If you could peel back the curtain at a company before submitting your application, what would you be curious to know? This theoretical question became my reality when I was referred to GoTo by my former colleague of three years. During our overlap, I watched her pressure test and grow, until it was time for a new environment. And I followed, shortly after. But I’m not the only one. In fact, the Brand and Creative team at GoTo is a web of referrals. Follow along as I connect the dots.
Georgia Madis and Jenni McCarthy
“It’s too bad you don’t know Georgia,” Jenni says while beaming, “because she’s a ray of sunshine, and if you have to spend a large portion of your day working with someone you want to do it with someone who makes the work fun.” The advertising agency where Georgia and Jenni worked together in the early 2010s had a tight-knit community, which led Jenni to recognize the importance of working with people she cares about.
Jenni was looking to make the jump to in-house brand and creative when a need opened on Georgia’s team at GoTo. “We used a product called Join.Me at my workplace for daily client calls,” Jenni says, “and it wasn’t until we got drinks that I made the connection that Georgia’s company made that product. As the two caught up, Georgia helped Jenni understand how a marketing team was structured.
A few months later, the Brand and Creative team at GoTo was staffing up in a way they hadn’t before. “Georgia sent me the details for a contractor role, I came in two days later to meet with team leaders,” Jenni says, “and the next day they were like, ‘So when can you start?’”
Jenni’s favorite part about working at GoTo is the smart and interesting people from all over the world. “You can't assume you're going to get that,” Jenni says, “and that’s a big selling point here.” Since then, Georgia has returned to freelance at GoTo on an as needed basis. “Georgia brought me into the family, and we’ve kept her whenever we can,” Jenni says, “which has been a great story of re-syncing with the people that you enjoy working with for the benefit of all.
What stood out to me in each conversation is the value of people referring people in their network to GoTo because of their proven track record as a strong worker that would without a doubt add value to the mission; being buddies is simply a bonus.
Jenni McCarthy and Sean Deady
Captured: Jenni (left,) Georgia(middle,) Sean (right.)
Sean was Jenni’s Digital Project Manager at a previous agency where they had worked together for four years. “I jokingly call Jenni a steel trap because she doesn't forget anything and is like a human computer which I am not,” Sean says, “so I know I'm in good hands because she is very detail oriented and doesn't let a lot of things slip by.” Sean had started the interview process when a GoTo position was posted to LinkedIn, and he approached Jenni. As fate would have it, the role sat on her team.
"We met for a nice beer to talk through the goals for that job and what the position would entail before I submitted my resume,” Sean says. As an applicant, Sean felt very welcome and appreciated how communicative HR had been. “Everyone I met during the interview process had nothing but great things to say at the company, so it was a big motivating factor to choose this opportunity over the others I was pursuing."
Before coming on board, Sean remembered seeing a huge GoTo advertisement during his daily commute to North Station. “I had used LastPass previously and Join.Me and GoTo Meeting were things that I used in my everyday life, so it was funny that it happened to be a company I ended up at."
Sean and Jenni have worked together for eight years out of his twelve-year career. The two can be found in Beantown exploring new breweries and going to the same restaurants.
Kathryn McCarthy and Cory Fahey
Captured: Cory (second from the left,) Kathryn (right.)
Kathryn worked under Cory at an event company as her first job out of college when she was 21 years old. He then got promoted to their project management team where the two continued to work closely over the course of two years before he moved onto a new opportunity and Kathryn landed at GoTo.
Kathryn was having a great experience, now five months into her time at GoTo, and would share different opportunities with Cory. A program management arm was being added to Kathryn's marketing team, and Cory's interest was piqued. “I knew what I wanted for my career, and to be successful I wanted to align with the culture, people, and morals of the company” Cory says, “so that was what I spent a lot of time talking to her about.”
This part of Cory’s story struck me. Often, a candidate can’t gather from their interviews what an organization values most and how it runs its business. For example, what is prioritized: producing fast results at the risk of employee burnout, or employee fulfillment and retention?
When Kathryn referred Cory to the role, someone on the GoTo side was out of town, so the conversations slowed. “By the time GoTo came back to me, I had another offer on the table,” Cory says, “so I just said, ‘Here’s my situation, I know I’m giving up my cards, but I want to see where this goes because Kathryn has had nothing but great things to say.’” Cory was met with receptiveness and eagerness to move very quickly to accommodate his predicament. “Nothing was guaranteed, but even just their willingness to see if it could work stuck with me, and so far, has proven to be true,” Cory says.
“Having Kathryn to lean on was super valuable,” Cory says as he reflects on transitioning to a different industry and fully remote setup.
My referrer was transparent about her highs and lows during her time at GoTo so far. No company is perfect, but it was hearing her speak in depth about her highs that reiterated for me that this would be an environment conducive to my growth.
These are just a few stories of colleagues reuniting at GoTo. Your connections can be a powerful tool when finding your next opportunity. But if you like to move fast, think big, be real, and keep growing, we may be looking for you, too.
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