What kind of company do you want to work for? Some typical criteria applied to this question are size, customer focus, market focus, public or start-up, and culture, which is probably the most important one. How you fit in to a company’s culture is critical to your success and happiness where you work. It’s so important, I’m always curious when a company is recruiting for employees how it presents or brands itself to prospective candidates. Branding is not just a commercial, video or website. It is every facet of the company’s identity including its products, people, communications, and culture.
Often a job seeker’s first impression of a company culture comes through its brand communications. It’s an opportunity for a company to articulate what it values, and for the candidate to determine whether she is compatible with those values. The clearer the company is, the greater chance of a strong culture match and employee success. When joining a company, how many times have we forged ahead and taken a position, ignoring the danger signs of our incompatibility with a company’s culture? We either wanted to work for a particular company because it would look good on our resume, or the job was our dream job. I got great advice from an executive at my very first job. He told me that I should never work for a company that was not consistent with my values, and that the people I worked with were more important than the job. Sad to say, I have not always followed his advice and it has come back to bite me every time.
Companies often forget that culture is part of their brand, and that their brand and culture should be reflected in their recruitment efforts. Hiring in Silicon Valley is so competitive, that every advantage should be utilized. In companies I have worked for, as part of my communications objectives, I have included how the company is perceived by potential candidates. In fact, branding can be a way to set your company apart from the pack. When a company takes care to have its brand come through in its recruiting, it shows they value their culture and their brand.
I recently read an article about Evernote and their CEO and founder, Phil Libin. I was so struck by the brand promise he articulated that it led me to download their product and poke around the company. (Yes, PR actually works.) I was delighted to find that they are clear about who they are, and make sure that it resonates throughout all their communications and the product itself. I still have more investigation to do on the product side, but so far I like what I see, and the user interface is consistent with the brand.
I then started reading their website and found my way to their Career postings. The language used in the job postings reflects their mission and culture, and sends a clear message to potential candidates about their fit with the company.
“Evernote is changing the way people work. For the first time ever, you can actually love the software that you use to achieve everything that matters to you. It's a generational shift in workplace productivity, and we are making it happen…
And most of all, you’re fired up to help change millions of people’s lives for the better.”
This is a company that’s on a mission, very much like when I joined Apple and we believed we were going to change the world. It was an exciting place to be and the bond created between employees was amazing and long-lasting. The messaging I quoted above will most likely appeal to the kind of person that Evernote wants to hire, will thrive in their culture, and contribute to their success.
And then there are the perks. Many Valley companies offer competitive salaries, stock, gym memberships, three meals and so on. Less common are the following offered by Evernote:
- Housecleaning – Who doesn’t want this? It’s not much money, but what a thoughtful benefit. This impacts the whole family and shows consideration of an employee’s life outside work.
- Unlimited PTO – This shows Evernote treats their employees like adults — if your work is done you can go play.
- Annual subscription to the New York Times – Hey, they actually want you to read! As an alternative it might be nice if they offered to pay for a local paper.
- Once a year $1,000 vacation subsidy – What an encouragement to take a vacation and re-charge.
These little extras speak to the “human-ness” of the company brand, and you can bet it’s extended to how they build products and treat customers.
I plan to spend more time to get to know the product better. It would be interesting to meet the people there to confirm my suspicions of Evernote being a human-centered brand and company.
Silicon Valley is full of companies that are great places to work. Evernote is one that I recently stumbled on that felt a wee bit different and a cut above the rest. The fact that their culture and brand are reflected in their communications and recruitment messaging says they know who they are and the kind of people they want to attract.
Often a job seeker’s first impression of a company culture comes through its brand communications. It’s an opportunity for a company to articulate what it values, and for the candidate to determine whether she is compatible with those values. The clearer the company is, the greater chance of a strong culture match and employee success. When joining a company, how many times have we forged ahead and taken a position, ignoring the danger signs of our incompatibility with a company’s culture? We either wanted to work for a particular company because it would look good on our resume, or the job was our dream job. I got great advice from an executive at my very first job. He told me that I should never work for a company that was not consistent with my values, and that the people I worked with were more important than the job. Sad to say, I have not always followed his advice and it has come back to bite me every time.
Companies often forget that culture is part of their brand, and that their brand and culture should be reflected in their recruitment efforts. Hiring in Silicon Valley is so competitive, that every advantage should be utilized. In companies I have worked for, as part of my communications objectives, I have included how the company is perceived by potential candidates. In fact, branding can be a way to set your company apart from the pack. When a company takes care to have its brand come through in its recruiting, it shows they value their culture and their brand.
I recently read an article about Evernote and their CEO and founder, Phil Libin. I was so struck by the brand promise he articulated that it led me to download their product and poke around the company. (Yes, PR actually works.) I was delighted to find that they are clear about who they are, and make sure that it resonates throughout all their communications and the product itself. I still have more investigation to do on the product side, but so far I like what I see, and the user interface is consistent with the brand.
I then started reading their website and found my way to their Career postings. The language used in the job postings reflects their mission and culture, and sends a clear message to potential candidates about their fit with the company.
“Evernote is changing the way people work. For the first time ever, you can actually love the software that you use to achieve everything that matters to you. It's a generational shift in workplace productivity, and we are making it happen…
And most of all, you’re fired up to help change millions of people’s lives for the better.”
This is a company that’s on a mission, very much like when I joined Apple and we believed we were going to change the world. It was an exciting place to be and the bond created between employees was amazing and long-lasting. The messaging I quoted above will most likely appeal to the kind of person that Evernote wants to hire, will thrive in their culture, and contribute to their success.
And then there are the perks. Many Valley companies offer competitive salaries, stock, gym memberships, three meals and so on. Less common are the following offered by Evernote:
- Housecleaning – Who doesn’t want this? It’s not much money, but what a thoughtful benefit. This impacts the whole family and shows consideration of an employee’s life outside work.
- Unlimited PTO – This shows Evernote treats their employees like adults — if your work is done you can go play.
- Annual subscription to the New York Times – Hey, they actually want you to read! As an alternative it might be nice if they offered to pay for a local paper.
- Once a year $1,000 vacation subsidy – What an encouragement to take a vacation and re-charge.
These little extras speak to the “human-ness” of the company brand, and you can bet it’s extended to how they build products and treat customers.
I plan to spend more time to get to know the product better. It would be interesting to meet the people there to confirm my suspicions of Evernote being a human-centered brand and company.
Silicon Valley is full of companies that are great places to work. Evernote is one that I recently stumbled on that felt a wee bit different and a cut above the rest. The fact that their culture and brand are reflected in their communications and recruitment messaging says they know who they are and the kind of people they want to attract.
RSS Feed
