What it does: Providers users with a drag and drop graphics platform to create layouts for print or online publishing, presentations, social media images and other visual content.
Best known for: Canva is a unicorn startup with a valuation of US$6 billion as of 2020.
Staff stats: More than 800 employees.
The good bits: The company observes a simple, three-step recruitment process. Canva informs candidates about the results of their applications within 48 hours from the final interview.
The not so good bits: Applicants should dedicate several hours or even days to complete the required tasks during the pre-interview stage.
Melanie Perkins, Cameron Adams and Cliff Obrecht established the company in 2012. Canva disrupted the graphics design industry by simplifying the work process (eg choosing images, layouts and templates). The platform became popular and has drawn more than 30 million users worldwide. Canva became a unicorn startup in 2018 with a US$1 billion valuation, which eventually increased to US$6 billion in 2020. The company’s regional offices in Beijing and Manila complement the headquarters in Sydney.
Canva recruits from other countries for remote work opportunities along with on-site job vacancies at their three offices. The company seeks applicants who can positively express individuality during the hiring process. There are four recruitment stages that start by chatting with a recruiter.
Applicants will need to solve a sample work test or online pair coding session before moving on to the final interview. Canva promises to notify candidates of the results within 48 hours after the last step.
The company takes up to four weeks on average to process candidates for technology roles. Applicants should expect to spend a few days on completing the technical tasks.
Applicants who haven’t heard from the recruiter after four weeks should assume that Canva chose another candidate.
Fresh graduates may have to spend several weeks of their time answering online exams. Some of the previous candidates still felt glad to learn something new by taking the tests, despite being unsuccessful in their applications.
Canva divides their teams into 11 groups comprising business strategy and operations, data, design, engineering, facilities and administration, finance and legal, people, product management, marketing, sales and success, and support. The company accepts expressions of interest for jobs that remain unavailable at the time of your application.
Students can join Canva as a software engineering intern if they are within 18 months from finishing their bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Entry-level positions include graduate roles for engineering and design.
Graduates can choose from internships, full-time or freelance positions at the company. You’ll normally find vacancies in their design, facilities and administration, finance and legal, marketing and support teams.
Canva hires individuals who not only fit in well with their culture but also add new ideas to the workplace. The company promotes a sense of individuality by valuing opinions and recognising the best ideas. Employees draw inspiration from a merit-based work environment to improve their performance.
Micromanagement, however, seems to be a problem at the Manila office, which is different from the culture at the Sydney headquarters. Graduates in the Philippines should also expect routine changes and be able to adapt accordingly—Canva is a startup after all.
The company competes with Crello, DesignBold, Fotor, Snappa and Stencil. Canva and DesignBold’s platforms share some similarities.
Canva suffered from a data breach incident in 2019. A hacker compromised confidential data of 139 million users including names, email addresses and place of residence. The company has rectified the situation and remains vigilant against future attacks.
Graduates must be willing to devote a lot of time to Canva during the hiring stages. There’s no guarantee of being hired after spending hours or days on the pre-employment tasks, but the company’s transparency serves as the silver lining. Applicants only need to wait for a few days to know the results, unlike other companies that don’t inform unsuccessful candidates.
Canva expects potential employees to bring something new to the table every now and then, since being a good fit for the company’s culture should be noticeable even before they attend the interviews.
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