So what’s it really like to work for one of Canada’s hottest start-ups at the top of its game in a notoriously fickle, fast-paced industry? Most importantly, what does it take to become part of a culture of Friday morning waffle breakfasts,and luxury holiday ski trips? From POF’s sprawling downtown offices with a waterfront view to rival some of Vancouver’s best, here are some answers straight from the source:
“We are looking for a certain type of employee,” says Carolina Ellis, POF’s HR Manager. “We like to bring strong team players on board – creative thinkers, people who can keep up and bring something unique to the table, because everybody matters with such a lean team. We won’t hire someone if we feel it’s not a cultural fit with the rest of POF, as we are highly collaborative and seek to empower our team members with a deep sense of belonging.”
POF is constantly on the lookout for new talent in the world of coding and software engineering, often hiring from local schools, and introducing highly coveted internship positions in which students can jump into working on new products and releases almost immediately. “A major reason many coders flock here is due to our access and availability to cutting edge technology, because developers are our bread and butter, we invest heavily in our infrastructure. Not only do our software engineers get a great deal of freedom, but they receive feedback on their work almost immediately,” adds Carolina. “Many tech companies have a great deal of red tape surrounding products and ideas, and seeing your work come to fruition can hardly be expected. Here at POF, developers can work on a project or mobile platform and know within five minutes if consumers like it, providing the perfect environment to produce your best work – seen by millions of people each day.”
“POF places great value on bringing the sharpest and most capable individuals on board ,” said Ellis. “We have so many stories of employees who started in one area of the company, and quickly and grew into more advanced roles. Our Creative Director started as a customer service rep, and one of our Product Managers also started in customer service and now operates in a key role within our company. Unlike Google, you aren’t employee number 25,000; you are employee 27 or 56, and on top of that we probably know your favorite food and musical preference. We are lean and creative and we don’t hire just anyone for the sake of hiring.”
Instead of punching out at 5 pm to go our separate ways, we make half marathon running teams, impromptu brainstorming sessions, and Harlem Shake videos.
In business and life, you learn that you must first experience it if you want to build it. And it’s no different with the culture at POF. We want to build meaningful relationships, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we strive to make each POF employee a brand ambassador as we quickly become one of Canada’s hottest tech commodities – and undoubtedly have the most fun in the process.
If you’d like to learn more about the positions we are hiring for right now, please feel free to visit our Careers Page
