Shopify Inc. is a Campus Forward Award Winner

Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

Shopify is Digital by Design with a remote-first mindset, and has been since May 2020. The Early Talent team, along with the entire company, transitioned to a “remote first” mindset and way of working that applied to current employees and, by default, sourced and interested candidates. The Early Talent team created virtual series including info sessions, intern panels, and ramped up participation and sponsorship at large scale events and conferences such as NSBE, Grace Hopper, and Rubyconf. In addition, Shopify engaged in strategic partnerships with Universities and organizations that could help us reach and recruit top candidates from diverse backgrounds such as Rewriting the Code, university chapters of NSBE, and school hosted Hackathons.

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

Shopify hires people, not resumes, and this applies to those just starting out in their career as well as those with years of experience. Applicants are more than just the accomplishments on their resume, and Shopify treats them as such, from initial application through final offer extension. Shopify’s early talent programs have no academic requirements and use a holistic interview approach that includes a Life Story interview and technical interviews to assess cultural fit along with technical capabilities. Shopify’s intern postings are live for 2-3 weeks and applications are manually screened as they are received. This allows for the Early Talent team to provide timely feedback and updates to candidates.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

Shopify has aspirations of making commerce better for everyone, everywhere. This can't be done without a diverse workforce that is reflective of the world in which we live. The Early Talent team knows the role that they play in fostering the future of diversity at Shopify and are passionate about finding and recruiting diverse talent. This is being done by building new, strategic partnerships with HBCUs and HSIs, sponsoring diversity conferences such as NSBE, SHPE, Grace Hopper, etc., and partnering with diversity organizations such as Rewriting the Code, just to name a few. Shopify also has an internal Diversity & Belonging team that partners with Talent to ensure the company is working towards reducing the risk of barriers and bias for talent from diverse backgrounds.

Investing in Impactful Internship Programs

Shopify offers a number of internship opportunities that are 3, 4 and 8-month paid terms, and are open to students, co-ops, recent graduates, and those early on in their development - there are no educational or degree requirements for applicants! Work performed by interns is the same work that is performed by permanent employees to make commerce better for everyone. Interns work on real projects, solve hard problems, and gain practical feedback along the way. The program allows interns to participate in all company wide events and provides supplementary learning sessions, virtual workshops, and curated in-person experiences to meet and connect with team members and other interns.

Supporting the Growth and Development of Entry-Level Talent

Shopify builds for the future and every person, including interns, are hired with the long term mindset that encourages, allows for, and expects growth and exploration both personally and professionally. Shopify moves fast to keep up with the world around us, which allows for constant learning, and as the company changes so will its needs and those of its employees. Shopify knows that the best products come from a mix of ideas, experiences, and perspectives and early talent plays a large role in shaping the future of the company. Interns and new hires are treated with the same respect, have the same expectations, and are given the same support to grow and explore that experienced employees are given.

Congratulations to the team at Shopify Inc. for being selected as one of the winners of RippleMatch's 2022 Campus Forward Awards!

RippleMatch's Campus Forward Awards recognizes the top early career teams and programs in the nation. Through a detailed application process, early career teams shared their approach to recruitment, candidate experience, D&I, and internship & entry-level programming. The programs picked for this award represent the best of the best, selected from applications submitted by campus recruiting teams across industries.

See all Award Winners for the category of Large Early Career Programs, Large Team below