An interview process: When company culture and objectives align- and it’s obvious.
Happyforce is a service that collects employee data, comments, and testimonials and creates a live snap-shot about how the client company is feeling in the moment, what they are unhappy about, excited about, or what drives conversation. This tool allows management to really understand what is going on within their organization, and take steps to promote what makes employees happy, or fix what is not working. This organization is based in Barcelona, Spain. Given that I am moving back to Barcelona, I am looking for a job opportunity starting in the spring, after the second term of my Masters program.
One of the most annoying aspects of living in North America, is the time difference with Europe. This tends to get in the way of keeping in contact with friends or family (or an ex), travelling, and even trying to set up interviews with prospective jobs. Indeed, on Thursday at 5:30 AM I was up and running, drinking 1 (or 5) cups of coffee, waiting for my interview with Happyforce.
Like before every interview, a little rush of nervousness kicked in. However, any such feeling quickly evaporated when the Happyforce founders and employees started the conversation. Everyone was very friendly and laid back, and showed genuine interest in my person. Even though the conditions were relaxed, the passion and motivation the employees had were in no way muted. Not only were they passionate about their company mission, but also about the personal and professional development of the entire team. What was inspiring is how much trust they put into their team. They mentioned how one newly employed teammate was holding workshops in front of clients (alone!) in a matter of weeks, because her potential was obvious.
In my head, throughout the duration of the interview, I was thinking how motivating it must be to succeed in a company like this, where your opinion and involvement is wanted and looked for. As a student in university, you go to countless interviews.
However, not a single company that I interviewed for has ever asked me: ‘What can working for our company bring you? How are you going to grow with us?’
It is very exciting to have the possible opportunity to work with a company where I will not have to compromise working for a cause I believe in, and working on my personal growth and objectives. After the interview ended, I reflected on the conversation. It really seems that the Happyforce employees exemplify the culture they want to promote with the app and service they are trying to sell.
