Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

Similar to other companies, the early career talent recruiting approach has looked different for Cockroach Labs with the shift to virtual recruitment the past few years. With that being said, the Early Career team realized that hosting impactful virtual events where students could hear from team members to learn more about the company, but also walk away with things such as interview tips, knowledge sharing about how to stand out in the interview process, resume reviews, or mock interviews was important to the company and prospective candidates. Each year, the Early Career team evaluates which universities to partner with then connect with their career centers, student groups and alumni to ensure they are making multiple touch points throughout the year.

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

One of Cockroach Labs’ core values is to “Communicate Openly and Honestly” and this goes the same for their hiring process with candidates. The process is open sourced on the website so candidates have a clear understanding of what to expect from the Recruiter phone screen to the Face to Face rounds to how the team makes their final decisions. Interviews are also exercise-based and interviewers are trained to relay the problems back to the role a candidate is interviewing for so candidates can get an idea of the work they will be doing day-to-day. Cockroach Labs believes in being transparent and being collaborative so candidates are able to show up as their best selves. Following the interview process and moving to an offer, candidates are able to chat directly to future team members and managers as well.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

Cockroach Labs is committed to building a diverse workforce and advancing equity within their communities because of the understanding that an inclusive environment leads to stronger decision making, more creativity and better business outcomes. This begins with having a fair hiring process where candidates’ resumes are not shared with the hiring team throughout the interview process and all interviews are exercise-based to fight unconscious bias. With the Campus Recruitment strategy, there is an emphasis on partnering with student groups such as Society of Women Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and externally with various organizations working on connecting underrepresented talent to the Tech industry.