As a growing start up our most important asset is our employees - they are what makes or breaks us. Despite being an international company with offices in both Cambridge and Hong Kong we are a close-knit team that does more than just work together. We take every opportunity to share knowledge, compete and celebrate each other’s achievements. This is why when recruiting we don’t just look for technically proficient applicants but for “the right fit”. That’s because the right person can increase the mood and productivity of their team, inspire and push forward those around them. However, what is “the right fit”?
With the start of the 2021-2022 school year, we decided to put forward what makes a candidate the right fit for us.
First is technical ability, yes, we did say that we don’t just look for technical proficiency, however, without a sufficient level of expertise it would be hard for someone to join and be able to have an immediate impact and that is something we value. To draw a metaphor, technical ability is similar to the 1 at the start of 1000, it may not be the digit that increases the value the most, however, without it we would be left with just zeros. We do our best to provide employees, both new and old, with opportunities to learn, improve and develop, however, that is a cycle where one needs to be able to contribute to it as well.
Application Hint #1
One of the most important tasks when applying for Dreams AI is an open-ended technical task, where we want people to showcase their way of thinking and problem-solving.
This leads us to point number 2 – Knowledge Sharing. Obtaining and sharing knowledge is one of our core company missions, it makes sense, considering we work with data. And what is a better way to learn or teach than peer to peer? We have a constantly developing and growing database of articles written by employees. Our system is that once we have faced a challenge, solved a problem or used some new tech we write down what we’ve learned and share it with our team. This helps us tremendously when we face a similar task in the future as we already have a point of reference and can solve problems that took us weeks in hours. (Also we are massive nerds and love learning new things.) This is why we always pay special attention to applicants who have demonstrated their ability to share knowledge and desire to obtain more.
However, you can not be good at knowledge sharing unless you are a good communicator, both in writing and verbally. As already described, we write quite often and express ideas and propose solutions to each other constantly – which is why we look for people who excel at communicating. The ability to clearly express your ideas to your team so that you can work together on the same page is what separates good employees from great ones. When it comes to written communication, we love people who are experienced with LaTeX and can format even the most daunting of formulas.
Application Hint #2
The early stages of our application process involve sharing knowledge in written form, we drop a lot of applicants at that point based on the quality of their writing and how clearly their ideas were expressed.
Lastly, we look for employees that share interests with us beyond work. One of the benefits of working for Dreams AI is that we are a close-knit team that spends sufficient time outside of work together – we play sports and board games, go on hikes and boat trips, explore cities and have dinner and even bake cakes together. We are also a very international company that works globally and we love exploring the new foods and interests that people from around the world bring. This is why we look for people who enjoy being social and can feed positive energy to those around them. This is not to say you have to be a board game fanatic to join us, however, someone who is willing to try new things and enjoys facing new challenges with others.
Application Hint #3
In most cases, our first form of communication with an applicant is an informal interview where we get to know each other.
Do you think you cover these points and have what it takes to make a good applicant and employee at Dreams AI? Then consider applying today!
