclusive and where folks feel as if they belong.
