This was honestly one of the best hiring processes I've ever taken part of. Nothing about it is typical or expected, but that's what makes it to great! It's a multi-step process, and begins with your application. I applied through the Shopify careers website, and the application involves creating a "trial store" on Shopify's platform that incorporates several features and apps, to prove that you are able to navigate their system and be creative/resourceful. I created my store as a system to sell myself as a potential Shopify employee. They also ask to incorporate a 3-minute video or audio recording explaining why you'd make an excellent Guru. I chose audio recording and embedded it into my store!
It was a while until I heard anything after submitting my trial store, however when I finally did I was told that my store was excellent and that they wanted to consider me for start dates in 2018 as all Fall 2017 dates were full. I was totally fine with that and told them I'd be looking forward to hearing from them about interview dates for then. A week later I got an email from a recruiter stating they added two new start dates in October and wanted to interview me. So, I went ahead and booked my Life Story interview for a week later. The recruiter unfortunately had to reschedule on the day of, so we moved the interview down a couple days. On the new date she called me right on time over Skype, and we chatted about my life (and hers!) for an hour. The whole thing was super casual and very comfortable, we got along instantly and were cracking jokes before we even started talking about my life. But when we did start she was very attentive and asked a lot of clarifying questions, and over all it just felt like a chat about some of the experiences I've had, professional and personal. The most important advice I can give about this is honestly, don't overthink it. Definitely prepare some interesting points to bring up, but be yourself and do NOT stress out!
I got an email the same day offering me the opportunity to move on to The Gauntlet, which is a 2-hour online roleplay session with a Builder. I scheduled mine for a few days after the Life Story interview, and was given a ton of resources to look through to help me prepare. The biggest thing I'd say about this is, really look through everything they send you. Research common questions on their forums, learn about plan packages and re-familiarize yourself with navigating the Shopify Admin and editing Themes. And all I can say is GOOGLE! I googled literally everything if I wasn't sure. My Gauntlet consisted of 2 phone calls, 1 chat session and 2 e-mails. After each call, chat or email your builder will provide you constructive feedback and it's very important you take it to heart and apply it to your future interactions!
After the Gauntlet I was told I'd hear from my recruiter in a couple days. Literally 15 minutes after I got off my Skype call for the Gauntlet, I got an email from my recruiter asking me to schedule my Chat with a Squad Lead and send her 3 references. I just had my SL chat this morning, and it was also just a casual chat with a current Guru Squad Lead to chat about how my Gauntlet went, and some more about Shopify's culture and values. After that I was told I'd hear from my recruiter within a couple days, and lo-and-behold, I got a call from her a few hours later offering me the position! I'm still waiting for the official offer letter, but I'll be starting on October 16th and I can't wait! This is definitely the most fun I've had with a hiring process and I can't wait to join this amazing team!
