FollowA Meetup happens every 13 seconds, and there are over 90,000 Meetup Groups for more than 9 million members. As Meetups become more popular and widespread, the Meetup team continues to grow.
Meetup staff are known as “MEME-teamers,” MEME being an acronym for “Meetups Everywhere about Most Everything”– and judging from the numbers, this name is pretty accurate. Mashable spoke with Kathryn Fink, Meetup’s community development lead, and Linda Paul, the team development director, about who they look for, what the company values are and how you can land a gig at this fast-growing startup.
What Positions Are Available?
Head to the jobs page to see what positions the startup is looking to fill. The current openings at Meetup are:
- Desktop Support Specialist
- MySQL Hadoop DBA
- Software Engineers
- UI Engineers
- Product Managers
- Community Specialists
- Sponsorship Development
- Community Development Apprentice
The company revolves around face-to-face meetups, so it’s no surprise that they like keeping the 80-person team together (it’s like a Meetup meetup every day). Meetup HQ is part of the “Made in NYC” startup family — and is located in Soho neighborhood, so be prepared to move to the Big Apple if you are offered a position.
“Because of the collaborative nature of our work, the rapid innovations occurring within the company and our belief in the power of face-to-face, we believe that working all together in a place without walls — literally and figuratively — is the only way to get the stuff done that we need to get done to help us a achieve our mission,” says Fink.
What Kind of People Do They Hire?
“At the heart of Meetup is the belief that people are intrinsically good, and people connecting over a shared interest/passion/cause is hugely powerful,” says Fink. The company is the largest network of local groups that meet face-to-face, empowering people to build communities, connections, economies, life stories. That said, “We need people who want to have a hand in shaping the present and future of how people make that happen,” she adds. You can check out the Meetup HQ blog for a glimpse behind the curtain — posts are written by various team members to provide a holistic view of the company.
Meetup seeks innovators and “really smart people who are excited about working in an agile, energetic environment.” A company is only as strong as its team, and Meetup places a high premium on its people — they “get” the Meetup mission and have the skills to take it further. When the team meets, they sit in a circle (see above), so that there’s more of a conversation and less of a “lecture” environment.
“We always cast a wide net to find the best possible people,” says Paul — they don’t put deadlines on hiring, because then they’d be “selecting people for the wrong reason.” During the interview process, you’ll be meeting lots of team members, and Paul says it’s a testament to Meetup really caring about who it hires. CEO Scott Heiferman tries to meet as many final candidates as his schedule allows, so that by the time someone starts at Meetup, they already feel comfortable with the team. Paul says there’s a “maybe is no” policy on hiring — if anyone on the interview team is not feeling great about a particular candidate, Meetup will not offer him a job.
That may seem harsh, but Meetup is all about face-time and collaboration, both internally and externally. “Nothing happens at Meetup — whether it’s a new product development or an after-work party — without many people working together in innovative ways,” says Fink.
At the bottom of every job post, you’ll see this blurb:
Every member of the Meetup Team is expected to: be an Innovator; be a Collaborator; be a Champion for their ideas; be an Expert; have High Standards; be dedicated to the power of self-organized groups and our mission of A Meetup Everywhere About Most Everything (“MEME”); and most importantly, Get Stuff Done That Makes a Difference!
And this isn’t just lip service — Paul says everyone is reviewed on these expectations twice a year.
It’s a work-hard, play-hard environment, and the team has its fair share of fun. In fact, Heiferman jokingly created a list that compared working at Google to working at Meetup, which touches on the culture and the people who make up the Meetup team. If you think working for this kind of CEO would be fun, then Meetup might be the place for you.
Perks & Benefits
As mentioned above, Meetup HQ is in SoHo, and the office culture is work hard/play hard. At Meetup, you’ll enjoy:
- Roof with a 300-degree view of New York City, complete with a grill, lounge chairs and fake grass (and they do hang out up there)
- Rock Band setup with a projector
- A dog-friendly office — the resident mascot, Lola, is pictured above
- $100 towards a helmet if you ride a bike
- 3 weeks paid vacation plus summer Fridays, personal holidays and no-limit sick days
- 401(k) matching
- 3-month paid sabbatical program for employees who have been with Meetup for 7 years
- Yearly off-site trip and barbecue
- A nap room
- Halloween festivities, an annual summer barbecue and a holiday party in December
- Surprise gifts when you reach certain Meetup anniversaries, such as a mug with your face on it and stapler with your name on it (a la Office Space)
- Guest speakers, such as Tony Hsieh, Jack Dorsey and ClayShirkey
And the Meetup team creates goals based on the number of successful Meetup Groups and RSVPs, and each time it hits a milestone, there’s a new perk added to the mix.
Some such perks are:
- A fridge stocked with tea, juice, coconut water and the stuff startups thrive on, beer.
- Fresh fruit all year long
- A monthly $40 gift card to Whole Foods (right around the corner)
- $200 reimbursement every year toward the purchase of any mobile device
- Breakfast every Tuesday
Social Media Job Listings
Every week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
- Media Strategist at Noise in New York
- Manager, Social Media & Community at Shutterfly in Redwood City, Calif.
- Social Media Specialist at Overdrive Interactive in Massachusetts
Source: mashable
