Hello, world!
My name is Jeff Leyser, I’m the freshly minted Product Marketing Manager for Jira, and I’m just wrapping up my first week here at Atlassian. Over the next few weeks and months, I’m going to be blogging about what it’s like to be the New Guy.
The first step to being the new guy is getting hired. Lately, Jonathan Jeffrey, Charles, and Mike have been blogging about resumes, but it seems to me that that’s only half the picture.
A good resume is marketing — it differentiates you from the pack, and motivates people to want to talk to you. But you close the deal in interviews. Like so much around here, interviewing at Atlassian was similar to everywhere else, but different.
The process started with a phone screen. But I didn’t have to waste my time with an HR “gatekeeper” — this phone screen was with Jon Silvers, our Director of Marketing, and now my boss. A few days later I came to our San Francisco office, and met with a whole bunch of folks, including Jon, a couple of people who would become my peers, and Jeffrey, Atlassian’s President. Several hours later, I left exhausted, talked out, and burning with desire to work here. Most striking to me was what happened during those interviews. Sure, we reviewed my background, and I told them about what I’ve done. But there was a lot of back and forth — a real conversation.
Talking about the industry, how I saw Atlassian, and what I could expect once I got here. The interviews were about making sure I was a fit or Atlassian, and that Atlassian was a fit for me.
A week later, I came back to talk to one more potential peer, and then a week after that, I had a new job! From initial contact to a job offer in less than a month. That’s amazingly fast — something else that’s a bit different around here.
So, a few thoughts on my first week:
- This is the most fun I’ve had on the job in quite some time. Everyone I’ve met is smart, passionate & dedicated, and they’ve gone out of their way to make me feel welcome.
- I had some worries about working in the open floor plan, but it’s been great. I feel more like I’m on a team than ever before.
- Everything, and I mean everything, goes on our internal Confluence wiki. At past jobs, it’s taken a long time to figure out who does what, and which end is up. Having spent this week reading hundreds of Wiki pages, I already feel like I know what’s going on, and what the priorities are. On the other hand, my head is swimming with all the new information I’ve absorbed!
Finally, if all of this sounds appealing to you, consider joining us. We’re hiring in both Sydney and San Francisco.