At its heart, so much of myAgro’s success is due to its our phenomenal team, now 200+ people strong! The vast majority of our employees hail from Mali and Senegal, but we also recruit from around the globe for talented, mission-oriented individuals who we feel have what it takes to bring myAgro’s work to the next level.
What do we look for?
Ask any fast-growing company or organization what they look for in potential hires, and they’ll talk about smart, dedicated individuals with track records of success. But put this fast-growing organization in the developing world, add very ambitious goals and a far-reaching mission, and you’ll find a few more traits that are essential in any new hire at myAgro:
- An entrepreneurial spirit and the grit to get the job done: We’re building a brand new tool (mobile layaway for smallholder farmers), in one of the world’s least developed areas (Mali and the West African Sahel), with ambitious plans for growth (nearly 3x growth last year and significant expansion going forward). There’s rarely a tested roadmap to follow, so we need every individual to drive forward their own piece of the larger goal.
- Curiosity, humility, and openness to learning from failure: Part of our “secret sauce” is the recognition that we don’t have it all figured out, and can always do better. This means asking thoughtful questions, putting farmers first in all our decisions, and seeing failure as just one step along the path of finding something better.
- Genuine passion for myAgro’s model and mission: Building something new isn’t easy. Whatever life experiences, education, and personal motivations bring our team to myAgro, one common thread is an excitement for the model and a personal commitment to seeing it work.
- Skills and experience for our unique situation: While we’re huge believers in professional development while “on the job,” all candidates must have professional proficiency in French, prior experience in the developing world (ideally Francophone West Africa), and a demonstrated history of relevant work (though we’re open to unique backgrounds – just make the case for why it applies!).
How do we select potential team members?
We check for the above qualities at every stage of the hiring process. myAgro’s process varies slightly by role, but has a few standard components for everyone:
- Application: In addition to requesting a resume and thoughtful cover letter, we ask a few short-answer questions to get to the heart of candidates’ fit from the very start.
- Initial phone screen: Our first conversation with applicants focuses heavily on how their past experiences translate to the essential traits above.
- Test it out: We’re huge believers in putting real work in front of candidates as a glimpse into how they’d tackle… you know… real challenges on the job. This is particularly important step for us given the range of backgrounds, cultures, and languages our diverse applicants come fro
- Chat with a “peer”: The next stage of our process is usually a conversation with someone at or slightly above the candidate’s desired It’s a great opportunity to ask questions and judge the fit on both sides.
- Final interview: Conversation(s) with executives in the organization give a final perspective on candidates. For a few senior-level positions, this stage of the interview is actually a multi-day in-person visit in Mali, including field visits and talks with many team members.
Oh… and did we mention we’re hiring?
If you or someone you know might be a good fit, please see our Careers page and get in touch! We’re always looking for great talent to help us grow to the next level!
