Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

The University Recruiting team took the second year of virtual recruiting as an opportunity to be even more innovative than the year previously, and maximize the chance to reach new students and universities. This included a week-long series called FIGNITE, consisting of technical and non-technical workshops to prepare 45 students across more than 20 universities for the fall hiring season. Among other events, a student favorite was an open Q&A with the VP of Engineering to learn more about the exciting challenges ahead and the innumerable benefits early career hires bring to the organization. Other creative examples include a blog post featuring the Figma experience of recent university hires to share with active candidates, the National Intern Day project highlighted on Instagram, and of course, the student assets created in the Figma tool. The inclusive, school-agnostic event approach adopted this year made it possible to reach amazing students across the globe!

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

Figma believes in extending as much information to students at the first interaction to demystify the interview process and to give intern and new grad job seekers as much preparation details to succeed. The Early Career team shares Figma file interview packets that not only outline the interview process, timeline, and FAQ, but also shares resources of internal teams and how they build an inclusive work environment. Each recruiter works with their candidate at every step in the process to ensure they are receiving feedback and stepping into the next step in the process with confidence. For example, every candidate has an interview prep call with their recruiter before they conduct their final interviews to verbally walk through interview details and any remaining questions.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

Figma is extremely passionate about representation efforts and views early career hires as the future leaders of the company. Figma invests in three underrepresented community focused partnerships which all include a month over month strategy to build trust and excitement amongst their student communities. It’s important that these efforts are met with ensuring the interview process is inclusive, fair, and supportive for all, which is one important reason why Figma implements Byteboard as the first step in the process to help mitigate any bias. Of course, hiring cannot standalone without intentional programs and initiatives in place to ensure equitable opportunities for development, growth, and belonging. Figma invests in L&D events including dedicated time with the Executive team, involving ERGs and ways for recent hires to get involved, and gathering feedback from student hires on programs, their support teams, and overall areas of improvement which is critical for retention.