A Closer Look at Our Hiring Process

Spare is driven by the desire to create more equitable, accessible, and sustainable public transportation systems. And we know to create this impact, we need to build passionate, driven teams and supportive, inclusive company culture.

This is why cultivating a fair and thorough hiring process is so important to us! We know that sending out applications and attending interviews can feel daunting, and we want to ensure you know what to expect, how to prepare, and that you have a positive experience overall when applying for a job at Spare.

Ready to bring your unique perspective to the goal of building a better tomorrow for public transit? Read below to learn more about our hiring process or check out the positions we’re currently hiring for.

1. Apply for one of our open positions

Keep an eye on our Jobs page to see all the open positions we’re currently hiring for! Each listing provides a detailed overview of the key requirements and expectations of the role, what we’re looking for in candidates, as well as what Spare offers its employees.

While our job descriptions do include specific must-haves in terms of applicant qualifications, we’re also open to hearing from people who don’t tick every single box as we understand that relevant experience can take different shapes and forms.

2. Introduce yourself to Spare through an initial call

Every submitted application is reviewed by our People and Talent team, and if we believe you might be a good match for the role we’ll invite you to further introduce yourself through a 30-minute call with someone on the team.

The goal of this initial call is to develop a connection with applicants and a better understanding of their background and history. And vice versa, we want to ensure you get a clearer image of what we do here at Spare—and why we’re passionate about mobility!

Keep in mind that this call is meant to be a two-way street: come prepared to answer and ask questions!

“Interviewing can be a daunting experience, especially when trying to pitch my accomplishments and what I can bring to a new team in less than ten minutes. But Spare made our first conversation about who I was as a person, ensuring I could speak up in a way that made me feel they value who I am, as opposed to just checking requirements off a role checklist.

Apart from discussing favourite coffee roasts and places to go snowshoeing, I was asked how my customers would define my approach to work. I thought this was such a unique way of trying to understand who I am as a Product Manager. It was open-ended enough to see if I had experience in both the soft and hard skills side of Product Management, while leaving it open for me to choose what I wanted to showcase about myself."

– Kendra Fales, Product Manager

3. Submit an assignment to demonstrate your skills

For a more hands-on understanding of your skills, we may ask you to complete a brief online assessment using Coderbyte, or a more purpose-built assignment that reflects the day-to-day tasks of the job you are interested in.

These assignments aren’t time-consuming or meant to result in fully-fleshed-out results. We want to see how you approach the assignment and what kind of process you build in following through with the task at hand.

4. Deep dive into why you are the best choice in a technical interview

The technical interview gives both you and our team an understanding of what it would be like to work together. We may provide you with a role-specific project we’d like you to ideate or collaborate on with the team you’ll potentially be working with. This might be a whiteboard coding challenge, project brief and outline, or product review. In contrast to the previous assignment, the goal of the technical interview is to see your thought process and problem-solving skills at play, as opposed to just the end result.

“The technical interview was extremely pleasant! Anticipating the live exercise can be nerve-wracking, but my now-peers made me feel extremely at ease and comfortable from the get-go. They also made themselves available throughout the entire recruitment process to answer any questions I had about Spare or my role.”

– Thaira Bouhid, Lead Digital Designer

5. Meet our founders to share your passion for what we do

These interviews are fairly in-depth and can last 1-2 hours, depending on the position you’re applying for. Discussions typically include a closer look at your work experience, how you’d apply your previous learnings and process to our team, and an overview of which teams you’d be collaborating with.

At Spare, we believe that investing in our employees is of the utmost importance—we want to provide you with what you need to fully elevate and contribute to the company. This is why we want to be really sure there’s a mutual understanding on both sides from the get-go: what our expectations are for the job in question, and what you’re looking for in terms of your career.

"I really enjoyed speaking with Spare’s founders and left our call with a high level of confidence that they’re actively involved in the company and laser-focused on their mission. They came across as bright, passionate, humble and hard-working. They were also very approachable and easy to talk to, which helped put me at ease throughout the interview process. The interview with the founders was a big part of why I wanted to join Spare!”

– Yasha Podeszwa, Staff Software Engineer

6. Complete a final project and present it to our team

For roles that focus on strategy, we skip the initial assignment and instead ask you to complete a project that you’ll present to the exec team. These often include a 12-month plan that highlights your intentions for your first year with Spare.

For more customer-facing roles, we may ask you to demo the product so that we (and you!) can get a sense of what it’s like talking to customers about Spare. This is also a chance for you to get better acquainted with the product and ask any questions you might have.

“By the end of the hiring process, I was confident I had a very clear picture of the role I was applying for. I was also hooked by the vision of the company! I was excited at the prospect of working with folks that are building something truly new. It was clear that Spare was growing and adapting quickly, and I wanted to be along for that ride.”

– Josh Szepesi, Partner Success Manager

7. Have references speak in your favor

To round out the hiring process, we use Crosschq to conduct the reference process. We’ll ask for up to five references — direct managers, coworkers, self-reference, and sometimes customers — to hear what kind of projects you’ve worked on and to get a better picture of your work style, ethic, attitude, and skills. We want to have a well-rounded view of what it’s like to work with you!

8. Receive an offer you simply can’t refuse

This is our favorite part: officially inviting you to join Spare! Someone from our People and Talent team will reach out with a competitive offer that includes a comprehensive benefits package—and the opportunity to join Spare in building the future of public transportation. Not to mention our board games club and weekly breakfasts.

Once you accept the offer, we’ll start by getting you set up on our human resource management system so you can begin filling out benefit forms and will keep in touch until your start date. You’ll also receive a Macbook Pro or Macbook Air for your home office!

On your start date, you’ll meet your immediate team first thing in the morning, then begin the People Team onboarding with our People & Talent Lead, and a manager onboarding with your manager. The onboarding process typically lasts about a month, so we can ensure you’re fully up-to-speed on Spare’s products and teams!

Interested in joining our team? We’re hiring! Learn more about building your career at Spare.​