What I’ve learned about Viget in 2016 - And what it means for Recruiting in 2017

I’ve been a Recruiter at Viget since the end of September 2016, which, as of the writing of this article, means that for three months I’ve enjoyed an insider’s perspective, yet still a bird’s eye view, of what it’s like to work here - a pretty cool perspective that won’t last much longer as I continue to integrate into the team. While I’m based in our Boulder office, I was fortunate to have visited our Durham office my first week, then headquarters in Falls Church a few weeks later. I’ve experienced the subtle differences of each culture, but more importantly, the thread that binds each one together.

Candidates often ask me about the culture at Viget, and I find this to be one of the most exciting questions I get to answer. It’s my time to share my feelings about how I view culture: how we communicate, how we celebrate our successes, the structure of the company and, of course, its values. First of all, I’m discovering that culture as a whole often times isn’t obvious. Yes, there are companies who spend a lot of time and money crafting the perfect culture - foosball tables, bean bag chairs, a kegerator, even climbing walls - but then there are those not-so-obvious cultures that form over time. I think Viget is part of the latter. Though, don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty sweet that we have a shuffleboard table and a fridge stocked with snacks and beer! And maybe even a donut tower every now and again... Yep, that happened.

I asked a number of my colleagues how they would describe the culture, and it was, at times, a tough question to answer. Instead, I chose to frame the question as, “What makes you proud to work here?” What I kept hearing was: The people. The people who keep the bar raised high. Those who will tackle any problem until it’s solved. Those who aren’t afraid to make and learn from their mistakes. And those who you would consider your friends. Essentially, Viget has kept the bar for hiring very high. Yes, we have a rigorous interview process - written assignments, pair programming exercises, presentations, quizzes, onsite interviews - but because of that, we’ve not only hired smart people, but curious, humble and honest people as well. And that is a part of the culture you simply cannot mask with free beer and food. Though, great photo booth props certainly help…

Of course, culture can’t happen without the buy-in from leadership, and this is another point I kept hearing from my teammates… The importance of our fearless leaders’ commitment to the success of the company and even more importantly, to the well-being of its people. If you look at the tenure of Viget employees, the current average length of time people work here is 4.88 years. People stay at Viget a long time and to me, that is confirmation that individuals continue to feel professionally challenged and fulfilled in their work.

This brings me to my third point about culture - the quality of our work. Not only is there a strong emphasis on professional development at Viget in terms of conference attendance and fun side projects (see Pointless Corp.), but it’s baked right into our daily work as well. Each client project we take on is an opportunity to learn something new as no two projects are exactly alike. Our work continually pushes us to grow and, ultimately, that is the thread that binds us all together.

That said, having the opportunity to recruit at Viget, I want to continue to keep the bar high to maintain the culture that has developed over time. Three months in, and kicking off a new year, I am making it my personal mission in 2017 to ensure that we hire passionate people who are proud of their work, just as I’ve found my teammates to reflect. In my role as a Recruiter, I get to be an ambassador of Viget’s culture and that is a role I absolutely love and take very seriously. Come join us and experience it for yourself!