Reddit is hiring right now.
Founded by University of Virginia roommates Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian in 2005, Reddit remains smaller than social-media giants like Meta or TikTok, but its influence on internet subcultures is outsized. The company boasts 50 million daily active uniques, making it a comparative minnow, but subforums, or subreddits, such as r/antiwork, r/WallStreetBets, and the now-defunct r/TheDonald often signal bigger trends in the economy, markets, and politics.
"We are able to give a voice to many folks regardless of where they sit in the world, and it's really something that people like and enjoy," said Carla McIntosh, vice president of global talent acquisition at Reddit. "It's a trusted source of information."
When it comes to hiring staff, she added, the company aims for a culture of inclusion.
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As other tech firms freeze hiring, Reddit is still actively hiring and grew its headcount 85% in 2021, said McIntosh.
Open roles span engineering, data, design, marketing, sales, and more in the US, UK, Europe, and Canada. Jobs include machine learning engineer, and senior data scientist, experimentation.
The company also offers 12-week summer internship programs with the opportunity to convert into full-time employees in the end.
Reddit does not disclose salaries, but Insider analysis of foreign labor hiresfrom 2021 showed that a director of engineering could make as much as $345,000. Updated data for 2022 shows that a senior product manager can make $230,000; a senior machine learning software engineer made $220,000; one staff engineer made $241,020.
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The application process includes applying for a role through the website and sending either a résumé or a LinkedIn profile. There are four to five rounds of interviews with different types of tests for roles. There might be a coding exam for engineers or a presentation if you're applying for a sales or marketing role.
McIntosh outlined five traits in successful candidates.
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1. Have a growth mindset
Things move fast in tech so workers have to constantly keep up with the quick pace of change. McIntosh said that one particular trait that is needed to keep up is being able to "evolve" and adapt to situations.
"You can understand in this market, and these times, things are changing all the time. So for us it's very important that we talk to people early on about the importance of having a growth mindset, being adaptable, being open to change, and being very curious."
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2. Be passionate and curious
Entry-level candidates may feel like they're at a disadvantage if they lack lots of experience, but being openly passionate about the platform will take you far.
McIntosh said that being "naturally curious" can make up for not having lots of existing experience.
"People that are coachable, that seek out feedback, that are naturally curious, that want to dig in and understand why things are a certain way within our company, that to me is one of the best things that an entry-level candidate can bring. And just general excitement to want to grow and evolve and become great at whatever their profession is, be it in accounting or talent acquisition, someone that's just motivated to want to come in and learn and grow and do good work for Reddit."
She added that candidates are "welcome to be bold" and to express how excited they are about the opportunity.
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"I think we really welcome and want people to be very excited, and so I think it would be a mistake for a candidate to hold back their excitement. We want people who are letting us know how much they want to do with our company."
3. Don't be overly rehearsed
Hiring managers at Reddit are really interested in getting to know who you are, so being authentic in interviews will help your personality shine.
McIntosh said: "We don't want a person to come in and be overly rehearsed, we really want to get to know them. It's very important, and that's what makes Reddit's culture so amazing is that all of us can bring our authentic selves to work every day."
She added: "We want to ensure that that people know that from the first time they connect with us, either via interview or via email, we really want people just to be relaxed. We want to do our part in making sure that they're comfortable and make sure that they know that that's what we want."
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4. Give feedback
Share your opinions about how the hiring process can be better.
"I think a candidate always impresses me if I get a follow-up note, and a person is open enough to give me feedback," McIntosh said.
"I think that that's always helpful, because one of our values that we've talked about is 'evolve.' So I love it when candidates give me insight into the experience in real-time. I think that is really good training, it does make them stand out quite a bit."
5. Show your personality in your LinkedIn profile or résumé
Your LinkedIn profile or résumé is not just a place to show your experiences and achievements.
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"I think it's very important to ensure that their CV or their LinkedIn profile really speaks to who they are as a holistic person, and that it doesn't just list a set of technical skills and capabilities. It really should give insight into who they are as a person and what their passions are, sort of the why behind their profession," McIntosh advised.
She added: "When a person might list their interests, I always find that to be a really attractive thing. You can start to visualize what would this person be like if hired, working on a team or collaborating on a project, versus just having a series of bullet points that talk about 'here's what I've done.'"