Avanti Krishnan is the People and Culture Manager at Mappedin. We discuss what it’s like to work at Mappedin, the flexible work arrangements and benefits we offer, along with tips and tricks for landing your dream job!

Avanti, thanks for chatting with me. You’ve been at Mappedin for 3 years and have led our People Operations team over the last year. How would you describe the culture and team environment at Mappedin? 

One of the first things people ask is what I like most about working at Mappedin. For me, it’s always been the people and the team camaraderie. Even with the shift to remote working prompted by the pandemic, it’s been great. The environment is very social, interactive, and collaborative. You can reach out to anyone across the company to chat or ask questions, and you will never get turned down. Everyone at Mappedin is friendly and willing to help if you want to understand something better.

What are the core values at Mappedin? What role do company values play in hiring?

The core values are play for the team, learn fast, focus on customers, and be honest & accountable. Mappedin uses these values in our hiring processes during interviews and bi-annual performance management processes. The hiring managers do consider it important for future Mappedin employees to embody these values, and during our bi-annual performance management processes, one of the ways employees are reviewed is by how they represent these values. 

How do you think our work culture differs from other companies’ work cultures?

At Mappedin, there’s a lot of transparency and open communication across the board, which isn’t always the case at other companies. Whether you’re the most senior employee or most junior employee at Mappedin, you will know what’s happening across the company. This includes Sales, Marketing and Product, Engineering, and all other departments. I think being able to have those open and honest conversations and full transparency within the company is very refreshing.

Are there any opportunities for professional development and career growth?

Yes definitely! At Mappedin, you have the opportunity to move within and across teams. For instance, you could be on the Mapping team and either you, or someone on the leadership team, could realize that you’re really technically inclined and would perform well on the Engineering team. You could then have an opportunity to move across teams.

As a fast-growing company, there are also a ton of opportunities for growth and promotion. We’re constantly hiring and looking to promote existing employees into higher positions, especially in leadership roles. If you are interested in trying out the management side, you might get an opportunity to mentor a co-op or maybe a more junior contract employee to give you an idea of what a managerial position looks like. For instance, joining as a co-op student himself two years ago, Ben Liu now manages his own co-op.

Professional development is also a huge perk of working at Mappedin, so if you wanted to do a certification or course that will help you grow in your current role, we will help facilitate that.

What makes you proud to work at Mappedin? 

From a personal and professional perspective, what makes me the most proud is my contribution to Mappedin and being able to grow within the People Operations field. Most notably, I’m proud of the different people that I’ve brought into Mappedin and the kind of work that they do. And whenever they get promoted, it’s something I’m really happy about. 

What kind of flexible work arrangements does Mappedin offer?

We have moved to a remote by default company because of the pandemic. It is expected that employees working hours will include the company’s core hours of 10am-4pm EST. Now, how you want to structure your schedule beyond those set hours is up to you. I know some employees start pretty early and end work early, while others start later and finish a bit later. It’s entirely dependent on how you’re able to get your allocated work done. We’ve also started hiring remotely, not only in Canada, but internationally and will continue to provide flexibility as we grow the team. 

What are some of the perks and benefits of working at Mappedin?

Working remotely with flexible hours and flexible vacation time is one benefit that we offer. Another perk is our team events, which for the month of February were virtual escape rooms. Though the team is remote, we create opportunities for employees to come together and socialize on a regular basis. 

We also have company Town Hall meetings every week and Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to share wins and learnings, host guest speakers, and play games. Our quarterly hackathons (Hackedin) are also a huge benefit for developers working at Mappedin.

I would say that one of the biggest benefits we offer is working with a friendly and collaborative team, in a company where you can grow very quickly. Also, there are a lot of employees that have been at Mappedin for more than 5 years, which is pretty rare for smaller companies. This means that you have a good chance of working with people that have legacy knowledge and have seen Mappedin grow over the years.

What would the ideal candidate at Mappedin look like? What are the most important qualifications you look for in a candidate?

If you take a look at the job descriptions, we never mention that a candidate has to have X years of experience or have X amount of qualities. We don’t expect that, we know that applicants have all types of skill sets and backgrounds. It’s most important for a candidate to show the potential to achieve whatever is required in that role.

For instance, for a Business Development Representative role on the Sales team, we would look at whether the candidate is assertive and able to do many cold calls, partake in sales projections, and are eager to convert a no into a yes. You may not have had any prior sales experience, but if you have the potential to do that role, that’s what we’re looking for. That goes for most of our other roles as well. 

What advice would you give to someone applying for a role at Mappedin? 

If you’re really interested in a role, and you have transferable skills that are applicable to that specific role, tailor your resume to that. A lot of skills are transferable, especially non-engineering roles. If you’re able to convince any of the hiring managers as to why you need to be in that role, and how your skills are applicable, you will be successful. 

Are there any changes to a resume or cover letter that you would recommend?

It’s important to have a clean resume so that People Operations and hiring managers can understand the information that you are presenting about yourself. If your resume is too cluttered with information, it's difficult to read. Make sure your resume is clean, highlight the most important things you’ve done, as well as the experience and skills that are applicable to the role.

Do you have any interview tips?  

One of the most important interview tips I have is to be concise and precise when answering a question. If you can’t think of an answer immediately, ask the interviewer for a moment to collect your thoughts before responding. Sometimes when you’re on the spot, you’re not able to think of an answer right away, and that’s okay. The most important takeaway is that you keep your interviewer engaged by giving concise and precise answers.

Interested in working with Avanti? We are hiring for a Recruiter to join her on our People Ops team. Also, check out our Careers Page for all open roles, or send an email to our recruitment team at careers@mappedin.ca.