At Hireology, we put an emphasis on cultivating a work culture that caters to the employee experience. In fact, our leadership team prides itself on striving to make Hireology the best place you ever work.
Achieving this goal takes dedication and intention, which you can find in our competitive pay, benefits, and remote work options — but we don’t stop there! Our career growth opportunities and mobility offerings are top of class too; we want to support our people no matter where they are in their career so that they are fully prepared to make their next move, regardless of where that move may be. Each year, hundreds of employees experience both traditional and non-traditional career growth at Hireology. These opportunities allow them to expand their skills, gain new experiences, and feel fulfilled in their day-to-day work.
Each month, we’re featuring a different employee who has grown professionally at Hireology in our new Career Mobility Spotlight blog series. For August, we’re focusing on Dani Harper, former Senior Software Engineer turned Engineering Manager. Dani’s career at Hireology is an excellent example of a traditional career path at our organization.
When did you start with Hireology? What role did you start in? What role are you in currently?
I was hired as a Senior Software Engineer in September of 2021, and I am now an Engineering Manager.
Can you describe how you’ve grown professionally since you started working for us?
For many years as a Senior Engineer, my focus was mainly on figuring out how my team could build the next feature as fast as we could, while still balancing quality and maintainability. Although this is still important, my main focus now is trying to figure out what features we should build that really solve the problems our users need us to solve, that also align with the company’s overall goals. I have become more skillful at articulating these goals to the team, setting the course, making sure everyone is rowing in the same direction, and hopefully providing everyone on the team with the resources they need to be successful.
What have been your most significant achievements while working for Hireology?
Helping to lead the engineering team through a reorganization that was exciting and rewarding, but also intimidating and challenging at the same time. Our engineering teams are now more high performing, cross-functional and self-learning than ever before.
What’s the best advice you can give someone who is looking to move up in their role or has shown interest in a different role or department?
I believe these are two different goals and require slightly different focuses. In regards to the promotion question, I think it is very important to make sure you are mastering the impact and skills required for your current role. Once you believe you are there and your manager agrees, act and take responsibility like you are already at the next level. Keep a running record of your achievements and the impacts they had; the more convinced your manager is that you will succeed at the next level, the more likely you are to get promoted.
To transition to another role or department, I think it is very important that you are seen as being respected and successful in your current role. Network as much as you can with people from the desired department. Try to find a sponsor who can give you advice on gaining the essential skills you will need in the new role and is willing to put in a good word and support you if an opportunity arises. Success for both of these goals will require help, frequent feedback, and putting in the work. Ask for regular and explicit feedback from both managers and mentors. Be very direct and clear about what your goals are, along with the progress you think you’ve made towards those goals. And always ask for help when you need it!
What do you like about our company culture?
My favorite part of Hireology’s culture is our high trust teams. We share information easily, we extend support to one another, we’re not afraid to take up challenging work, and we don’t worry about other team members letting us down. Another important aspect of our culture is the real opportunity to grow your career here while contributing to the growth of the company in a clear and tangible way. The impact of a team’s work to the overall goals of the company is something that is regularly highlighted and celebrated.
What makes you stay at our organization?
There are several reasons I want to stay at Hireology, but I will try to narrow it down to three. First, it’s the high value placed on learning and career development. There are continual learning opportunities and generous yearly training budgets that employees are regularly encouraged to take advantage of. Hireology also has a fantastic work-life balance which includes monthly mental health days, unlimited PTO that doesn’t come with sneaky hidden rules, and a lot of flexibility and autonomy over your work schedule. My favorite, though, is the empowerment that comes with focusing on outcomes instead of checkboxes. Leadership cares more about your impact on outcomes, organizational goals, and solving the problems our users need us to solve, not how well or how many checkboxes you can tick off on a rigid and uniform process.
What is the best advice you could give to someone just starting out at the company?
Focus on learning everything you can about the company’s and your team’s goals, along with everything you can find out about the platform users and what their ultimate goals are in using our product. Then, narrow in on how your skills and interests will be best utilized to contribute in achieving these goals. Oh, and most importantly, relax, get to know people, and have fun!
Which one of Hireology’s Core Values or belief statements resonate with you the most? Why?
With all my focus on impact and goals, it’s no surprise that my favorite core value is Own the Result. This is the place to be if understanding how your work matters is important to you.
Are you interested in learning more about Hireology’s culture and company history? Check out our About Us page for more information!
