For those of you who don’t already know, Santa Barbara Women in STEM is hosting our first of many Lightning Talks event on March 3, 2021 at 6:00pm PST via Zoom. This event is sponsored by HG Insights, and will feature 10 speakers, from a variety of companies, who will share their software-related projects and passions in only three minutes! There will be prizes and giveaways for both the speakers and the attendees. We hope to see you there!
View the event and RSVP:
Lightning Talks Event - Software. March 3, 2021 at 6:00pm PST.
This past week, we connected with Ali French and Lauren Wong, both from HG Insights, a technology intelligence software company located in Santa Barbara. Ali is a Sr. Manager of Global Revenue Operations, and Lauren is a Senior Data Services Engineer. They shared what they love about working at HG Insights, their perspective on what the recruiting process is like now, and what HG Insights is doing to maintain collaboration among teams. Check out their interviews below, and be sure to catch their Lightning Talks on March 3rd!
Q: What do you love about HG Insights?
Ali: I love that we're growing quickly but are able to maintain the internal personal relationships of a small company.
Ali French, HG Insights
Lauren Wong, HG Insights
Lauren: Definitely the culture! Working with colleagues who are just as passionate and motivated about what we do is a bonus that motivates me to do my best daily. Its rewarding being able to see my day-to-day work impact our customers directly as well.
Q: How are you able to share the sense of work culture, community, and collaboration to prospective employees via remote interviews?
Ali: I like to talk about the "before times" and compare it to how those same things are now. For example - in the "before times" we could easily walk to the funk zone or somewhere close for happy hour and in the "now times" we do virtual happy hours (not as many as when WFH first started - the zoom fatigue is REAL but that's ok and people understand that virtual happy hours don't HAVE to happen, and they can be scheduled ad hoc).
Q: How has the office environment changed since going remote?
Lauren: Aside from the Zoom fatigue that I'm sure we're all experiencing, I would say HG has done a good job at keeping all of us connected. Whether it's through virtual happy hours, drive-thru lunches, or keeping our company town halls a good mix of business and fun. HG's company culture is a large part of our office environment as well, I think all of my colleagues genuinely like working with each other and connecting with each other, so it's really a natural thing.
HG Insights Group Fitness Class
Q: What are key things (skills, experience, interests) that you look for in potential interns or entry-level employees?
Ali: Problem Solving is number 1 for me. Not just from the standpoint of "can this person fix what's broken in the system/process" but from the standpoint of can this person be forward thinking enough to know that a solution is a bad idea because it solves a problem today but will lead to another one in 6-12 months. Even if those situations are unavoidable and you have to put a Band-Aid on something, having the ability to identify those situations is key. This is also a reason why I'm a big fan of giving late-stage candidates interview assignment/project - it weeds out people who aren't serious about the opportunity and gives them a real-life example of something they'd need to problem solve for on the job.
Lauren: I would say it's important for potential interns to have a natural desire and passion for working with data. Having that innate curiosity for asking the 'why' and challenging what is considered the standard quo is something HG looks for in its candidates.
Q: How has the interview process (and/or recruiting process) changed since going remote?
Ali: Personally, I like zoom interviews. It keeps people on time because both the candidate and the interviewer can see when another person has entered the zoom room, signaling that it's time to wrap up. That was hard to do when conducting in person interviews without feeling rude to the candidate. And if one interview runs late, it throws off the entire schedule which can often lead to last minute shuffling of interview slots (and everyone hates last minute schedule changes!)
Q: Hobby/activity you have picked up in quarantine?
Ali: PiYo!! (Pilates-Yoga Hybrid). Pre-quarantine I was not a huge fan of group classes but now I'm a big fan. I love it even more because it's run by a co-worker’s wife. Her Facebook group has been a life saver for both my physical and mental health during quarantine!
Ali with her dog
Q: What’s your go-to work snack?
Ali: Chips, Chips and more chips.
Lauren: Before our offices closed, I definitely would go for our usual Wednesday bagels, but since work from home, I love going for a classic avocado toast with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar or Trader Joes' soft dried mangos!
Q: What was the last song you listened to?
Ali: I don't wanna know - Fleetwood Mac
Lauren: Pretty Bug (feat. James Vincent McMorrow) by Allan Rayman