Employer Contact Information:

1. • Code For America – Get Your Refund Program
   • 972 Mission Street 5^th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103
   • https://codeforamerica.org/
   • 415-816-1286
   • Rae Pilarski, Get Your Refund Program Manager
   • rpilarski@codeforamerica.org

General Employer Information:  Code For America aims at helping government programs become more efficient through what they call “Human-Centered Government”. Their aim is to “partner with government and community organizations with access to resources and digital talent” in order to help programs become more efficient and help serve more people (Our Vision, Mission, and Values, 2022).

Your interest in the employer because of this research: I am interested in Code For America because I worked in a community organization that worked with a government program and saw a clear need to help make both the community organization and government program run more efficiently. My program, which completed tax returns for low-income households, was completely unable to help low-income households in less densely populated areas because it would pull too many resources away from more densely populated areas. It would be great to help create resources that can allow even more low-income households get access to these types of resources. This is why my interest in working here strengthened after doing more research into the organization.

Questions to Help You Succeed:

1. • The jobs listed currently list a remote possibility. Once the pandemic has passed, will you still allow for remote work, or would someone in this role be expected to move closer to the office in San Francisco?
   • Code For America recently started the Tax Benefits program. How does this program work with Get Your Refund, and is there a possibility of doing work with both programs?
   • Is there time allotted for volunteering for the Get Your Refund program during work hours to provide web developers the opportunity to use the program they create in a real-life situation?
   • What are some examples of professional development that Code For America has provided for their web developers recently?

Employer Contact Information:

1. • Chess.com
   • 274 Castro Street #203, Mountain View, CA 94041
   • https://www.chess.com/
   • No phone number could be confirmed. One website, rocketreach.co, listed a UK number, +44 20 7486 7015 but further search linked that to a Chess Club in the UK
   • Brendan Woodruff, Director of HR, brendan@chess.com

General Employer Information:  Chess.com is an online platform for the game of chess and many of its variants. The company was started in 2005 by Jay and Erik, two guys that wanted a better online chess experience (About chess.com, 2022). The company is the most used online chess platform in the world, with “more than ten-million games every day” and employ hundreds of people around the world with a completely remote company.

Your interest in the employer because of this research: I have been a lifelong fan of chess, though my interest did wane some in my teenage years, but it is the game where I met my best friend for the first time. I recently began playing again, and it allowed me to connect with my friend once again despite us living 700 miles apart. I learned about all the events that Chess.com hosts including different championships. I also learned that Chess.com is a completely remote company open to their employees working anywhere in the world. This was of interest to me as my spouse and I have an interest in becoming digital nomads, traveling the world while working remotely. This was an unusual thing to come across as many companies only allow remote work in specific countries for tax purposes.

Questions to Help You Succeed:

1. • Is it possible for an employee to begin their work in one country and then move countries on a regular basis? If so, how much advanced warning would my team and human resources need before moving countries?
   • With the company being entirely remote, what is the onboarding experience like?
   • With employees around the world, are there core working hours that would be expected?

Employer Contact Information:

1. • Flock Freight
   • 701 S Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024
   • https://www.flockfreight.com/
   • 855-744-7585
   • Melina Fairleigh – SVP of People, melina.fairleigh@flockfreight.com

General Employer Information:  Flock Freight aims to make the shipping industry both more efficient, cost-effective, and more environmentally friendly by providing better load service and “helping carriers maximize revenue with multi-load stop loads” (About-Us, 2022). As TechCruch called it, “its carpooling for shipping customers” (Alamalhodaei, 2021).

Your interest in the employer because of this research: I am interested in this company because it is interested in using technology to find a more efficient way to move cargo across the country. As the pandemic has shown, particularly recently, when the supply chain is running behind, businesses are unable to get products they need, prices increase, and people suffer. I also like that this Flock Freight has opportunities in Chicago, a fabulous city near where I live, as well as remote opportunities. This could allow flexibility for me to work in my current home but easily visit the office when in-person work would be best for the team.

Questions to Help You Succeed:

1. • Many of the tech-based jobs are listed as being remote. Would there be an expectation to come into the office at times?
   • How is Flock Freight helping the current issues with shipping backlog?
   • As a start-up, what challenges are the team and company currently facing?

Employer Contact Information:

1. • Southwest Airlines
   • 2702 Love Field Drive, PO Box 36611, Dallas, TX 75235
   • https://www.southwest.com/
   • 214-792-4000
   • Kristen Gatz, Team Leader – Talent Acquisition, Kristen.gatz@wnco.com

General Employer Information:  Southwest Airlines has been providing a lower cost of flying for nearly 50 years. They employ more than 55,000 people and have expanded to serving more than 130 million people in their best years in 11 countries and 121 airports (Corporate Fact Sheet, 2022).

Your interest in the employer because of this research: I am interested in working for Southwest because I have always loved Southwest as an airline. I think they have a great model for trying to keep flights costs low, and their employees always seem to be happy when I have interacted with them. I have moved away a bit from wanting to work from them, however. They do not list remote work as a possibility in their technical roles, which is troublesome as that seems to be the direction many companies are moving. Also, I was not a fan of the company not initially wanting to have a vaccine mandate for their employees.

Questions to Help You Succeed:

1. • Is there a possibility for remote work in the future with this role?
   • What professional development is provided to engineers and web developers?
   • Is there a conference budget available to help employees attend relevant conferences?

 

References

‌ Chess.com Webmaster. (2019, November 4). About Chess.com. Chess.com; Chess.com. https://www.chess.com/about

Our Vision, Mission, and Values. (n.d.). Code for America. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://codeforamerica.org/about-us/vision-and-values/

SoftBank-backed Flock Freight is the freight industry’s newest unicorn. (n.d.). TechCrunch. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/20/softbank-backed-flock-freight-is-the-freight-industrys-newest-unicorn/

Southwest. (2016). About Southwest – Southwest Airlines. Southwest.com. https://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/index.html

Southwest Corporate Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Southwest Airlines Newsroom. https://www.swamedia.com/pages/corporate-fact-sheet

Technology Careers. (n.d.). Flock Freight. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.flockfreight.com/about-us/careers/technology/