Austin has captured a steady stream of tech press this past year thanks to companies like Tesla, Oracle and Cloudflare, which all opened either new headquarters or new offices in the city. Each company has big hiring plans, but what they might not have counted on is competing with the city’s established tech companies for both top local talent and new arrivals.
The competition is fierce in large part because companies can no longer woo talent simply on the basis of name recognition or promises of a big perks and pay package.
People want career growth, which is why Evan Hangliter chose to join the sales team at MongoDB, whose “BDR to CRO” program provided him a clear path to a leadership role. Austinites also know that it’s not just big-name companies hiring in droves or growing like crazy. ESO has doubled in size since 2020, expanded internationally and has plans to hire 200 people in the first half of 2022. Finally, it’s important to anyone on the job hunt to join a supportive team that welcomes new ideas and greets challenges to the status quo with curiosity, as Jandy Kelley found when she accepted an offer at Brightpearl.
MongoDB, ESO and Brightpearl are all hiring, as are several other local companies with equally ambitious growth goals. We recently spoke with employees at each organization to learn more about what their experience has been like and what sets candidates apart during the recruiting process.
What they do: Skimmer’s software is designed to make it easier for pool service companies to do business. Its tech gives companies a single platform to manage their customers, place orders for new parts, track work orders and more.
Why did you first apply to join Skimmer, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
I love working on platforms that enable customers to significantly enhance their productivity, professionalism and profitability. I joined Skimmer after researching the booming pool and spa industry, talking to a few of their customers, watching all of their product videos and testing the product myself. It’s very sophisticated on the back end but the web UI and apps are intuitive and simple to use.
Since joining, we have significantly increased our brand awareness, doubled our customer count and have become the global leader in software for pool service and repair companies. I’ve traveled in the “Skimmer Mobile” for the past nine months visiting customers and partners and exhibiting at trade shows. Everyone I’ve met is friendly, hardworking, professional and energizing. Meeting face-to-face and getting to know the industry, our partners and customers has been a gift, and I’m energized and excited about what’s next!
We have become the global leader in software for pool service and repair companies.”
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Skimmer?
We are looking for energetic and passionate people who want to dig in, learn about our industry and our customers’ work, and help take Skimmer to the next level.
What they do: Braze’s technology analyzes customer data to give brands the ability to create personalized, targeted interactions at scale over SMS, email, apps and more.
Why did you first apply to join your company, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
I joined Braze because of the product and the people. Our sales teams solve problems with confidence because the platform does what we say it will do, and we work alongside genuine and brilliant teammates. During the interview process, I remember candidly sharing my career aspirations with my now-boss, and he not only supported my goals but had a clear vision of how he would help me reach them.
Nearly a year later, I am grateful to report that Braze continues to invest in product and people. Product enhancements are communicated transparently and frequently, with internal surveys collected monthly. We also give our people development opportunities early and often, including mentorship pairings. Everyone gets a “Braze buddy” to guide them through their first three months, and I still meet with mine!
Many of us don't come from a traditional SaaS background, so curiosity and adaptability prevail in interviews.”
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Braze?
When building our teams, we emphasize culture add over culture fit. While we are fiercely committed to our core values, we want to evolve, not just expand! Many of us don't come from a traditional SaaS background, so curiosity and adaptability prevail in interviews. Curiosity allows someone to add knowledge and skills regardless of previous experience, but adaptability is what defines success over time. Mobile and data privacy environments will continue to shift rapidly, so we need to constantly leverage new ways of working with the strengths we already have.
What they do: ESO creates software for emergency medical services professionals working in hospitals, fire departments and in state government agencies, enabling them to better share resources and information.
Why did you first apply to join ESO, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
When I first heard about ESO’s mission, products and customers, I knew this was a company I wanted to be a part of. As a recruiter, you want to be able to tell candidates about a company you believe in and are passionate about, and that’s what I’ve found at ESO. I am extremely grateful to have joined ESO when I did, pandemic and all. Our chief medical officer, Dr. Brent Meyers, held weekly town hall meetings, giving us the data on how the pandemic was affecting the world and what we needed to do as a company to best support our customers.
Working for a company that serves emergency services, fire departments and hospitals is an opportunity I didn’t know existed but one I am eternally grateful for. Since joining ESO in 2020, we have doubled in size and expanded into Canada. Even with such growth and expansion, our emphasis on the customer and our people has remained the same.
I knew this was a company I wanted to be a part of.”
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at ESO?
We are looking to hire 200 people in the first half of the year and have some amazing opportunities across our engineering, product, sales, customer experience and marketing departments. Each team has their own unique set of experiences and qualities they look for, but it all comes back to one thing: passion.
This is a key focus in our interviews. We want to know what you’re passionate about — personally and professionally — to better understand who you are. Passion is one of our core values and something we talk about constantly, because it has a way of bringing out the joy in people. Sometimes the work can be hard, but if you have passion then you know it will be worth it in the end.
What they do: BlackLocus is the internal innovation lab of The Home Depot, with its team responsible for creating the back-end business tech that powers the home improvement retail giant.
Why did you first apply to join BlackLocus, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
When I applied for a recruiter position at BlackLocus, I was so intrigued by the idea that it was a startup operating within The Home Depot. I’ve spent so much time shopping in Home Depot but never even thought about the technology behind the scenes that drives the business itself. Since joining, I realize we have the best of both worlds: a startup vibe with huge business goals. We are an autonomous innovation lab that delivers the competitive edge for the largest home improvement retailer in the world!
I am surrounded by incredibly intelligent people and get to explore new technologies and methodologies on a daily basis, and we do so in a stable and secure environment. We share the culture and values of Home Depot while maintaining the agility of a small company, pushing the boundaries and offering up creative solutions to big problems. It’s a truly unique environment that has contributed to my career growth and development in profound ways.
I realize we have the best of both worlds: a startup vibe with huge business goals.”
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at BlackLocus?
BlackLocus is growing now more than ever! When we are interviewing new team members, it is important that they are thoughtful, innovative, courageous and intentional. We want to be able to challenge each other; try new things and have discussions with those who may have a different vision or idea. Everybody brings a unique skill set and experience, which creates a wonderful opportunity to learn from your peers! Whether you’re talking with someone from our data science, engineering or product team, there is an openness that makes even a non-technical person like myself feel comfortable asking questions or sharing an idea.
What they do: MongoDB is a database provider whose cloud services are used by both small startups trying to get their ideas off the ground and enterprise companies looking to modernize their tech orgs.
Why did you first apply to join MongoDB, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
I joined MongoDB for three reasons. First, MongoDB’s technology is at the intersection of open source, “anything as a service” and application development. Five hundred million applications will be developed in the next four years, and each one needs a database. That’s a huge opportunity. Second, when I interviewed I heard about the “sales MBA” and applying the “science of sales.” In my previous role, I was handed accounts, a quota and told to sell. We had training but no execution or accountability. My development stalled and I knew there was more to learn. MongoDB offered structured training, real-time execution and accountability to apply in the sales cycle to realize my fullest potential.
Third and finally, “BDR to CRO,” MongoDB’s sales career growth plan, provides guidance to achieve promotion. I wanted to move into a leadership role, and MongoDB made the path clear. Over one-and-a-half years later, MongoDB’s growth has continued to accelerate because of our technology, leadership and people, and there is a night and day difference in my abilities as a sales professional, which led to my promotion to a leadership role. I am passionate about MongoDB because of the impact working here has had on my life.
I am passionate about MongoDB because of the impact working here has had on my life.”
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at MongoDB?
A growth mindset is key to finding success here. Individuals with a growth mindset lean into the uncomfortable to get to the next level, which means trying to do things better each time, proactively engaging top performers to learn behaviors that drive success and staying humble and knowing there is a lot they can learn. As a growing technology company in a competitive market, we constantly challenge ourselves to go to the next level, and that starts with the individual.
Growing at 56 percent YOY is incredibly exciting and does not happen by accident. Our biggest driver of growth is our people. If we continue to hire the best, provide world-class development and adhere to a strong sales process, we will continue to create opportunities for promotion and scale as an organization. My focus right now is developing future leaders and enterprise sales professionals who will take our company to new heights. Practically, that means individualized development plans, team training, role playing and call reviews, which prepare the people on my team for success and their next role.
What they do: Banyan Water’s water management software and services enable businesses to better understand their water use, compare costs from different utility providers, more efficiently use water and more.
Why did you first apply to join Banyan Water, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
What attracted me to Banyan Water was the small, dedicated team; the mission and the ability to work at a company that is using technology and data to save water and do good. We have dealt with many challenges in my over two years here, but through those challenges we have been able to innovate and grow.
We are always looking for candidates who are willing and ready to roll up their sleeves and wear many hats.”
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Banyan Water?
We are always looking for candidates who are willing and ready to roll up their sleeves and wear many hats. Disrupting the water and landscaping world is challenging and it requires someone who has a certain level of grit, determination, proactivity and adaptability. I believe that anyone with those characteristics can excel and grow at Banyan Water.
What they do: Flo Recruit builds virtual and in-person recruiting software designed specifically to both help law firms more easily hire new grads and law schools more easily recruit and interview prospective students.
Why did you first apply to join Flo Recruit, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
In February of 2020, Katherine Allen, our CEO, reached out to me to learn more about my experience in account management and how to ensure a company is set up for success from the get-go. Fast forward one and a half years later and Katherine and I met once again, but this time about the possibility of me leading Flo Recruit’s account management team.
The first thing that piqued my interest in the organization was the intense growth it experienced at the end of 2020. The second was the product roadmap, which was fueled by that growth. Everyone strives to work at a SaaS company with the “hockey stick” slope in new business acquisition; however, many companies do not have a plan once they attract so many customers in such a short period of time.
Since joining the company, I’ve been so impressed with the vision and plans the co-founders have, especially with the world’s new hybridized workforce as a backdrop. This will be a phenomenal year for Flo Recruit, and I could not be more excited to be part of this growth.
We are in a very unique situation as the leader in a market with little to no direct competition…yet.”
When you’re looking to grow your team, what’s a quality that you look for in candidates, and why is it important at Flo Recruit?
We are looking to grow the account management team, and as we think about how to engineer the most productive team, we’re focused on hiring candidates who can manage a book of around 150 SMB to enterprise customers, maintain the health of that book and simultaneously identify and close expansion opportunities. We are in a very unique situation as the leader in a market with little to no direct competition…yet. With the breadth of new products on deck this year, it is vital for our account managers to understand our clients’ satisfaction levels and use that as a compass to ensure customers have a deep understanding of what we have to offer.
What they do: Brightpearl’s suite of software solutions is designed to give e-commerce companies more time to focus on growth by automating a wide variety of back office tasks, from shipping and fulfillment to accounting and demand forecasting.
Why did you first apply to join Brightpearl, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
I applied to Brightpearl because the job position seemed like a fit. Everyone was super nice and receptive when I joined and also really welcomed both me and my skills. Teams have been open to my ideas and thoughts about how I can assist and impact the overall business, and my ideas have been met with excitement and curiosity when I challenge concepts and present new ways of doing things. This makes me feel welcomed and like my voice and talent actually matter. To say that is a thrill for me is an understatement!
The only issue I’m having to overcome right now is not getting too excited.”
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
I was hired to create a structured onboarding sales training as well as ongoing training for skill and personal development across several sales channels. First, for a company to see the value in these needs is amazing! They recognize this is an integral part of the overall picture of growth, and fortunately, the challenges around getting buy-in for this project are extremely minimal. That is very uncommon for a role like mine and is quite refreshing. The only issue I’m having to overcome right now is not getting too excited and jumping ahead in our creation process and making sure we start with the right foundations in place. I feel we are off to a great start and I’m super excited to be a part of this journey with Brightpearl.
What they do: DISCO is a legaltech company that offers software solutions for e-discovery, managed document review and building cases.
Why did you first apply to join DISCO, and how has your experience evolved over time since you were a new hire?
After practicing law for four years I knew it wasn’t the right career for me, but I didn’t want to abandon the field completely. I was passionate about legal technology, and aptitude tests revealed I would be happy in a marketing role. I looked for marketing jobs at legal technology companies and saw DISCO was hiring. I had heard great things about the company and applied for a position as a sales development representative. I got the position and my DISCO journey began.
Right away I knew I was at the right place. DISCO’s mission to use technology to strengthen the rule of law aligned with how I wanted to bridge my legal background and passion for technology. Since joining the company, I have been promoted to business development representative and then client advocacy manager. When I was ready for a new challenge, a position opened up on another team that I was extremely passionate about: program manager for “DISCO for Schools.” Even though my job is completely different, I remain just as excited about DISCO’s mission as I was on day one, actually more so. It’s been incredible to see the company grow over the last three years and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Right away I knew I was at the right place.”
What’s your most interesting or exciting work-related challenge right now, and how are you overcoming it?
The most exciting work-related challenge is prioritizing everything I want to do and accomplish against my actual bandwidth. There is so much interest in the DISCO for Schools program – and I have so many ideas about how to grow and evolve the program – that it can be challenging to keep up, but it’s a great challenge to have! I’m working with my manager to align work with our strategic plan and set priorities so I know what we need to focus on next. I also receive a lot of support from colleagues across departments who also recognize the value of, and opportunities with, DISCO for Schools.
