Web hosting firm Rackspace was voted one of the most fun and friendly places to work by The Sunday Times in 2012 and also appeared in The Financial Times Top 20 Best Workplaces, so we were keen to find out more about careers at the firm!
Rackspace Inc is an IT hosting company based in San Antonio, Texas with data centers operating in Texas, Illinois, Virginia, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Hong Kong.
The firm is currently hiring MBAs globally. They have offices in the UK, US, Australia, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Hong Kong.
In this week's Inside View interview we speak to Nicola Sandland, EMEA Talent Acquisition Manager at Rackspace.
Tell us about Rackspace in a couple of sentences
Rackspace is the best place I have ever worked. It keeps me challenged and learning, which for me is key, it provides opportunity for me to develop and also contribute to something I feel passionate about.
I enjoy the people I work with and finding more Rackers! Rackspace is an Open Cloud company but it is all about the Fanatical Support we provide around it which differentiates us.
What is your role at Rackspace and how long have you been there?
I am the EMEA Talent Acquisition Manager for Sales and also General Administration. I hire for HR, Legal, finance and marketing roles
What type of candidates do you usually recruit?
It really depends on the role in terms of skill set and experience needed.
We often have all sorts of different vacancies from experienced managers to graduate opportunities. Rackers tend to be passionate people who will enjoy a fast paced environment with a “can do attitude”.
How does the recruitment process usually work?
We always promote from within first as this is something we commit to our Rackers and their development. However once we open roles externally we rely on referrals, advertising and a variety of routes to market.
We try to make the recruitment process as fast and efficient as possible and keep the candidate updated each step of the way.
What advice would you give for an MBA who wants to work at Rackspace?
We have already hired a number of MBAs for our finance function and want to continue this as we grow and perhaps enable other areas of the business to build such programmes.
We have a couple of vacancies open now for MBAs who want to move into leadership roles moving forward. My advice is to keep an eye out on our website but also on LinkedIn for these roles.
Also keep a look out at your business school as we have relationships with some schools and advertise our roles directly.
From a hiring and interviewing perspective I recommend the MBA grads are clear in knowing their strengths and what they want to do. Knowing how they can add value to Rackspace and self-awareness are key in selling yourself into organisations. Do your research so you know where that company is heading.
What are some of the traits that would turn you off hiring somebody?
I think we tend to hire people who are adaptable. In such a growing company there is always a need for more and different ways of doing things to keep ahead of that curve.
If people find change and constant challenge a drain then Rackspace isn’t the place for them.
Rackspace was voted one of the most fun and friendly places to work in the Sunday Times. What do you think makes Rackspace fun and friendly?
The culture at Rackspace is very unique and the people we hire want to preserve this culture even as we grow. The people are the best thing about Rackspace. They make it all happen: the growth, the Fanatical Support and the ideas to keep Rackspace great and growing.
Rackspace has a set of core values which we live by - which is unusual I think in most of the corporate world.These core values are what guide us as to how we engage with customers and with other Rackers.
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