Hiring the right people is essential to building a successful startup. No matter how talented or charismatic a new company's founder is, they won't succeed without a strong team.
Cindy Nicola is responsible for that task at the electric-vehicle startup Rivian, where she is the vice president of talent acquisition. Rivian has attracted as much attention as any EV startup since it relaunched in 2018 and has grown quickly since then: At the beginning of 2020, it had around 1,500 employees, now it has around 3,500.
Read more: RREVEALED: How much Rivian pays its employees, from engineers to financial analysts
It can be a challenge to expand that rapidly while making sure new hires are a good fit for the company's culture. When asked by Business Insider what Rivian looks for in potential employees, Nicola highlighted personality traits rather than academic or professional credentials. These are the five traits Nicola said Rivian looks for when considering whether to hire someone:
1. Passion
2. Curiosity
3. Humility
4. Selflessness
5. An enthusiasm and aptitude for solving problems
Rivian also prioritizes diversity in a variety of areas, including geography, perspective, background, and professional experience. The startup is a highly collaborative environment where few tasks can be completed by one person, Nicola said.
"There's a magic when you bring people from a lot of different backgrounds together," Nicola said.
Given the importance of collaboration at Rivian, the company looks for evidence of teamwork in the job applications it receives. It also looks for precision — no spelling errors, for example — and details about an applicant's work experience and professional accomplishments. No matter what kind of work you've done, Rivian wants to know that you're good at it.
"We're looking for people that have excellence in what they do," Nicola said.
Are you a current or former Rivian employee? Do you have a news tip or opinion you'd like to share? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com, on Signal at 646-768-4712, or via his encrypted email address mmatousek@protonmail.com.
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- Rivian investors explain why the startup's tech, Amazon deal, and management team make it a serious contender to become the next Tesla
- 11 hot electric-vehicle startups that will revolutionize the car industry, according to VCs
- 7 electric car CEOs battling Rivian founder RJ Scaringe to be the next Elon Musk
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