Which Interview Path Is Right For You? At Codility, You Choose.

At Codility, our leaders believe it’s just as important for candidates to interview us as it is for us to interview them. With that in mind, we give candidates the option to choose their interview path. We invite them to speak with anyone at Codility that is not already in the hiring team or a member of one of our five employee resource groups (ERGs), which includes groups for LGBTQI+, Neurodiversity, Women, Parents, and People of Color (POC). 

Since rolling out this practice earlier this year, about 15 to 20% of candidates have accepted the offer to speak to our ERGs and appreciate the unique opportunity to have frank, off-the-record conversations with people who have a similar life experience. Candidates get to find out what it’s like to be yourself at Codility, and the conversations they have with ERGs and other employees don’t affect our recruiting decisions. 

Why We Want Candidates to Choose Their Interview Path

Authenticity and transparency are core values at Codility, and we want candidates to get to know and understand our culture early in the recruiting process. “Being able to offer that, to give them a way to speak to someone at our organization about the culture that they’re passionate about without it affecting their candidacy gives them some security,” said Jeremy Schmidt, Director of Global Talent Acquisition at Codility.

“It helps them think, ‘Hey, I can go into this process and learn more about Codility and maybe ask questions that I don’t necessarily feel comfortable asking a hiring manager.’ We were looking for ways to differentiate Codility and create a process to give candidates the chance to interview us, the same way we’re interviewing them.” 

Codility is a progressive workplace, and we live that value by infusing our processes (such as recruiting) with innovative practices that speak to the core of what today’s candidates and employees want from an employer. 

We work hard to stay informed about what people want and how the recruiting experience feels for them, and we want to deliver a candidate experience that reflects what it’s like to be a member of our team. 

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How Transparency Improves Our Candidate Experience

Every candidate has the opportunity to speak to one of our ERGs, and candidates for director-level and above positions are also offered access to executive leaders in any part of the organization. This allows candidates to better understand our product, people function, or technology, depending on their particular interests or career goals. 

“Leading with this type of transparency shows candidates our ability to respect their time and give them that opportunity to get engaged with us at the highest level within our organization,” said Schmidt. “And that our executives would offer that time to someone (off the record) to talk about what it’s like to work here and be a leader here.” 

Offering access to leaders, rank employees, and ERGs empowers candidates and helps them feel valued. “For too long, companies have been forcing people to bend and change and adapt to them versus companies adapting to the individual needs of humans,” said Jason Medley, Chief People Officer at Codility. 

“People are leaning into this now more than ever. And candidates realize they have value as a human being and that there are companies out there that are doing this right, that are being flexible and adapting to their needs — our human needs as caregivers, for mental health, and for time off. Candidates are getting savvier around this, and the companies that are refusing to do it are going to be left behind.”

Candidates have responded overwhelmingly positively to the opportunity to talk with ERGs and leaders within the organization. “As far as their interview experience, more than 90% of candidates strongly agree that it was a positive experience,” said Schmidt. 

“Over 90% said they have a clear, strong understanding of the position. 86% say they strongly agree that the interviews were conducted skillfully and that the interviewees were very, very well-prepared. Also, 97% say that they strongly agree that they were treated with courtesy and respect through the entire process.”

Inviting candidates to interact with ERGs has also positively impacted candidate engagement. Schmidt says that of the candidates who chose to connect with ERGs during the recruiting process, “100% seem more engaged through the process”.

Extra reading: Codility Jobs Now Include Even Better Benefits

Intentional Recruiting Builds Culture, Intentionally

Codility is a culture-driven organization, and we want to hire people who are invested in our values — ideally because they align with their perspectives. By offering candidates the chance to meet with one of our ERGs or other employees, we hope candidates will learn what they need to know to determine whether we’re a good match. 

We’re impressed by the candidate response to this new practice. We will continue to look for ways to improve the recruiting process and deliver more of what candidates and employees want— because that’s what helps us keep our culture alive and drive innovation in our industry.   

If you’re interested in becoming a part of Codility’s progressive team of innovators, check out our current job openings.