Inside Indeed Blog | Learn about life inside Indeed

3100

Thankful, Indeed

November 25, 2020 by Inside Indeed Indeedians around the world express their gratitude as we celebrate Indeed's 16th birthday...

Celebrating Indeed’s 16th birthday with gratitude

November 26th is Indeed’s birthday. It also happens to be Thanksgiving in the US this year. With that, Indeedians around the world express their gratitude as we celebrate our 16th year of helping people get jobs.

—

2020 has bought its share of ups and downs as the world continues to adjust to life in a global pandemic. Indeed is no different, but as trying of a year as this has been, we believe there is still so much to be thankful for. These are our stories of gratitude.

People first

Simon Kelly, Director of Client Success – Sydney

“I am so grateful to Indeed for so many different things, but above all, the most important thing is that the company, Senior Leadership and Indeedians all live and breathe a culture of ensuring our employees are the number one priority,” says Simon Kelly, Client Services Director based in Sydney, Australia.

“The benefits that Indeed provides are second to none, especially when I speak with friends about health insurance, paid time off, YOU days, working from home stipends, bonuses and parental leave. It leaves them in awe.”

The relief our benefits provide came in handy earlier this year when Simon had to take medical leave to have surgery.

“During the process, I needed flexibility to meet with my surgeon, get scans prior to surgery and I was provided this opportunity by management without any hesitation. It was a relief and made me feel very at ease to know I had that flexibility,” he tells us.

Simon also welcomed a new baby boy to the world recently and explains how much he appreciates Indeed’s paternity leave benefits.

“We are so excited to have Ben join the family. He has made a couple of zoom meetings already! Parental leave at Indeed is one of the greatest benefits we have. From speaking to a lot of people at other companies, it is one of the most amazing perks provided.”

Explaining how leave works, Simon shares, “There are two options, 6 weeks leave in one chunk or broken up or if you are a primary caregiver, you can take 4 months paid paternity leave. The latter option is what I will be taking in March/April of 2021 as my wife goes back to work after 6 months.

I’ll be able to spend a solid 4 months with Ben. This is such an amazing benefit as being from Ireland, but living down in Australia thousands of miles away from family, allows Ben to be just that little bit older before he will have to go to daycare.”

Read more about Simon’s move from Ireland to Sydney.

Unplugging to appreciate the important things

Chris and child dressed as characters from The Hangover

Chris and his mini-me

IT Senior Manager, Chris Powell, shares a similar sentiment about how Indeed has supported him as his family has grown during these complicated times.

“In the middle of everything going on throughout the world, my wife and I welcomed our first daughter, Waverly Love Powell,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.

“I am incredibly thankful for the six weeks of parental leave and have entirely unplugged from work! While that is harder than I thought it would be, having my accounts turned off makes it easier as having a newborn keeps you plenty busy!”

Waverly Love Powell reaches for the stars

Waverly Love Powell reaching for the stars

He also appreciates the little gestures to congratulate him on welcoming Waverly to the family.

“We have received messages and gifts from coworkers and, most recently, an Indeed newborn box that had some great gifts for Waverly. I am very thankful and fortunate to be a part of a company that cares for its employees the way Indeed does!”

In May, Chris celebrated his fourth anniversary at Indeed and he says he’s never been more excited about the future here!

Supporting each other through good times and bad

Stephen Clair, Sales Director – Dublin

Sales Director, Stephen Clair in Dublin also took the time to show his appreciation on social media as he celebrated his seventh year at Indeed, talked about the growth of the company and his career as he’s grown into a leadership position.

“A lot has changed since my start here back in 2013 when Indeed Dublin felt like a start-up with about 50 people! Since then we’ve built a high-performing culture together and helped build the foundations for the Indeed UK & the Ireland business,” he recalls.

“There have also been so many highlights, including the business supporting me on my journey into leadership!

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though as I was diagnosed with cancer in mid-2019. I am so thankful for the support Indeed has shown me in this time that has allowed me to fight this illness.

I would like to give special thanks here to all my colleagues in the UK sales team for their support and I’ve learned that there are more important things in life than work and I am grateful to work for a company that also lives this!”

Reflecting on growth and hope for the future

Rick’s progression through Indeed

On his 6 year work anniversary, Sales Director in Amsterdam, Rick Peters adds perspective on our mission and those who live it every day.

“When I started in 2014, I could never imagine that we would grow from 4 people in the Amsterdam office to the 100+ nowadays. I learnt so much and got to manage the best team I’ve ever worked with. Together, we’ve built the foundation for inside sales in the Amsterdam office. So many memories and even more people (both colleagues & clients) to thank for where I’m at today,” he explains.

“I’ve been blessed to work at such a great company with a powerful mission. And if it’s up to me, it’s not the end. It’s not even the beginning of the end… yet the end of the beginning. On to the next 6 ;-)”

Staying Connected and Included with a Global Team

Domenique Onishi, Product Manager – Tokyo

Domenique Onishi, Product Manager in our Tokyo Tech Tamachi office, says she is most grateful for the people she gets to work with across the globe.

“Working in an organisation whereby the culture is very much people driven and supportive. In addition, the openness to help one another cross function and location is something I am thankful for.”

Domenique is based in Japan and recently joined a team that is based in the United States. While working with teammates across the world obviously presents challenges, Domenique explains how Indeed helps the team stay functional and cohesive.

“Understanding and flexibility are two words that come to mind. I have appreciated the support from my Manager amending times of meetings to ensure I felt included especially with a 12-13 hour time difference. With this flexibility, what I have found is that my colleagues will record meetings, take very detailed meeting notes to ensure a cohesive team environment.”

And while she continues to navigate working with a global team, she remains grateful to Indeed for always offering resources to help her continue growing.

“As someone who has lived away from my home country for nearly 10 years, learning about different cultures, working styles and practices is something that Indeed has supported me on my learning journey.”

Succeeding with Indeed

Hillal Julien Mostefaoui, National Account Manager – Paris

Hillal Julien Mostefaoui is a National Account Manager located in Paris, France. He was working for a competitor in Italy when he applied to Indeed through a referral. Getting the job allowed him to relocate to Dublin where his journey in sales began. He attributes the growth he’s seen in himself to his experiences at Indeed.

“Today, I have to say that Indeed gave me the opportunity to grow, I’m not the same Hillal that I was 3 years ago,” he says. “ I’m so grateful for the people I met. In Dublin HQ, more than a thousand people are part of your daily life, it’s such an amazing experience.

Honestly, I feel safe at Indeed, I’m not afraid of losing my job, I’m not afraid of being in a bad situation. It helps me a lot and helps me to help other people (family, friends, customers, and many others).”

Hillal’s team

His hard work was rewarded with a trip to what is known at Indeed as Top Gun, a trip to a beautiful location for top performing sales reps around the world to celebrate their success.

“Last year, I had the honor to be a regional winner for this prize. It means that I was one of the 10% best sales in EMEA,” he shares, “It was a real pleasure because a large part of my French team won this prize and we were so proud and happy to share that moment. We won a trip to Morocco, but sadly, COVID-19 decided that it wasn’t for us in 2020.

Instead, Indeed surprised us and decided to give us an extra bonus on our pay to replace the trip.”

The freedom to be you

Shannon Banks, Americas co-chair for iPride Inclusion Resource Group

Shannon Banks appreciates how Indeed’s dedication to Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging helps him be his most fabulous self.

“Indeed consistently goes above and beyond, top down from Senior Leadership, to make it explicitly known that Inclusion & Belonging are part of our core values. Learning the stories of our SLT and hearing how and why Inclusion Resource Groups (IRG) matter has empowered me to be the signal booster for my community,” he says.

“Where else could a 30 something, gay Black male from the South pull off the baddest Lizzo Halloween costume and be celebrated by the entire office?”

Lucky, Indeed

Finding gratitude

Through the trials and tribulations of 2020, Indeed has been committed to putting the physical and mental health of its employees first. From benefits such as open PTO and work from home stipends to spruce up our home office spaces to helping our careers and families grow, there is so much to be thankful for. We are lucky, Indeed!

For more Indeedian stories, visit our #insideindeed culture blog. Find more information about Indeed benefits in your area here.

3122

Dusseldorf

Seven Years of Indeed Düsseldorf: A Story of Success

November 24, 2020 by Inside Indeed Two Indeedians of the early days of Indeed Düsseldorf share their memories and funniest moments from the office.

Read our story about what it was like in the early days of Indeed in Düsseldorf and how our Managing Director Frank Hensgens used to order the drinks and snacks for the office.

🇩🇪 Klick hier, um den Artikel auf deutsch zu lesen.

The Indeed office in Düsseldorf was the one of the first offices in EMEA – it opened in July 2013, one year after the EMEA headquarters in Dublin. With 75 Indeedians joining the EMEA market from Dublin, it brought Indeed’s global employee count to 1,200.

At the beginning, Indeed only had a few people working in the Düsseldorf office, as it was Indeed’s first step to expanding into the DACH market (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). And they actually did it.

Meet the team!

Over the past seven years, there have been a lot of changes. Indeed has since become a more mature and further developed company, and now has more than 10,000 employees around the globe.

In Germany, Indeed was almost unknown then. Nevertheless, Stephan Isdepski decided to apply when he came across the job advert by Indeed. His application landed on the plate of the recruiter Simon Nurek.

Simon Nurek

“Stephan was not only one of the first employees in Düsseldorf, but one of the first employees I hired for Indeed” Simon recalls.

“In 2013, I was new to Indeed myself. I was the first recruiter in the Düsseldorf office and our goal was to build a team that focused on our key accounts and enterprise businesses.”

The job interviews in the early years were conducted by Frank Hensgens, the Managing Director of Indeed DACH, himself. Yes, back then, job interviews were done by the boss!

Stephan Isdepski

“When I first met Frank, he captivated my attention immediately and sparked my interest in working for Indeed,” Stephan says. “With his exciting character and infectious nature, Frank is very charismatic and has a talent to enthuse and inspire others. You can tell that Frank is a sales person at heart.”

Frank’s secret to securing a hire was to take interviewees to the big window in the small office that has a fantastic view over the harbor in Düsseldorf, a fancy area with many cool offices, bars and restaurants. He knew this made an impression on the candidates and would comment: “Look at this view, isn’t that an amazing view? Where would you rather be? We are maybe here now but Indeed has big plans for the future!”

Frank Hensgens

Stephan remembers:

“In the interview, it became clear to me that I wanted to work for Indeed, contribute to its success and make the company big in Germany and DACH.”

Recruiter Simon adds the expectations towards the team were high in the early days.

“However, the management was tolerant, gave them space to be themselves, try out new things, make mistakes, learn from it and move on,” he says. “To see the development of the employees was inspiring.”

In October 2013, Stephan finally started at Indeed as a National Account Manager (NAM). “What helped our business development effort in the early days was the fact that we had excellent and innovative products to offer. This is the best thing that can happen to you as a sales representative, selling something that you know is going to make a difference to people’s lives.”

At the beginning, Stephan was the seventh Indeedian in Germany. “There was a real start-up feeling amongst the team. The office was in a fancy location but we shared a room that only measured 20 square metres, approx 215 square foot.”

Team work makes the dream work 😀

“The office was not an actual Indeed office,” Simon explains. “At Indeed, we are famous for our cool office locations that are an expression of our culture. Since the team was tiny, we rented a Regus office, which was great because we could simply rent more office space when the team was growing. That made us flexible. We tried our best with delivering the Indeed culture in the form of little snack boxes and a limited selection of swag. In the beginning it was Frank who used to place our drinks orders!”

Portioned coffee specialties were a treat!

Today, Frank still likes to entertain people by sharing anecdotes from the past. In the early years, Indeed didn’t have company cars for their German employees, as opposed to today, where every NAM has his own company car to visit clients all over the DACH region. Once upon a time, a NAM had to visit a client in a rural area but didn’t have a car to get there. So Frank simply took his bike and his co-worker on the back carrier to ride to a cheap car rental place.

Now in 2020, Indeed has roughly 300 employees and two offices in a new location in Düsseldorf.

Furthermore, the brand awareness and the perception of Indeed has changed, particularly after Indeed launched the first TV spot in Germany in 2014. Stephan remembers that moment very well.

“Everybody on the team was so excited and could not believe that our little Indeed was flickering on the screens of Germany. It was a big milestone everyone was really proud of!”

Stephan at an award ceremony with Frank and Senior Director Jürgen Bähr (left)

Not only did Stephan have goosebumps but it was a real push for the business and for his own career. Stephan was promoted to Director of Sales and today leads a team of nine great Indeedians. Meanwhile, Simon took over a team lead position as Senior Recruiter for the DACH region, supported by three more recruiters.

“When I first got in contact with Indeed in Dublin in 2013, I was impressed by the strong mission that hooked me immediately, especially since I am a recruiter. Even now, seven and a half years later our mission ‘We help people get jobs’ is what connects Indeedians all over the globe and motivates Indeedians in Düsseldorf from Day one.”

Check out how the new office looks today in this video.

3051

Perks & Benefits

How Indeed hacked remote working

November 19, 2020 by Inside Indeed In March 2020, Indeed announced it was moving its entire workforce to a work from home structure, including an option of remote working. But what did that mean for Indeed’s employees?

As we move through these challenging times and find new ways of working, three Indeedians across the globe share their experiences working remotely. They share what they love about it, their challenges and tips for those looking to work remotely in the long run.

In March 2020, Indeed announced it was moving its entire workforce – 10,000 employees globally – to a work from home structure. It has since announced the company will be working from home until at least July 2021, and recently announced new ways of working for employees, including the flexibility to go fully remote for certain roles with the organization.

But what did that mean for Indeed’s employees?

“Some people think that you can work remotely sitting by the beach with your laptop in one hand and a cocktail in the other. For me, remote work is still regular work, and to be efficient, you need to be well organized to separate work and personal time,” Mikhail Chernykh, a Staff Software Engineer based in Berlin says.

“I cannot imagine doing good engineering work without a desk and stable internet connection.”

He adds remote working has removed unnecessary boundaries and provides a lot of flexibility to organize his days better, and has found it has allowed him a “very special opportunity” to communicate and connect with colleagues from different Indeed offices all over the world.

“Sometimes, I start my day discussing a project with the team at the Tokyo office, moving slowly to various 1:1 meetings with Engineers in Hyderabad, and finishing my day in various team and guild meetings with a few locations in the US,” he shares.

For Emily Everix, a National Account Manager based in Florida, it’s the ability to spend more time with her family that has been a great benefit to working remotely.

“My absolute favourite thing is turning to my left and watching my son do whatever it is he is doing at that moment. Working remotely has given me this opportunity which has been invaluable to me.”

Although working remotely has its advantages, there are also challenges that come with this new way of working and living amidst the pandemic.

Emily says one of the misconceptions about working remotely is that “we just sit around and have all of this free time”, and has found herself working harder to counter that misconception.

“I almost feel like I have more to prove even though it is not the case at all.”

Mikhail shares one of the biggest challenges for him was the recent switch to the “pandemic mode” a few months ago. “It was a very uncertain time… No one had a clear answer as to when it will be over, or when we will get back to our normal lives.”

“As a Technical Leader, I had to be more empathic and help the team adjust to our new reality, share tips on how to organize their home offices, and make remote meetings more efficient. I have been a remote worker even prior to the pandemic, and even so, I had to change a lot in my personal life.”

For him, finding new activities helped him restore work-life balance: long walks, different sports activities, books, and playing different musical instruments.

Emily also added that she had to find a way to have a ‘cut-off’ from her work day. “I had to learn to say, ‘I’m done today’… it took me a long time to just switch off from work. I love my job! I love Indeed and I love everything about what I do, but I had to find a balance,” she says.

“This past summer, I’ve set the intention to be more present and focused on what I need to do by having a cut-off to my work day.”

Som Viswanath, a Senior Client Success Specialist based in Melbourne recalls his experience not just working remotely but also in lockdown during the pandemic in a podcast with Inside Indeed.

“We were restricted to a 5km radius from where we lived and we had to work from home,” Som says. “The one thing that changed before the pandemic was that I used to travel for work; I used to travel to Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane to meet clients… I used to travel quite a bit and that got taken away from me. That was a real struggle for me.”

Having spent nearly most of the year working from home and remotely, Mikhail says his productivity hack is the separation of context.

“Having a dedicated quiet office room helps me focus and get deep work done. Also, we are humans after all, so it is crucial to take some breaks. I’m trying to achieve that by using the Pomodoro method and having a fixed lunch time in my calendar. I don’t consider myself a productivity ninja, but tools like ‘Things’, ‘Agenda’ and ‘Bear’ help me to organize my daily life,” Mikhail explains.

Emily adds that schedules are key: “I schedule everything from an important meeting to walking my dog. It might sound silly but I find those simple steps helps me stay on task and I am able to shut it down at night.”

Som agrees, adding: “A dedicated workspace and having pets around helps too… In addition, being connected at all times with your team is really important.”

Tips for more successful virtual meetings

With remote working, many if not all meetings are done virtually. Mikhail shares while there are limitations to virtual meetings, he’s managed to make virtual meetings more effective and efficient by following these steps:

Ensure you have reliable internet connection. In case of technical difficulties, it’s always better to postpone the meeting
Use a high-quality headset. It helps others hear you better, thus creating better communication during conversations
Always come prepared. Ideally, share a document draft or a clear agenda prior to the meeting
Try to keep meetings as short as possible. Recent studies show that virtual meetings require more focus and energy
Find a person who can help write meeting notes. It will be very helpful to the rest of the group to reflect on agreements made during the meeting, and be better prepared for the next meeting
If possible, turn your video on. Modern video conferencing tools have a virtual background feature that helps you hide your surroundings
Many modern tools also provide a nice “reactions” feature. This is a very useful tool when running meetings with a lot of participants

To hear more about working remotely, listen in on this episode of our Culture Matters podcast.

Inside Indeed – (www.indeed.jobs) · Culture Matters – Som, Client Success Specialist

3061

Indeedian Stories

Working remotely at Indeed amidst the Melbourne lockdown

November 18, 2020 by Inside Indeed What is it like working remotely prior to the pandemic? Senior Client Success Specialist, Som shares his story and his experience working remotely amidst a lockdown in Melbourne.

Som Viswanath is a Senior Client Success Specialist at Indeed Sydney but works remotely from Melbourne. He has an extensive variety of work experiences ranging from being a qualified architect, to a lecturer and a Digital Media Executive.

These days, working from home has given many of us a preview of what it’s like to work remotely. But what is it like working remotely prior to the pandemic?

While taking a career break, Som was approached by a friend who was working at Indeed at the time. She sold him the dream – to work for a global brand, the #1 job site in the world and work remotely. “It was too good an opportunity to pass up and my dream became a reality,” Som shares.

Som has been working out of Melbourne since he joined and is one of the first people working remotely at Indeed in Australia.

In this Culture Matters podcast, Som shares his experiences, challenges and some of the ways he overcomes the challenges he faces while working remotely. He also shares what it’s like working amidst the Melbourne lockdown in recent times.

“The first things people usually ask me is, do you actually do any work? I do have KPIs, I do have targets, and if I didn’t do my job, I wouldn’t be hitting those targets,” Som said.

While walking us through his experience during the lockdown in Melbourne, he also shares one of his biggest struggles, “We were restricted to a 5km radius from where we lived and we had to work from home. The one thing that changed before the pandemic was that I used to travel for work; I used to travel to Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane to meet clients… I used to travel quite a bit and that got taken away from me. That was a real struggle for me.

Som also explains how he manages work having one work office at home, while living with his partner who also shares the same workspace.

To find out more about Som’s story and tips to manage remote working, listen in on this episode of our Culture Matters podcast.

Inside Indeed – (www.indeed.jobs) · Culture Matters – Som, Client Success Specialist working remotely in Melbourne

3068

Indeedian Stories

How a Frenchman ended up an engineer, father and Indeedian in Tokyo

November 17, 2020 by Inside Indeed André Boivineau is a Tokyo-based engineer at Indeed shares his story about how his career began in Asia, and the milestones so far… including starting a family in Japan.

André Boivineau is a Tokyo-based engineer at Indeed shares his story about how his career began in Asia, and the milestones so far… including starting a family in Japan.

Although I just celebrated my first anniversary with Indeed, I have been working in Japan since I graduated 12 years ago.

I arrived in Japan as an exchange student for my last semester before graduation. I had an idea to start my career here but was far from expecting I would build such a long and strong attachment to this country. Now I’m settled in with two adorable kids.

When I started my career in Japan, I had a preconceived notion that this would not be compatible with raising a family, especially coming from a country with a different culture.

My first job was in a Japanese company, and really there weren’t a lot of resources customized for a new grad joining from aboard. I’m deeply grateful to my Japanese friends who helped me to figure out most of what I needed to know back then.

My perception started to change as I got to make connections with more and more foreigners who had been successful in this experience.

I was able to see how they solved the questions that arise when planning for a family life: choice of an employer to support work-life balance, housing, place of education for kids, administrative questions etc…

When I got lost in procedures to put together my PR application, a former colleague shared with me detailed notes they documented on how to prepare an application.

When I struggled to understand the subtleties of savings and loans in Japan, an alumni of my university living here for years ran me through the details.

Practical answers to such questions gave me confidence I could sustain and enjoy a long term stay in Japan.

Showing off Indeed’s newborn swag

In Indeed Tokyo we’re lucky to already have a large and supportive community, including “veteran” expatriates, always here to answer each other’s questions. The one thing I regret is that Indeed didn’t have a Tokyo office back in 2008 !

By the time I joined Indeed, my first kid had just turned 3 years old, and I was two months away from becoming the happiest man on earth for the second time.

I was quite worried about how this new birth would interfere with starting a new job, but Indeed’s combination of open-PTO and protected parental leave made it a harmonious experience.

Both my wife’s family and mine live far away, and open-PTO allowed me several times to take care of the kids when they were sick, attend their school’s events or plan trips with my kids to meet their grand-parents in France.

Not to mention flexible working hours which I benefited from as early as my very first day for an unexpected early pick up at the daycare!

To anyone settling in Japan with family and children or would plan to do so, my piece of advice may sound trivial yet is I believe paramount : make sure your professional activity will allow for some sort of time flexibility.

Using open PTO to attend a school event

The unpredictability of a family life will be amplified by the challenges of living aboard, but can be managed just fine and become a wonderful experience with a supportive professional environment.

When I was approached by Indeed, I remember I was in a phase of my career questioning myself and the sense of purpose I was longing for. Indeed’s mission immediately resonated with me: We Help People Get Jobs.

I believe that, from this mission, results in a lot of Indeed’s success: attracting genuine and motivated people with a strong sense of ownership, which means they can be fully entrusted to make decisions.

Every team is expected to come up with ideas and plot their own course. Knowing that I will be able to influence many aspects of my work is a strong motivation driver, and I’m even more excited to see what great ideas my colleagues will come up with.

The same way I spent a decade in Tokyo I hope I can spend another decade with Indeed (or more!!) as I feel extremely lucky to have found this rare combination: a fantastic employer in one of the best cities in the world.

To learn more about Indeed Tokyo, click here.

Life #insideindeed

Follow

Follow

Tips for more successful virtual meetings

Follow

Follow

Follow