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Compose | Remote (Canada, US, UK) What: Databases-as-a-service. We offer production grade, auto-scaling, automatically backed-up, add-on compatible MongoDB, Po

by grayfox 10y ago

Compose | Remote (Canada, US, UK) What: Databases-as-a-service. We offer production grade, auto-scaling, automatically backed-up, add-on compatible MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Redis, and more. $: All roles start at 100k and scale up based on experience. MacBook Pro, pension match, health. Hiring Process: Blind hiring! First, a light application. Second, all candidates who complete the application receive a work-sample resembling the work one would do in the role. No deadline. Final step is a paid work day ($500). Compose has grown into a vibrant group where folks can feel comfortable being themselves, living a balanced life. We welcome you to enjoy comfort when taking risks, collaborate with spirited peers, and to unleash your creative and talented personality. * Work from anywhere! * Many neat conundrums to solve. * Self-managing, distributed decision making. Choose your projects. We're deadline averse and quality focused. * Hardly any meetings. * Ruby/Go. * Fizz: https://www.compose.io/articles/the-tool-we-built-to-help-us-work-remotely/ https://www.compose.io/articles/the-tool-we-built-to-help-us... Roles: * Platform Engineer / Application Developer * Support Engineer * Technical Content Creator ('Developer Advocacy' type of role) To begin: https://compose.interviewed.com https://compose.interviewed.com

scalesolved 10y ago
I voted you up, you gave great information to potential candidates and included a rough pay idea, hopefully you'll float to the top. Best of luck!
- BlackJack 10y ago
  Same, I've upvoted everyone who provided a salary estimate. I saw this in action last month and think it's a great principle so I encourage others to do the same.
kiloreux 10y ago
Can you please add that you are only able to accept candidates from US and Canada, I had my hopes up :( .
- grayfox 10y ago
  Ah! Out of space in the main post. We are only able to hire those that can legally work within Canada, the US, or the UK. Once hired, fully remote from anywhere.
  - joeyspn 10y ago
    By "legally work" do you mean "pay taxes"? Because AFAIK European people can legally work in UK and live or pay taxes in their origin countries (France, Germany, Spain, etc) http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/index_en.htm http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/index_...
    - s_kilk 10y ago
      Confirming, EEA citizens can work in the UK, so the hiring pool could technically include the whole EU.
      - mrkurt 10y ago
        It's tricky. The hiring pool can technically include the whole EU, but people need to live in the UK while they work here (I believe). We can't hire someone in Germany and have them be employed in the UK.
        joeyspn 10y ago
        > people need to live in the UK while they work here Not really. The only issue is where the employee wants to pay taxes (and get social benefits), in the UK or in the country of residence. This also applies for UK nationals living abroad in Europe. Generally you're forced to pay local taxes when you spend 183+ days living in the same country (you automatically get resident status), but most of the EU countries have bilateral income tax agreements in order to prevent double-taxation. (you can live in Spain and request tax exemption/return from the UK or Spain gov) and viceversa. It's trickier than simply hiring EU contractors but it's definitely doable (I know some cases) and opens a whole new talent pool for an UK company. https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad/taxed-twice https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad/taxed-twice
quantum_nerd 10y ago
sounds like an awesome place to work!
pmarreck 10y ago
While I admire your "blind hiring," I've become increasingly aware that when it comes to team dynamics, EQ matters as much as IQ and social skills/empathy matter as much as ability... (Perhaps that accounts for your $500 "first day.") Has this method been working for you?
- grayfox 10y ago
  EQ has proven to be of vital importance in growing healthy teams. There was that Google study: http://www.inc.com/robin-camarote/google-study-reveals-emotional-intelligence-on-teams-determines-success.html http://www.inc.com/robin-camarote/google-study-reveals-emoti... The work-day would be where we assess EQ. It is difficult to stay objective and consistent when assessing soft-skills. It provides the risk that biases and could-be-wrong impressions dictate your hiring decisions. Two things, in my eyes, have helped us find bright and 'good' people: First, by using consistent criteria that are as specific (binary) as possible, we have been able to find people who are not just talented, but conscientious contributors. Secondly, the way we write/pitch/communicate during the process sets the tone for both the people we want and the environment we want to create. If you go through an uncomfortable, even aggressive, hiring process, what would you expect from the environment and the people within that environment? We try for good-ness from word one.
johnward 10y ago
I take it you are still following your own hiring process and haven't been bluewashed yet?
- mrkurt 10y ago
  Yes. Our process actually meshes with IBM's reasonably well, people still have to go through the IBM recruiting system (very late in our process) but it's not used for any screening / decisions.
20years 10y ago
Your hiring practices and willingness to disclose pay are refreshing. It would be interesting to read a more detailed case study on how this works for you.
- chowes 10y ago
  +1, would love for more info on your "paid work day" experiences
  - ITriedThis 10y ago
    For me, the paid work day was 8 hours in a Slack chat asking a lot of questions of 1-2 employees. My task was to get familiar with their existing systems by querying these employees. I was asked to prepare a report about what I found. The guys seemed busy so for a lot of the day I was on my own, waiting for more information. It was intense, but by the end of the day I had a pretty good sense of the internals. I think it was a good test overall.
    - mrkurt 10y ago
      It sounds like it worked like we want, kind of! The work days should be more interactive than what you experienced, I think. The really good ones seem to be super busy for the first 4 hours, with 3-4 existing employees interacting. The latter half is frequently quiet if people are on the right track. I can guess which position you were going through the process for, and it's something that we've been talking about a lot. One thing we've noticed is that even when it's not perfect, the process we have helps a lot. You had an imperfect work day, but got a good idea of what the actual work is like. I'd rather you have a perfect workday though.
webeng18 10y ago
I love the hiring process at Compose. I myself have applied here. I also love it how they understand the pain points in the hiring process and sympathize with potential candidates. However, I am a little disappointed. Given the process they have and the ranking procedures, unfortunately, the process is very time taking. Been 8+ weeks after I turned in the coding exercises and haven't heard back anything (positive remarks or a rejection) yet. So far I have been to a decent amount of hiring procedures (have been extended 2 offers and declined), and the entire procedure is usually 6-8 weeks. But again those hiring procedures are quite "traditional" compared to how Compose is performing. I guess, patience is virtue :) Anyways, overall I enjoyed working on the problems and exercises. Good luck!
- mrkurt 10y ago
  8 weeks with no communications from us is wrong. Will you email me so I can go see what happened? kurt at compose.io
  - webeng18 10y ago
    I must correct myself here. @mrkurt apologies for misleading information. What I meant was I haven't heard about the next steps or about a rejection. However, I was notified that my submission is in queue and to expect a decision soon. I am 100% in support for the hiring procedures followed by Compose :). What was disappointing was, overall the timeline has been 8+ weeks since submission of coding exercise and a decision on the same isn't available.
    - mrkurt 10y ago
      Yeah 8 weeks is terrible, and I'm pretty sure it means something broke. I'm happy to look it up (incidentally, people are very hesitant to email us and ask what's up because they're worried about seeming pushy. They shouldn't be, if a company thinks you're pushy for respecting your time you shouldn't work there).
      - bogomipz 10y ago
ITriedThis 10y ago
Anonymous review: I tried this process because it sounded pretty fun and unique. One warning I have for anyone interested is that there are some big waiting times involved. I'll share my timeline. Some of the lags were on my end, but I was assured I had as much time as I needed. - Day 0-6 - First contact - Day 7 - Assigned work sample - Day 21 - Submitted work sample - Day 62 - Work sample results returned - Day 72 - Paid work day - Day 79 - Work day report completed - Day 85 - Final decision Overall there were 21 days where they were waiting on me and 47 days where I was waiting on them. This seemed to me like a lot of waiting but maybe it is normal. I probably worked 15 hours on the work sample, 8 hours on the work day, and 8 more hours putting together the report after the work day.
- grayfox 10y ago
  Oof, bummer. Your experience is slower than average. We ran into a grading crunch when we launched our Enterprise product. When you submit your work to us, your submission is anonymous. Three engineers grade each submission. Platform Engineers will experience the greatest wait periods. The other roles tend to be quicker. Expected time-frame: * Proceed from application to work sample: 24 hours. * Complete work sample: Up to the candidate. We build them to take 2-6 hours. * Grade work sample: 1-4 weeks. * Schedule work day: 1 week. * Receive decision: 2-5 days. Thanks for taking our time to try the process out, it is appreciated. The method is constantly under improvement.
  - levemi 10y ago
    It's hard to see how you can have much success with this method. Current recruiting strategies involve getting from recruiter telephone call to final decision within 2 weeks, or 1 if possible. The faster you move on a candidate the more likely they end up working for you. At my current employer initial phone conversation, telephone interview and on site were all within 7 days.
    - kasey_junk 10y ago
      While I'd never argue its a "good" thing to have a slower pipeline, in the past when I had pipelines with timing similar to this companies, it didn't have extreme negative impacts on the success of the pipeline. I don't know why that was, but my suspicion was that our highest qualified leads were those coming from candidates that were "happy enough" at their current positions to not be frantically searching. As long as we seemed like a good place to work, and we did a good job of communicating why back logs were happening, we didn't lose many of the candidates we were most excited about.
spyrosg 10y ago
I'm not interested in applying, but very curious as to what kind of work sample you might have for a systems profile. Is it okay to 'apply' just for the sample?
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Bombthecat 10y ago
What about germany? Do you need a guy to do night shifts while it is day in germany? :)
beeboop 10y ago
Even the support and writing roles start at 100k? Seems really high for both.
- grayfox 10y ago
  Our Support Engineers and Technical Content Creators do real intensive technical work. The role is not important at Compose. The system is built to best groom out 'core competencies'. A Support Engineer is a strong Ops/Systems Administrator with great communication and customer skills. A Technical Content Creator is a strong developer with excellent written communication skill. Our Analytics is maintained, built, and improved by a 'Content Creator'. Our hiring, too, is ran by a 'Content Creator'. Similar folk contribute across the app, and apply skills in various areas. It is a mature way to work. To get the best people, you need to offer competitive wages.
bogomipz 10y ago
What is "First a light application"?
opendomain 10y ago
I always loved Compose - I am the founder of NoSQL.Com and developed a similar business model. They are a fantastic company. However, my concern is that Compose is now part of IBM. What guarantee does anyone starting at compose will not be caught in the layoffs?

by grayfox 10y ago

scalesolved 10y ago

I voted you up, you gave great information to potential candidates and included a rough pay idea, hopefully you'll float to the top. Best of luck!

BlackJack 10y ago
Same, I've upvoted everyone who provided a salary estimate. I saw this in action last month and think it's a great principle so I encourage others to do the same.

kiloreux 10y ago

Can you please add that you are only able to accept candidates from US and Canada, I had my hopes up :( .

grayfox 10y ago
Ah! Out of space in the main post. We are only able to hire those that can legally work within Canada, the US, or the UK. Once hired, fully remote from anywhere.
- joeyspn 10y ago
  By "legally work" do you mean "pay taxes"? Because AFAIK European people can legally work in UK and live or pay taxes in their origin countries (France, Germany, Spain, etc) http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/index_en.htm http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/index_...
  - s_kilk 10y ago
    Confirming, EEA citizens can work in the UK, so the hiring pool could technically include the whole EU.
    - mrkurt 10y ago
      It's tricky. The hiring pool can technically include the whole EU, but people need to live in the UK while they work here (I believe). We can't hire someone in Germany and have them be employed in the UK.
      - joeyspn 10y ago
        > people need to live in the UK while they work here Not really. The only issue is where the employee wants to pay taxes (and get social benefits), in the UK or in the country of residence. This also applies for UK nationals living abroad in Europe. Generally you're forced to pay local taxes when you spend 183+ days living in the same country (you automatically get resident status), but most of the EU countries have bilateral income tax agreements in order to prevent double-taxation. (you can live in Spain and request tax exemption/return from the UK or Spain gov) and viceversa. It's trickier than simply hiring EU contractors but it's definitely doable (I know some cases) and opens a whole new talent pool for an UK company. https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad/taxed-twice https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad/taxed-twice

quantum_nerd 10y ago

sounds like an awesome place to work!

pmarreck 10y ago

While I admire your "blind hiring," I've become increasingly aware that when it comes to team dynamics, EQ matters as much as IQ and social skills/empathy matter as much as ability... (Perhaps that accounts for your $500 "first day.") Has this method been working for you?

grayfox 10y ago
EQ has proven to be of vital importance in growing healthy teams. There was that Google study: http://www.inc.com/robin-camarote/google-study-reveals-emotional-intelligence-on-teams-determines-success.html http://www.inc.com/robin-camarote/google-study-reveals-emoti... The work-day would be where we assess EQ. It is difficult to stay objective and consistent when assessing soft-skills. It provides the risk that biases and could-be-wrong impressions dictate your hiring decisions. Two things, in my eyes, have helped us find bright and 'good' people: First, by using consistent criteria that are as specific (binary) as possible, we have been able to find people who are not just talented, but conscientious contributors. Secondly, the way we write/pitch/communicate during the process sets the tone for both the people we want and the environment we want to create. If you go through an uncomfortable, even aggressive, hiring process, what would you expect from the environment and the people within that environment? We try for good-ness from word one.

johnward 10y ago

I take it you are still following your own hiring process and haven't been bluewashed yet?

mrkurt 10y ago
Yes. Our process actually meshes with IBM's reasonably well, people still have to go through the IBM recruiting system (very late in our process) but it's not used for any screening / decisions.

20years 10y ago

Your hiring practices and willingness to disclose pay are refreshing. It would be interesting to read a more detailed case study on how this works for you.

chowes 10y ago
+1, would love for more info on your "paid work day" experiences
- ITriedThis 10y ago
  For me, the paid work day was 8 hours in a Slack chat asking a lot of questions of 1-2 employees. My task was to get familiar with their existing systems by querying these employees. I was asked to prepare a report about what I found. The guys seemed busy so for a lot of the day I was on my own, waiting for more information. It was intense, but by the end of the day I had a pretty good sense of the internals. I think it was a good test overall.
  - mrkurt 10y ago
    It sounds like it worked like we want, kind of! The work days should be more interactive than what you experienced, I think. The really good ones seem to be super busy for the first 4 hours, with 3-4 existing employees interacting. The latter half is frequently quiet if people are on the right track. I can guess which position you were going through the process for, and it's something that we've been talking about a lot. One thing we've noticed is that even when it's not perfect, the process we have helps a lot. You had an imperfect work day, but got a good idea of what the actual work is like. I'd rather you have a perfect workday though.

webeng18 10y ago

I love the hiring process at Compose. I myself have applied here. I also love it how they understand the pain points in the hiring process and sympathize with potential candidates. However, I am a little disappointed. Given the process they have and the ranking procedures, unfortunately, the process is very time taking. Been 8+ weeks after I turned in the coding exercises and haven't heard back anything (positive remarks or a rejection) yet. So far I have been to a decent amount of hiring procedures (have been extended 2 offers and declined), and the entire procedure is usually 6-8 weeks. But again those hiring procedures are quite "traditional" compared to how Compose is performing. I guess, patience is virtue :) Anyways, overall I enjoyed working on the problems and exercises. Good luck!

mrkurt 10y ago
8 weeks with no communications from us is wrong. Will you email me so I can go see what happened? kurt at compose.io
- webeng18 10y ago
  I must correct myself here. @mrkurt apologies for misleading information. What I meant was I haven't heard about the next steps or about a rejection. However, I was notified that my submission is in queue and to expect a decision soon. I am 100% in support for the hiring procedures followed by Compose :). What was disappointing was, overall the timeline has been 8+ weeks since submission of coding exercise and a decision on the same isn't available.
  - mrkurt 10y ago
    Yeah 8 weeks is terrible, and I'm pretty sure it means something broke. I'm happy to look it up (incidentally, people are very hesitant to email us and ask what's up because they're worried about seeming pushy. They shouldn't be, if a company thinks you're pushy for respecting your time you shouldn't work there).
    - bogomipz 10y ago

ITriedThis 10y ago

Anonymous review: I tried this process because it sounded pretty fun and unique. One warning I have for anyone interested is that there are some big waiting times involved. I'll share my timeline. Some of the lags were on my end, but I was assured I had as much time as I needed. - Day 0-6 - First contact - Day 7 - Assigned work sample - Day 21 - Submitted work sample - Day 62 - Work sample results returned - Day 72 - Paid work day - Day 79 - Work day report completed - Day 85 - Final decision Overall there were 21 days where they were waiting on me and 47 days where I was waiting on them. This seemed to me like a lot of waiting but maybe it is normal. I probably worked 15 hours on the work sample, 8 hours on the work day, and 8 more hours putting together the report after the work day.

grayfox 10y ago
Oof, bummer. Your experience is slower than average. We ran into a grading crunch when we launched our Enterprise product. When you submit your work to us, your submission is anonymous. Three engineers grade each submission. Platform Engineers will experience the greatest wait periods. The other roles tend to be quicker. Expected time-frame: * Proceed from application to work sample: 24 hours. * Complete work sample: Up to the candidate. We build them to take 2-6 hours. * Grade work sample: 1-4 weeks. * Schedule work day: 1 week. * Receive decision: 2-5 days. Thanks for taking our time to try the process out, it is appreciated. The method is constantly under improvement.
- levemi 10y ago
  It's hard to see how you can have much success with this method. Current recruiting strategies involve getting from recruiter telephone call to final decision within 2 weeks, or 1 if possible. The faster you move on a candidate the more likely they end up working for you. At my current employer initial phone conversation, telephone interview and on site were all within 7 days.
  - kasey_junk 10y ago
    While I'd never argue its a "good" thing to have a slower pipeline, in the past when I had pipelines with timing similar to this companies, it didn't have extreme negative impacts on the success of the pipeline. I don't know why that was, but my suspicion was that our highest qualified leads were those coming from candidates that were "happy enough" at their current positions to not be frantically searching. As long as we seemed like a good place to work, and we did a good job of communicating why back logs were happening, we didn't lose many of the candidates we were most excited about.

spyrosg 10y ago

I'm not interested in applying, but very curious as to what kind of work sample you might have for a systems profile. Is it okay to 'apply' just for the sample?

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

Bombthecat 10y ago

What about germany? Do you need a guy to do night shifts while it is day in germany? :)

beeboop 10y ago

Even the support and writing roles start at 100k? Seems really high for both.

grayfox 10y ago
Our Support Engineers and Technical Content Creators do real intensive technical work. The role is not important at Compose. The system is built to best groom out 'core competencies'. A Support Engineer is a strong Ops/Systems Administrator with great communication and customer skills. A Technical Content Creator is a strong developer with excellent written communication skill. Our Analytics is maintained, built, and improved by a 'Content Creator'. Our hiring, too, is ran by a 'Content Creator'. Similar folk contribute across the app, and apply skills in various areas. It is a mature way to work. To get the best people, you need to offer competitive wages.

bogomipz 10y ago

What is "First a light application"?

opendomain 10y ago

I always loved Compose - I am the founder of NoSQL.Com and developed a similar business model. They are a fantastic company. However, my concern is that Compose is now part of IBM. What guarantee does anyone starting at compose will not be caught in the layoffs?