October 26th, 2009 by Ken Saunders Chief Financial Officer
This blog post is guest-written by Heather Henry, Director of Talent at Bazaarvoice.
While it takes more than a video to get hired at Bazaarvoice, culture is very important to us.
Matthew Price heard about Bazaarvoice from a friend, and applied online through that friend (helping that friend make a cool referral bonus!). Then he got people talking at Bazaarvoice when his YouTube video, “Hire me Bazaarvoice!” started circulating around the office. A few months later, Matt has joined the team as an Implementation Engineer, and sat down with us to answer a few questions about Bazaarvoice, the hiring process, and our culture.
How do you think your nontraditional efforts toward getting hired related to the culture at BV?
Bazaarvoice is all about word of mouth, and the video was my attempt at using word of mouth to get my message across about all the reasons I felt I was a good fit for the job. It was also my way of showing that I’m passionate about working for Bazaarvoice, which is a prerequisite of every employee in the company. I was inspired by some of the classic Bazaarvoice YouTube marketing videos, especially “More Than Words” which is my personal favorite.
What made you want to work at Bazaarvoice?
I first learned about Bazaarvoice through Tina Dobie, who was my supervisor at a previous job. She’d been working for the company for a while and kept mentioning what a great place it is to work. As time passed, I started to hear more and more buzz about Bazaarvoice and its reputation for being the best place to work in Austin. Now that I’m here, I can see how that reputation came to be. It’s the people and the culture that make this place so great.
Throughout my career I’ve aspired to work with technologies that enrich people’s lives. To put it in the simplest terms, Bazaarvoice products empower consumers to make well-informed choices about product purchases. I read some books that I’d heard Brett Hurt talk about, including The Cluetrain Manifesto and The Influentials. I started to understand that the future of product marketing is word of mouth and social influence. It’s the democratization of the web at its height, and I think that’s pretty cool.
What prompted you to make this video? Do you think it helped or hurt, and why?
When I was thinking about applying for the job, I knew a lot of other really smart people who were also applying. I also knew that there were some very talented people already working for the company. I heard stories about the interview process being rigorous. I knew that in order to make it I had to do something to stand out from the crowd. I was messing around on the guitar one night, and half jokingly played a song about Bazaarvoice to my wife, and told her I was thinking of putting it on YouTube. Her response was surprisingly very positive. I’m pretty reserved, and wouldn’t have done it without my wife’s encouragement.
So I scoured the Bazaarvoice website and wrote lyrics about the products and specifically how I could be an asset to Bazaarvoice. The combination of the song, YouTube video, and my website, made all the difference in the world. When I created it I expected that the recruiter and hiring manager would get a laugh out of it, and that would be the extent of it. Little did I know that it would end up spreading around the entire company and going viral.
Though my experience and resume made me a good choice for the job, the video and website helped me get the position, and has been a great conversation starter as I meet people in the company. Everybody knows me as, “the guy that created the YouTube video.” The only down side is that I don’t think I’ll be hired for any singing gigs anytime soon.
What was the interview process like?
Daunting! I went through many rounds of interviews with everybody from coworkers to managers to executives. I had to take a couple different tests, and all of my knowledge and experience was thoroughly evaluated.
You’ve been here for 2 months now. What do you think so far?
I love it! I’ve never worked with such a hard working, fun loving, talented group of people. Everybody is completely accessible and eager to help each other out. My supervisor empowers me to do great work and is always available when I need guidance. It’s nice to have the resources available to give customers the white glove treatment.
What advice would you give people who want to work at Bazaarvoice?
Be ready and willing to demonstrate why you are passionate about working for Bazaarvoice. You need to have chops in your area of expertise, but you also need to be a good cultural fit. You should be able to interact with people on both a personal and professional level. Focus more on being interested than being interesting. It also helps to use your social network and leverage anybody that you know who works for Bazaarvoice.
Bazaarvoice is Austin’s number one place to work, and we’re hiring! If you know a passionate, talented, creative individual looking for the right place to build an enriching career, refer them here. If they’re hired, you could earn a referral bonus!
Our founder and CEO Brett Hurt recently sat down with Ellen Davis, VP at NRF, to discuss his tips for starting a business, why he’s happy to be working in his hometown of Austin, and what he’d say to a CEO hesitant to use UGC – “You’re kidding yourself if you think all customers have great experiences… Why guess at what is happening when you can make it easy for consumers to communicate with you?”
This blog post is part of a series highlighting Bazaarvoice interns.
Many of the offices have really gorgeous panoramic views of west Austin.
The bright green adds a vibrant energy to the space.
Of course, we still have room to play. The custom mural in the game room was created by local artist Josh Davies.
Many of the materials used in the design were reclaimed/recycled.
If you’re thinking about applying for an internship at Bazaarvoice, there’s no better way to learn what to expect than to ask an intern.
