SGS HIRING PROCESS

We know that a hiring process can seem overwhelming, but we don’t want you to feel overwhelmed at SGS.

We want all candidates “from the entry-level to our leadership” to have access to the same information and resources (after all, our mission is to organize the clients DaaS and make it universally accessible, manageable, effective and useful for our clients).

SGS’s hiring process is an important part of our culture.

SGS’rs care deeply about their teams and the people who make them up.

We also care about building a more representative and inclusive workplace, and that begins with hiring. In order to truly build for everyone, we know that we need a diversity of perspectives and experiences, and a fair hiring process is the first step in getting there.

We seek people who understand and embrace our innovative DaaS solution.

People who are proud to work as SGS’rs but are equally committed and determent to be integrated into a client team and infrastructure.

SELF-REFLECTION

While we’re sure you’re ready to dive into the depths of the SGS job search, we recommend starting with an often-overlooked first step: focus on yourself.

Have you ever discovered you’re good at something you’re not passionate about? Many of us have. This may be a result of the work you like to do, or it may be something you’ve had to get good at because of a previous project or role. The more skills you have the better — but it’s hard to build a fulfilling career on something that doesn’t excite you. Before you start applying, take some time to ask yourself a few of these questions:

• What is something you learned or know, that made everything that came after easier?
• Have more of your achievements come as a result of solitary effort or teamwork?
• What do you enjoy more, solving problems or pushing the discussion forward?
• What is the most rewarding job you’ve ever had and Why?
• Describe the best team you ever worked with. What made that experience stand out?

Now, sit with your working past for a moment. Consider all the best, most rewarding elements of your experience, and let them come together to create a picture of where you want to go next in your career.

Why this exercise? Your skills, interests, and goals are the result of your life, your experiences, your triumphs, and your failures. If we hire you based on your skills, we’ll get a skilled employee. If we hire you based on your skills, and your enduring passions, and your distinct experiences and perspectives, we’ll get an SGS’ler. That’s what we want!

JOB SEARCHING

Once you’ve taken some time to focus on what you’re looking for, you can get a better idea of who we are, what we’re about, and what it’s like to work at SGS.

Our goal is for you to feel like you know us a bit better, and that you’ve got enough information to feel like you’re applying for the right job. 😊

Check out our company and our team’s sites (Link to our career page). View our YouTube (Link youtube and Facebook page) channel and our location. Read our blog (Link) and how we care for SGS’lers. The goal here is the job you land on should exist at the intersection of who you are and who we are.

So go, click around for a bit. Let’s meet there. 😊

You should now have a better sense of who we are and what part of the company and role seems like the best match for where you want to go.

YOUR RESUME

It’s tempting to take your last resume and update it, tweaking it a bit here and there to include your latest work. But we’d like to suggest that you go a little deeper — we think you’ll feel much better about your hiring process if you do. Live up to your potential and use your best shot!

Keep your old resume next to you for inspiration, but start with a blank document and create a resume specifically designed for each job you want. For each position do the following to build your job-specific resume:

• Align your skills and experience with the job description. Tie your work directly to the role qualifications (and don’t forget to include data).
• Be specific about projects you’ve worked on or managed. What was the outcome? How did you measure success? When in doubt, lean on the formula, “accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z].”
• If you’ve had a leadership role, tell us about it. How big was the team? What was the scope of your work?
• If you’re a recent university graduate or have limited work experience, include school-related projects or coursework that demonstrate relevant skills and knowledge.
• Keep it short. We don’t have a length requirement, but concision and precision are key — so think twice before letting your resume move onto multiple pages, and take careful aim with your information.

A word on cover letters: they aren’t required (and may or may not be considered), so it’s your call on whether to include one. If you do decide to include a cover letter, many of the same suggestions we have for building a good resume apply here as well.

For instance, tailor it to the job you’re applying for, tell us how you’ve made a difference and use data to back it up. Draw a direct line between your passion and our position, let us see who you are a bit.

APPLY ONLINE

We want you to focus on the jobs that delight you and that you match as opposed to submitting dozens of applications (it’s tempting, but it doesn’t work well — trust us). Quality, not quantity, is the way to go!

Using the career search (link to our job offers) , tell us who you are, what you do, where you’d like to be, etc. — then start looking at some of the listings that match. As you’re browsing, keep in mind that you can apply for multiple jobs with us and our DaaS (link) clients.

Sidenote: Most SGSlers applied for other roles at SGS before they eventually made it to interviews — not getting a role can often be a matter of timing, rather than a reflection of your skills or qualifications. So if things don’t work out with your first application, don’t let that stop you from applying to other roles in the future.

INTERVIEWS

If a Staffing team member believes you might be a match for a job you’ve applied for, you’ll enter our hiring process.

While the process may differ slightly for different roles or teams, the same basics apply whether you’re applying for a tech job, back office, operations or a marketing job, an internship or a leadership position. Not all of these may apply for your role, but here are some of the ways we assess candidates in our hiring process:

• Short virtual chats: Before diving into more in-depth interviews, you’ll typically have one or two shorter conversations over the phone or video. These will usually be with a recruiter and then with either the hiring manager or peer on the team, and are designed to assess key skills you’ll need for the role.
• Online assessments: You may be asked to do a brief online assessment, like a coding quiz, after you’ve submitted your resume. Some of our DaaS clients prepare pre-evaluating questions or quizzes to pre-filter talents.
• Presentations: depending on the role or position after we had a series of interviews with a candidate and we enter the final stage of the process here could be at the end a presentation test. We outline a scenario and would like the candidate to present that to us. We are interested in how you handle challenges and how you interact with people as cultural fit is key in SGS.
• Project work: We sometimes ask candidates to complete a small project prior to their in-depth interviews. This could range from prepping a case study to providing writing or code samples (don’t stress, they’re not that scary and we won’t spring this on you without warning), and helps us understand how you think and approach problems. We’ll let you know about any additional materials we’ll need early on.
• In-depth interviews: We get excited about interviewing and take it seriously because, at the risk of sounding cliché, SGS is what SGSlers make it. Our process can be rigorous (typically more than 1 or 2 interviews in one day, either over video or in-person), but it’s also meant to be friendly, warm, and gives you the opportunity to get to know us better too. We’re guided by our goal of creating an equitable and inclusive experience where candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds have an opportunity to succeed.

In the end, we want above all to assess your skills and see if you and this role are a match (there aren’t any brain teasers, and who knows, you might even have some fun). So we conduct our interviews using these guiding lights:

• Structured interviewing: Every candidate is assessed using clear rubrics, and we use those rubrics for all folks being considered for that role, so that everyone is evaluated from the same perspective, allowing their distinctiveness to emerge.
• Open-ended questions: We ask open-ended questions to learn how you solve problems. We want to understand how your mind works, how you interact with a team, and what your strengths are.

When it comes to accommodations, our Staffing team is here to help. Language interpreters to specialized equipment, interview breaks to extended time, we aim to provide the support you need so you can keep the focus on your conversations.

DECISION AND OFFER

After your interviews are done, we’ll bring everything together from your application and interviews and review it.

We say “we” because we take into account a number of perspectives to come to a decision. If we decide that you’re the best candidate for the role, our team will reach out to you with an offer.

Once you’ve accepted the offer, the SGS team will walk you through compensation, benefits, badging, insurance and so on, after which you are on your way to becoming a SGSler! Put on your hat and get your SGSlers positive mindset on — we’re thrilled to have you.

 

Frequently asked questions

Does SGS still ask brainteasers in job interviews?

Nope. Our data showed that brainteaser questions didn’t predict how well someone would do on the job so we no longer ask them. Instead, we do work sample tests and ask structured interview questions.

Do I need a computer science degree to be an SGS employee?

No, we cover various roles in all kinds of departments and disciplines. Just look at the JD’s and their list of requirements. That is what we are looking for. There is no general type of degree.

Will you let me know when a job has been filled?

If you haven’t heard from us in two months about an application, we likely proceeded with other candidates for that particular role. However, our recruiters might reach out if we find a different potential match for your skills, interests, and experience. So make sure your CV is in our database as this increases your potential for the future.

Can I apply for multiple jobs?

Yes, you can apply for more than one role at once, though we recommend narrowing your choices down to a few jobs that truly match your skills, experience, and interests. We’ll review your resume/CV—and transcript for interns and new graduates—to determine the best fit. (Note: You can apply to three jobs within a rolling 30-day window.)

How many jobs can I apply for?

You can apply to three jobs within a rolling 30-day window. This limit gives our hard-working staffing team more time to focus on your application and helps you focus on the jobs that are the best match for your talents.

I’m a veteran — is there anything for me at SGS?

Veterans are welcome and encouraged to apply to SGS — learn more about our initiatives, roles, and programs on our dedicated veteran’s page.

What are the application deadlines?

Our job descriptions will include any application deadlines. For most of our openings, we accept applications on a rolling basis, and we encourage you to apply sooner rather than later. However most of the positions we try to place in an 8 to 12-week window.

I interviewed/applied last year and wasn’t selected. May I reapply?

Yes, but for engineering roles, we ask that you wait a year — to gain additional experience — before reapplying.

What technical classes should I take to prepare for technical interviews?

A broad, interdisciplinary background, with a strong understanding of computer science, is the key to any job in software engineering, at SGS or elsewhere. Our Guide to Technical Development offers resources to help you develop your technical skills.

What if I need accommodation for the interview?

No problem! We can help you and give you suggestions of where you might find a good place to stay. Our process is providing recommendations. You have to make the arraignments yourself. Later in the interview process, you can reclaim the cost of travel for a position that was for an international assignment outside of Croatia and Zagreb. All interviews in the HQ will not be reimbursed for locals.

Some roles have salary information, and some don’t. Why?

We provide some salary information for roles in order to be compliant with legislation. The salary listed in the job description reflects the minimum for this particular. The salary in an offer from us and is tied to the role you would ultimately be filling at SGS. You’ll go into greater detail about SGS’s compensation philosophy as you move along in the hiring process.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to provide the world’s 1st DaaS. We build for our customers their tailormade departments by making them tailor-made, universally accessible, useful and easy to manage.

“We WORK & YOU GROW” – SGS optimizes the efficiency & effectiveness of our client’s value chain and business success.

OUR VISION

To change how future generations will work, live, play and operate —introducing a new concept to clients that enable them to become more successful, efficient, competitive while saving cost.