At First Factory, it is important that every applicant have a quality candidate experience, one where you feel respected, listened to, and informed. In every hiring, there are two decisions being made: the company making a decision to hire the applicant, and the applicant making the decision to join the company.
We don’t see engineers, designers, analysts, and other software creators as interchangeable resources, nor do we hire simply to fill an open client position. We value what you do. We care about your career development goals and the unique experiences and perspectives you can bring to the team. As a company, we are strengthened with each new team member that brings a commitment to quality, a passion for learning, and a great sense of teamwork.
We value and respect your time and effort. We know you have a lot of opportunities, and it is important for us to be respectful of your time and ensure that our company values are reflected throughout your application process. We have streamlined the application process, so you are not spending unnecessary time filling out long forms or participating in countless interviews. You will be welcomed and accompanied by a recruiter during each step of the process, from the initial HR screening to the technical interview and through the client interview, if applicable. You will always receive feedback, insights about the position and the people you will meet, and guidance each step of the way.
Listening to what you need. During the interview process with recruiters, we will, of course, discuss who we are as a company, what we believe in, and the benefits we offer. It is very important that we learn what you are looking for, too: your career goals, technology stacks, role expectations, work-life balance, and more. We invite you to use this time to ask us questions about anything that you are interested in. Recruiters are advisors, too, and have plenty of tips to offer.
Transparency and communication are key. Our primary goal during the application process is for us to get to know each other. We view the process less as a test, where you need to score at a certain level to proceed to the next step, but rather as learning if we are a good match for each other given the current open positions. We will be transparent on what skills we are looking for, and if at any point during the process, we do not believe the current opportunity is the right fit, we will tell you. We look for a solid understanding of the fundamentals in the technology you have experience and interest in, how you have approached learning those skills, and how you approach problems. We will not close the door to future opportunities should the current open position not be the right fit.
Should you have an interview with a client (something that is not always necessary), we will provide you with as much information about their business, the team you may be working with, and the technologies they will be using. We suggest that you do a little research on them (review their website and their specific job description, if applicable) so that you can be prepared to ask them questions and demonstrate your appetite for this opportunity.
We never stop learning. Technology is constantly changing, and our clients are looking for contributors who demonstrate solid problem-solving and communication skills. Each day, we will be faced with new challenges, and it is our never-ending curiosity that will allow us to solve those problems and grow professionally. No applicant or employee is going to have the exact skills for every role. What is important is that with the right foundation and capacity for learning, we support each other in these shared experiences. We teach each other, and we learn from each other so that we can grow together.
We aim to make your application experience easy and informative. We will treat every applicant with the same thoughtfulness and kindness that we would expect because, after all, we hope that we will soon be colleagues.
Bob Dylan poignantly wrote, “Times, they are-a-changin’.” In a world upended by a global pandemic and the business, supply chain and consumer behaviors that followed, this statement seems to ring truer than ever. An evergreen anthem to the varying societal and economic turbulence we face has proven this song’s impact through varying obstacles. We’re becoming more familiar with cryptocurrency and staying in awe of the self-driving cars we’ve been anticipating for years, all while hosting virtual meetings wearing AI headsets and, perhaps, pajama pants. Yet, business owners and consumers alike wonder how the world can adjust to this sudden shift to a “new normal” and how we can continue to gain momentum when much of what we knew has slowed to a halt. Even though the Jetsons made it seem like we’d be flying our automobiles by now, the point is that technology has continued to be the critical component in allowing us to meet the new challenges we face head-on with speed and agility. 
First Factory is well connected in the development community and is able to attract and retain great talent. In addition to targeted recruitment ads on job sites, we leverage a growing social and professional network of over 20 thousand people. This community follows our team through our Facebook posts, and other channels, celebrating our culture and highlighting our developers. We work directly with developers and recruiters on a regular basis to identify candidates with whom we can directly communicate when the right role becomes available, thus reducing the time to hire. Once our network is energized about our open positions, we begin a thorough screening process to ensure that only the best candidates make it through.
Entry-Level Developers are placed into a customized training program to reinforce foundational knowledge of object-oriented programming, test-driven development, and to refine soft skills needed for successful client relations. Training programs last up to six months, with the first half of our Academy focused on technical skill building and the soft skills required to effectively communicate with our clients and within the team. The second half of our Academy is spent building actual internal products using the latest technologies and design patterns. 