Whether you’re an employer or job seeker, the hiring process is hard. Shining a spotlight on this problem, we spoke to Oura’s Head of People Leanne Loveday-Smith about her best advice for candidates hoping to stand out, level up, and land their dream health and fitness job.
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Roles at high-growth health and fitness companies are highly competitive. What can candidates do to stand out?
LL: Oura’s hiring philosophy is to seek candidates who not only have the skills and abilities to be successful in their role but also who are aligned with our values and mission to improve the way we live our lives.
Specifically, candidates should look for ways to highlight their skills on their resumes, focusing on accomplishments not just their job description. Additionally, we recommend candidates look for ways to weave their personal values into their resumes and their interview. Why is great health and good sleep important to you?
Show us and provide examples. We love to talk with individuals who are passionate about what we’re building.
What does your company’s hiring process entail?
LL: We keep our hiring process simple, knowing that structured interviews are the best way to identify the best, most qualified and most diverse candidates, all while providing the best candidate experience. No trick questions or brain teasers here.
Our interviews will begin with a video screen with a recruiter or hiring manager, followed by an opportunity to meet 3-4 members of the hiring team and their cross-functional partners.
Meeting cross-functional partners and demonstrating how well you collaborate is important given one of our values is ubuntu, a word from South Africa that means “not me, we.”
Finally, most hiring teams will also include a practical or technical exercise as part of their process. This exercise could be a presentation, writing sample, or a technical coding challenge depending on the role, all providing an opportunity for you to showcase what you can do.
Which credentials matter when assessing applicants?
LL: Your accomplishments matter. Your passion matters. Where you went to school does not matter. If you can demonstrate you have the core competencies to be successful, inside or outside of school, and have shown you believe in our mission, we’d love to talk to you.
While experience working in the health or fitness industry is certainly nice to have, it’s not a must.
Where you work also does not matter because at Oura, we’ve adopted a hybrid work model that allows for Ouranians to decide the work environment that is best for them. As long as Oura is registered as an employer in your state, you’re welcome to work from there.
Succeeding at a startup or fast-growing company is challenging. How do you screen candidates for intangible skills?
LL: Throughout our process, we’re looking for demonstrated examples of alignment to Oura values: candidates who aim higher and earn trust; candidates who are human first and solution-focused; and finally candidates who demonstrate ubuntu and take a “we, not me” approach.
Most processes leverage behavioral interviewers, so we’ll look for past examples of when you showed these values inside and outside of work.
Any additional advice about the hiring process you’d like to impart?
LL: We understand recruiting is a two-way street! We understand candidates are looking for roles where they can be successful and for companies that align with their values.
Note: This Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity and readability
