Applying to a new place can be exciting, but also nerve-racking. Removing the mystery from the candidate’s journey can go a long way to make the process of getting to know each other predictable and more enjoyable. This article aims to give you, our potential new team member, a quick overview — a map of sorts — to chart your candidacy journey.
The Journey 🗺️
Not all candidates go through the same journey, nor in the same order. Depending on the role, level of seniority, screening interview, and a variety of other factors, the journey may be short or quite long. If it’s the latter, we apologize in advance. Most will agree, it’s better to take our time and ensure there’s a fit than to jump into a new relationship in haste.
Good things take time
A-Players want to join A-Player Teams.
Questionnaire 📝
We appreciate that not everyone is great at interviews. Some of our most talented A-Players bombed their interviews. The questionnaire process provides you an opportunity to answer questions in a comfortable setting, at your leisure. You can write as little or as much, expressing yourself in your own unique way without the psychological or time pressure of a typical interview.
What candidates have said
From the beginning of this process, I was truly impressed by how in-depth and dedicated you are to finding the right person for the position with your thorough questionnaire.
I have just completed the Candidate Questionnaire form. I am happy to answer such broad questions, not just design-oriented.
I am confirming reception of the questionnaire, this looks fun!
Three Interviews ☕
☝️Virtual Coffee Date(20-40 mins)
Think of this meeting as a quick coffee date. Our mutual goal is to look for fit and uncover potential deal-breakers.
✌️Virtual Dinner Date(60-120 mins)
Getting serious about a commitment? This meeting allows us to dive deeper, asking important questions of each other pertaining to culture, fit, opportunies ahead, and more.
🤌Meet the Family(30-60 mins)
Optional and reserved typically for senior roles, this is a reverse interview. You get to interview teammates, asking whatever is on your mind and in your heart. Teammates include a mix of veterans and newbies from different departments.
Test Projects 📄
Not all candidates go through a testing phase.
Test projects are…
a great way for us to assess your work quality.
a great way for you to assess if you’ll like the work.
You can do interviews, questionnaires, and assessments. What you’re really looking for is, can they do the job? The best thing you can do is take the person, and have them do the job for a couple days. You’d be surprised that people will come for a day, even a week, to do the job, regardless of how senior they are. That’s the best way for them to get a feel for the company.
There are a handful of assessments that have become tremendously impactful to our team’s winning strategy. There are no ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ assessments. Our goal is to better understand your unique working style, approach, strengths and weaknesses. Only near the end of our journey, will we ask you to take part. (Usually, when we’re secretly excited to hire you.)
The four assessments include:
DiSC Personality Style
Kolbe-A Conative Score
Seligman Optimism Score
Critical Thinking Assessment
What team members have said
I better understand how we and others function, and it helps bridge gaps in approach/framework. I’ve seen firsthand how it’s allowed everyone here to better utilize each others’ strengths and make better decisions overall on who should be doing what.
Assessments have completely opened up my eyes to parts of my personality I never understood before. I used to always wear many hats at work and felt like I should be good at everything. Now I understand that it’s okay to have certain strengths and motivations that make me unique. Allowing myself to focus on those strengths has increased my productivity and also my happiness. I’m no longer stressed out doing so many tasks that are outside of my unique talents. It’s also made me aware of my areas of weakness which has humbled me, and shown me how collaborating with other team members who have complimentary strengths can create an epic Megazord of teamwork. We are stronger together!
The assessments taught me to be more perceptive, examine situations, and reflect on them to guide my future course of action. They have been a tremendous eye-opener for me and great tools in my quest for personal growth.
Duty To Thyself 🛡
It’s common for candidates to be excited and inspired at the potential of working at a new place. We’re guilty of being excited to have new team members join us! However, like all new relationships, our perceptions can be rosier than usual. This is dangerous for all parties. We aim not to be buzz-kills, only prudent in reminding both ourselves and candidates, that not all relationships are meant to be.
Sometimes it’s culture. Sometimes it’s the work. Whatever it is, it’s okay to walk away. It’s better to determine we’re not the right fit than to cross our fingers and hope for the best.
It is vitally important that you do your research, ask hard-hitting questions for our team, and aim to dive deep. Remember: you should be assessing us, just as much as we’re assessing you.
Some lovely things our team members have said about Pixel Dreams.
From our 2021 Culture Review
Pixel Dreams is completely unique. Not only does it have some of the best creative talent out there but its core mission is to raise the intelligence and consciousness of the world.
Next to my family, PD is the best that ever happened to me. In PD, I found my voice and I realize that I still have a chance to grow & improve myself.
It is an environment that brings out the best in us. Even things we never knew about ourselves.
PD is a creative agency where you’re encouraged to colour outside the lines of what’s expected – you’re not limited to your role or traditional business structures.
Pixel Dreams is an agency focused on aligning processes and creating value in an efficient way, and despite the focus on work, constantly promotes culture and knowledge. An incredible place to balance personal and professional growth.
A place where quality work is completed and people are allowed to be themselves.
PD is a place that takes in people and helps bring them to their full potential.
Working at PD is a great opportunity to meet many great people in a great small team. This is not just a place to work, it’s also a place to share and improve our life.
We do artsy creative things in an insanely efficient, organized manner. Pixel Dreams is a collective of passionate, focused, diverse individuals with high standards. We work hard, learn hard, and play hard.
Pixel Dreams is the epitome of ‘work hard & play hard’. Although we are not massive in size, the PDT is the most efficient and driven team I have ever worked with. It’s a workplace that not only focuses on professional learning, but individual growth as well.
They keep pulling me back in, it’s my third time working here. Every time I work for PD I know I become a better person.
At Pixel Dreams I’m learning not just to be a better designer, but a better version of myself. The team that I’m in holds accountability to everyone’s professional and personal growth.
Pixel Dreams gives me the freedom, opportunity, and support to truly be me, to live out my dreams, and grow to my full potential.
We share a couple laughs along the way while getting shit done. We care about you, so we’ll call you out if we expect more out of you.
Fun projects, nice people, the embodiment of “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
A team of creatives who work hard, party harder, laugh a lot, and serve clients. Where the completion of tasks for others is secondary to the pursuit of knowledge for oneself.
A team of people who are genuinely happy, productive, encouraging, organized, and fun to work with.
We’re a wacky creative agency who does anything from running events to strategizing complex marketing campaigns. We can pretty much do it all, and whatever we can’t do, we find the people who can.
I enjoy working with great people who take the work seriously, but never themselves.
A playground for people to learn, explore and better themselves, personally and professionally.
It has been a great experience working at Pixel Dreams. We have some fantastic, loving and caring individuals to work with on the team and the Leadership team is a one in a million.
A tightly linked group of creative people.
A great place to be (and become) your best self.
It’s an interesting ride. You never know what lies around the next corner. Being supported and/or challenged to be better every day.
Interested in learning more about our PD culture? Culture Review
