Welcome And What Changed

Ava Hinds 0:00

Hey everyone, I'm your host, Ava Hyde. Today we're getting radically candid with Alexandra Mills, Director of People and Culture here at Cognition. A year after her last appearance, we're picking up where we left off. How the team has doubled, the roles have sharpened, and the hiring game looks completely different in a world where AI can write your cover letter for you. In this episode, we dig into what skills are rising to the top in streaming TV. And the questions great candidates actually ask. And how you keep a culture intact while growing this fast. Whether you're thinking about applying, prepping for an interview, or just curious about who thrives here long term, this one's for you. Bye. Well, welcome everyone. I'm with Alex. Alex, do you want to introduce yourself?

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Yes, hello. I'm Alex Mills. I'm the people and culture director at Cognition, and I am super happy slash kind of nervous. This is my first LinkedIn live. So now here we go.

Ava Hinds 1:00

No, it's gonna be really exciting. Here we go. Alex did erotically candid last year, and a lot's changed and the company's grown. And so it's really exciting. But we'll start off with it's been a year. Like I said, it's erotically candid the last time you filmed this. How has the team grown and what's changed? And how do you hire now?

Doubling The Team And HR Basics

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Yeah. Also, it's crazy that it's been a year. I know that like crazied it with that for a moment that it's been wild. Yeah, a lot has changed in all of the most wonderful ways. I think when we spoke last time, I was a couple months in. So I was just getting my feet wet. But since then we've we've doubled in staff. So it's it's kept me certainly busy on the onboarding front. Still hired a lot of really fantastic talent, have grown the team in pretty much every department in the company. And I think we've also really honed in on how we utilize different tools within our tool set in the HR world, everything from again onboarding to how we hire to our application process, which I know we're gonna get to in a little bit. So really just polishing everything that we've done this far.

Ava Hinds 2:10

Yeah. And since you kind of went zero to one with HR and it being as, you know, and you coming in. What was like the biggest adjustment to everything? And like, I know you're talking about onboarding and hiring process.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah, I think because I came in at such an exciting time in the company, we were at a period of rapid growth. We were sort of, I always kind of refer to it being a puzzle, and we were kind of and still are in some ways, putting those puzzle pieces together. Um, and I always, you know, say to anybody that we're interviewing that because of that, it makes for such an exciting environment, right? Like nothing is fully baked out. You can kind of come in and help build and shape what is to be. And I think from my vantage point, that was very true. And that, you know, I was the first first people and culture director to join the business. Yeah. So I think the challenge there was making sure that I was truly understanding kind of where we were and where we wanted to go and how we can begin to solidify and shape process that supports the

The Roles Behind Streaming TV Ads

SPEAKER_00 3:12

vision.

Ava Hinds 3:12

And then do you want to talk a little bit about some of the roles that support cognition and kind of support streaming TV since the theme of this is how to build a career in streaming TV.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Yeah. Well, may I use a little baking analogy, Eva? So in the kitchen of streaming TV, I would say that we have many talented chefs and cooks at our disposal. We are gathering the ingredients for our clients. We are putting together the recipe. We're using our staff to kind of build out this delicious dish. You know, in other words, we're we're sort of building out those streaming ads from start to finish and, you know, delivering those data-driven results along the way. So we have a number of staff here that that support that story from our operations analysts are sort of going in and hands-on keyboards, building out the campaigns to tech and product that are sort of supporting the vision to my role that's you know driving the people and culture side. So certainly a number of people that kind of build what cognition is today.

Ava Hinds 4:13

Yeah. I like the baking analogy. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

I'll have a good analogy, especially hate.

Ava Hinds 4:17

Yeah. Yeah. So

Skills That Matter Most Now

Ava Hinds 4:20

streaming TV has become one of the fastest growing corners of advertising. What skills and backgrounds are you seeing at the top of the camp right now? And what are you looking for?

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Yeah, it's a really interesting question. I think, you know, you get you get a variety of skill sets. And, you know, I don't think it's any necessarily different than any other industry, but yeah, I think we look at is not necessarily kind of that black and white, what's on your resume. Certainly those things are important, right? Like your skill set, you know, if you have background in what we're doing, obviously that helps you. But in many ways, it's it's the soft skills that also matter too. So I think alongside, you know, the breadth of type of skills that we're seeing come in the door, which is a lot, we have a lot of really great both local talent and you know, kind of spread out throughout the the states. But it's it's that alongside, you know, how you show up as a human. And I know we're kind of touching on this a little bit, but that's certainly important to us too, right? Like we're not necessarily always looking for checking the boxes of do you do X, Y, and Z. Again, that certainly can get you a foot in the door, but there's more to it than just that.

Ava Hinds 5:30

Yeah, like kind of going along with keeping the culture. Yes. And like how do you keep the culture with finding new people?

Keeping Culture During Fast Growth

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Oh my gosh, great question. Well, I think again, speaking to one of the things I was really focused on and one of the challenges that I had kind of out the gate was how do we keep the culture in a period of growth? And I think that's a lot of what many HR leaders experience when they're in that position. And I think it's evolving and scaling with that growth and doing new things that match to that. Yeah. But keeping even the smallest of things that are true to who you are, even if it seems silly when you're 500 employees and you still want to make sure you like order lunches on Fridays, like maintain those little things that feel true to who you are. Yeah. You know, again, using examples that that we do here to we work hard. We also want to make it a rewardable experience outside of the work. So, you know, we we do those lunches. We have candy tasting contests in my office quite frequently. And yeah, that those are things that I'm hall, yeah. Like those are things that are so part of our DNA here that I think that it's crucial we maintain as we continue to grow.

Ava Hinds 6:42

Definitely agree. And do candidates need to know and be a programmatic expert about like DSPs and everything to even be helpful.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Yeah, but yeah, the overburn food ads, uh, which I love, that reference. Uh yes and no. I mean, obviously, again, like it it certainly helps if you have background in in what we're doing and kind of can come in out the gate and have that experience. Often we we look at candidates and say, you know, how are you as that whole human? And maybe even in some regards, it's beneficial if someone doesn't have all that experience because they could come in the door and we can kind of teach them how we work and they can kind of start from the ground up and get that fresh set of eyes versus having that experience where they've done things different elsewhere. So, you know, I say both, you know, yes, I think it can work in your favor, but again, it's not an absolute must you have to have these things.

Ava Hinds 7:36

Right. Like it's like an advantage in a way, but it's like if you think they're a good fit culture-wise, then they don't need to know and be honest.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Yeah, exactly. And I think not only culture-wise, but do we see that potential in you to want it? Right. Do you want to learn? Right. That's like that's do you care? Are you passionate about? And honestly, like I always appreciate when I interview when candidates are very open and transparent about, you know, I don't, I don't know all these things, but I want to understand, I want to learn that I really appreciate and I value for sure.

Ava Hinds 8:09

Yeah, I feel like it's better than someone like lying and then they come in the first day and they don't know anything. Right, absolutely. It's good that like you see like the full transparency. Absolutely.

AI Cover Letters And Staying Authentic

Ava Hinds 8:19

And last year you have a quote from radically candid where know thyself and be authentic on your resume and on your cover letter. And a year later, like I know AI-generated applications are more common now. And how does that gone harder, easier?

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Do you can you tell right away? I mean, there's obviously certain tells, like when things sound very robotic or you have that same opening line that many others do, or it's very generic copy. So, yes, there are certain tells, but I'm not naive enough to think that no one's using those things. We we certainly are in a world now where that's almost a given that some people that most people rather are using it to some extent. I think the know thyself be authentic. I love that that's like my quote, by the way. Yeah, yeah, I pulled it on a t-shirt. That can still be true and that you're using AI as a companion to help you explain your authentic self and be you, but you're not replacing it with you, right? You're not just using that kind of generic language or using a verbatim. You're using it to kind of guide you. Yeah, like still saying Judah, who you are for sure.

Ava Hinds 9:31

Yeah. And what was like something on a cover letter or resume that like really stands out to you that you notice?

SPEAKER_00 9:37

I think I really cover letters, again, they can be very generic. I definitely can see when someone's just sort of had that template that they've copied and pasted to somebody. I think we've probably all done that at some point. I don't know. Well, youngly, and I I understand, but I think what really stands out in the sea of cover letters is when I get really authentic stories or someone tells me something that's really specific to what we do or what they saw on our website. Or yeah, like they've done their research and they've referenced it and they're either sharing like a personal story or they're tying it to their overall kind of picture of how they, you know, show up in the role. So I think the personal details or references to how you've researched the company are that's what stands out.

Ava Hinds 10:23

Right. Like that's what stands out in the cover lab and the interview is like if they did the research and like they know what we do and they saw the website. Yes, exactly. Yeah. That's good to know that that's like what stands out to you. Definitely. Yeah, so that's kind of like walking us through like what a good application looks like and everything.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Do you

Make Your Digital Story Match

SPEAKER_00 10:40

care about like their LinkedIn presence at all or just like yeah, I definitely I really appreciate when candidates could convey their whole story digitally. What I mean by that is when you have your resume, your cover letter, your LinkedIn profile, and it all is really cohesive. You have everything updated. And again, it kind of tells that it gives that digital footprint of who you are. Yeah. And it gives me, because I'm looking at all those things, right? Like obviously, you know, we're posting a lot of polls through LinkedIn. So I'm obviously gonna like look at LinkedIn profiles and resumes, of course, and if you provide a cover letter, but you know, you'd be surprised at how often those things don't always tie together and feel disjointed. You know, I used another analogy when I was looking at this particular question of you wouldn't show up to work with one shoe, right? Like you wouldn't have that piece of you just like missing. That's not how you show up. Everyone would be like, you're missing a shoe. And I would be like, because you're missing a shoe. So when you think about that, when you are showing up online, make sure that you have that full ensemble and you're you know ready to show up in a professional way.

Ava Hinds 11:48

Yeah. No, that's definitely like a really good pointer, too. Because it's like it these should have all your things tied together if you're applying for something. Yeah, you it shows that you're wanting, you're not just like supplying for a bunch of things. Exactly. So you had mentioned last time and Rodically Candid that if someone has like just a templated cover letter and images now, yeah, you can kind of tell, kind of going along with the same question before, but like what like screens it was AI generated besides just like the copy and paste, just like a basic template.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Yeah, it's really kind of that templated copy that I think it's that instant tell. And we can all sort of tell those like sentences where it's like, okay, this is definitely screaming AI. So again, I think just using it as that guide, but and kind of crafting the narrative, but taking it one step further and and putting you into that is is crucial for sure.

Ava Hinds 12:39

Is that like, would you say like that's a throw out for you, or would you like pick some of like the not templated?

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Yeah, it's a good question. I think again, that speaks to that full story that you're you're putting forward, right? So like, no, I'm not gonna knock somebody if they have it's it's gonna be a tell a little bit, but I'm gonna look at that full picture of of who you are professionally and your your backstory and look at all those other pieces to kind of see, okay, like could they be a good fit for the position? Yeah, yeah.

Ava Hinds 13:09

What

Interview Energy And Fast Fit Signals

Ava Hinds 13:10

are you actually listening for when you finally get to the interview? And what's the fastest way to tell if someone is a good fit or not?

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Obviously, you want to come prepared and ready to answer the questions, of course, and speak to your background. But it is in within those first three seconds, I appreciate how someone has shown up. And what I mean by that is come with the energy, right? Right. Start the call off. Hey, thanks for having me. I appreciate taking the time. I know you're probably busy. I'm really excited to learn about the role. Like, my goodness, I am so impressed. If you start off with the energy, you know, it is. I mean, a lot of people, even ones who maybe are are prepared, and I get nerves certainly come into play, right? Like, yeah, um, and you know, honestly, I even appreciate someone's like, I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous, but I'm so excited to hear about this. Like, I appreciate that. Like, that makes you human. But, you know, a lot of people either because of nerves or or maybe they don't think as important, they're just like, hi, nice to meet you. And it's just sort of flat. And that, yeah, you know, that sets the tone for the call. And again, it's not like I'm gonna hang up at that point, but at that point, I'm like, okay, like that's what's sort of like the if someone comes in and they're like, Thanks so much, I appreciate it, I'm excited. I really appreciate that.

Ava Hinds 14:26

Yeah, and that's definitely a good tip too. Because I think it's it's just like you don't want someone who's just like dry on the call and they're like, You can tell I don't really care. Absolutely. Like caring, I feel like is like the overall theme.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Yeah, I think especially speaking that kind of cognition and where we are today, we're looking for that energy, right? Like we're still growing. We want people that feel passionate, that are excited to be here, that want to learn more. So we're looking for that in a candidate.

Ava Hinds 14:49

Yeah. And then also in the interview, what are questions that you're like you're hoping they're asking?

Questions Great Candidates Ask

Ava Hinds 14:55

Like, what are you like? What's a question that if someone asks you, you are like impressed by it and like want to look for?

SPEAKER_00 15:01

I think as much as we're interviewing you, you are also interviewing us. I think it's a two-way street. And ask the questions that you need to to understand if you want this position. Don't be hesitant. That's okay to say things like, what are your benefits? Tell me about what the day-to-day looks like. Tell me about what my manager would be like. What are the expectations that he or she would have of me in the position? You know, when we talk about next steps, and you know, let's say we're meeting with the hiring manager as the next step. Great. Tell me about them. What what kind of things do they expect in the interview? Ask those questions and don't be scared to ask them. That's a good advice as well. I think people do get nervous to ask some questions. Exactly. Like they don't want to seem like they're ungrateful for the time or it's actually, I think it's a pro when people are curious about those things is that it shows that they are serious about the role.

Ava Hinds 15:51

Yeah, like wondering like, am I gonna grow here? Yeah, like benefits. Yeah, I agree. It is definitely a two-way street with on the interview. Yeah, because you want to make sure it's you know, this is your working and spending three hours a week. Like you should, you know, ask the questions too. Exactly. But yeah, they're definitely like so you no questions are off limits, yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

That's like, yeah, I agree with them, but yeah, to your point.

Ava Hinds 16:15

For the most part, those questions are off. Yeah, Kim. Oh, she said I love when people ask these types of questions in an interview, bonus points for sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Yes. Actually, like Kim and I do a lot of interviews together. So yes, we're on the same page that for sure.

Ava Hinds 16:29

Yeah, I think it's definitely I think a lot of people get really scared of suggestions, but absolutely it is definitely good. Yeah. So

Client Facing Versus Internal Roles

Ava Hinds 16:36

if you're interviewing someone for a client-facing role or versus an internal role, like what would be the difference between the interviews or who are you looking for?

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Yeah, I mean, certainly when you're you're more client-facing, obviously you want showing up is even more important the way you show up, right? Like you want to be polished and excited and really have that first impression locked in. And I think in a client-facing role, it's obviously even more important. But I think overall, no matter the role, I would, I would give similar advice. It's again, you know, doing your research, showing up the energy. Don't hesitate asking the questions that you really want to know to understand the role and you know, understand next steps and who you'd be meeting with next.

Ava Hinds 17:18

Yeah, I'd say that to any position. Yeah. So it's you either way you care, they show up. It's just, I think obviously from our client-facing role, you probably want someone like a little more made about going.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Yeah, like obviously you're going to be looking for maybe a little bit more of those soft skills, but I think overall the guidance would remain the same. Yeah.

unknown 17:33

Yeah.

Ava Hinds 17:33

And also it's like you see someone who's like coachable too.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Yeah, absolutely.

Ava Hinds 17:36

Yeah. And I definitely agree with that too, where you want to live football.

Open Roles And What Is Brewing

unknown 17:40

Yeah.

Ava Hinds 17:40

Ooh. What are open roles you have today?

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Oh. So we currently have, well, I'd say there's a couple things brewing. So we currently have um an ops analyst role that's live. But I again speaking to our our growth as a company and the way that we're, you know, looking to the future, there are constantly roles that we're talking about. So while there's only, you know, that one role technically live, stay tuned because there's certainly more to come.

Ava Hinds 18:13

Yeah. Yeah. Cam also said something, and she said asking the interviewer, hiring manager questions about them and what makes them like the company they work for is key.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Yes, absolutely. It really is. Again, you want to understand under truly understandable. Yeah.

Ava Hinds 18:28

Well, Nick said, who was your favorite interview and who was the worst interview?

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Well, no name, no names, but we can just say like examples. You know, I will give, I maybe look back to my entire career, not necessarily the one I'm in now. So I think the ones that really stand out to me again, I think this is maybe more general and not necessarily one individual, but it's really kind of that energy you bring. And the ones that have stood out are the ones that you just obviously don't want to get off the phone with. You kind of be at this is this has been an enjoyable conversation, right? Like on both sides. Like you don't really, at the end of the day, I think the most successful interviews or the most rewarding ones are the ones that don't feel like an interview. Like they feel like a conversation. And uh, hey, tell me about this thrill, tell me about you. And you kind of walk away feeling like you filled your cup, right? Like I feel rewarded by that conversation. The candidate feels like, man, this could be a great opportunity. You want that to feel like a two-way conversation. Yeah. So I think that would probably be the best interviews that you kind of walk from feeling that way. Oh gosh, the worst interview. I've had candidates take calls in very odd places. Oh, and we just want your setting matters. I not to yeah, it where I was, yeah, it was an interesting interview from some interesting locations.

Ava Hinds 19:49

So okay, so location matters.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Location matters. Yeah, like say your background when you don't have it blowers. Yeah, I would say those were some interesting ones.

Ava Hinds 19:58

And that goes back to caring. Like if you're just like taking an interview like random places, like I don't know if I would you're not taking it seriously. Yeah, you're not taking it seriously. Like it's like it's very different if someone's like in this kind of setting. Yeah, no, I definitely agree with that. Yeah, I know. Okay. Oh,

Are Cover Letters Still Worth It

Ava Hinds 20:15

are cover letters necessary? Does it help stand out or is it expected?

SPEAKER_00 20:19

This is a tough one because I think there's really mixed feedback on this one. I I will speak from personal experience. I always appreciate, again, kind of going back to that full picture of a candidate. I think it adds when you have a resume and you have your LinkedIn, you're really only seeing one side of you. And I think the advantage of a cover letter is it lets you expand upon that. So it allows you to dive a little deeper into something, it gives a little bit more insight into who you are and why you're interested. So I find it really valuable. However, I know that quite often they are optional. I would personally, I would err on the side of caution and always include. It does not hurt, right? On the end of the day. And if you have a hiring manager that truly cares about that, you already have it at the ready. So I think it's a little bit mixed.

Ava Hinds 21:11

Because it's optional, I would say here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Like I think in most instances it is an optional, it is optional. But I would say it doesn't hurt.

Ava Hinds 21:22

I agree. I think also having a cover letter shows are not just like mass applying.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

Yeah, and it's okay. And it's okay to have a template at the ready that you have that's like just kind of the overall structure. But again, you want to personalize it based on the role and add a little more context.

Ava Hinds 21:39

Yeah. Well, even what you were saying, like you've like you were mentioned, like a good example of a cover letter. It's like someone like talking about the website, talking about them too. Like that's like a great example of just like it's not a template. Yeah. Someone like actually caring and like writing more about why they want the job. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's definitely a great question. Someone oh, we'll do some other Google side. Yeah, you can't teach a person. But you can train skills. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Yes, absolutely. I love that point.

Ava Hinds 22:04

I think Bill said this a lot where you can't teach someone to care.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yes. Which I definitely agree with. There's just some things that are inherently you and that can't necessarily be teachable. Yeah. So yeah.

Ava Hinds 22:16

I agree. You're bringing warmth to the interview. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like a lot of it is very like similar theme. Yeah, just like showing, like showing up and caring for sure.

unknown 22:25

Exactly.

Who Thrives Long Term At Cognition

Ava Hinds 22:26

What kind of candidates thrive at cognition long term that you've seen? Since you've been here for a year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

I think at any company, there's a certain thing that you just can't define, right? Yeah. It's the thing that's makes it what it is. And cognition is no different. But I think that, you know, we've truly built something unique here that when you do join the company, you kind of feel that energy. And I think we're looking, again, speaking to someone who's passionate, wants to learn, isn't afraid to ask the questions. That is the kind of person that we're looking for to kind of add to that unknown, sort of mystifying piece of what makes us who we are. And we're looking for candidates. And I think candidates that thrive here are ones that, you know, can really jump on in and learn and envelop themselves in it.

Ava Hinds 23:19

Yeah. I even, I mean, I've been here for two years, and I feel like I've seen the people who thrive. It's not the people who necessarily come here just for the paycheck. Like they come here because they like really want to learn and they want the experience and they care. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

I think that's the diamond in the rough. I think I would, you know what I mean? Yeah. We're always we love those type of candidates that are either just starting in their careers or don't necessarily have the exact background that we're looking for, but they show up and they show up well and they show up passionately and they want to learn and they want to grow.

Ava Hinds 23:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Yeah.

Ava Hinds 23:52

I agree. Tim asked a question of how do I level up and progress after I get the role?

How To Level Up After Hiring

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Christy Larry said. Yeah, I think um, you know, we're rolling out tools soon that will help support our staff in progressing in their careers here. So I think it's part on us and part on the employee. I think the part in us is making sure that you as an employee have all the tools at your disposal to understand kind of where you are in your career currently, where you can go, what the expectations are, you know, today and in the future. So being really clear on that and and providing employees with that, those tools, like I said, that will help them grow. But I think also on the employee to again ask the questions and be curious, right? Really understand all of the roles here at the company and you know how they work together, how they work together and how you could, you know, continue down the path you're going down or maybe moving into another team. Um, we always encourage that here. So, you know, I think it's two part. I think it's part on us and then part in the employee to really kind of understand where they can go.

Ava Hinds 25:03

Yeah, and it's common people to move around themes here too. Yeah, I know we've seen it a lot. So yeah, that's definitely really cool. Yeah, there's a lot of growth. And that's the benefit of a small, newer company is there is a lot of room for growth. Yeah. Okay, we have a couple more questions. Yeah.

Protecting Culture As The Company Scales

Ava Hinds 25:20

So kind of going into like protecting the growth and everything, and how like I've as future state happens, how do you see protecting the culture? I know you kind of said just like keeping our same things we've always had, but yeah, how do you just keep that culture?

SPEAKER_00 25:34

I think again, just re-echoing what was said earlier, but how do we toe the line between keeping what's sacred to us, the things that we've done thus far that have gotten us to where we are today and made us who we are? Yeah, and continue it in a way that makes sense as we grow. What is that? What is that calculation? How do we, how do we balance that? Certainly something that I am responsible for and looking to understand and could and really honestly continuously thinking about it. It's something that's ever evolving and ever, ever shifting as we continue to grow. But, you know, keep again, keeping the things that we had, but then tying in, you know, shaping up and making our processes better and rolling out new tools and maybe taking the things that we had and elevating them. So it's it's really a mix of those things.

Ava Hinds 26:26

Yeah, I agree. Yeah. Even just like the small things of like if it's someone's birthday in the office, like getting them with dessert, like exactly celebrating per black, yeah, promotions, anniversaries. Let's all stop that. You it's like you're showing you care about the actual employees. It's not just like it's your birthday, you're here and oh well. Like that was good. Exactly. Well, last question before we open it up to the chat, yeah, is what is something about our culture here that you think is different than any other company?

SPEAKER_00 26:53

I know Bill talks a lot about this. Yeah, I think I I I'll go back to kind of that hiring process and the type of people that we bring in. I think that we're really intentional about again, finding candidates that don't necessarily have a perfect background or exactly what we're looking for in the job description, but we'll see the potential. I think we're really good at tapping into that potential and taking the, I mean, even me, right? Like I feel like when I was brought on, again, the role didn't exist. And I was sort of pitching myself and what I could bring to the table. And I think certainly it was like, okay, let's take that chance, right? So I think we're that at that really adds to our culture. And it I think it truly defines how we got to where we are and where we are today. And all those people that we brought on that we've either taken the chance on or brought on where they were maybe new and and didn't really understand all the things, but we were able to mentor them and show them the ropes, and they've they've really become quite successful. It all really kind of adds to that culture of who we are today as a company. I agree.

Ava Hinds 27:56

And it's it's cool to see like departments like created. Like even in my two years here, I've seen multiple departments being created, which is really cool. Yep. It's rare to see. Yep, exactly. Well, someone said, How big are you looking to grow for cognition?

Strategic Growth And Rewarding Hard Work

Ava Hinds 28:12

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Yeah. I mean, like I said, we we doubled, pretty much doubled in the last year. But I think it's about, you know, there's not a number that I could give. I think it's about making sure that we're growing strategically. Yeah. So we don't want to all of a sudden be at a thousand points tomorrow. That's not the goal. And sometimes bigger isn't always better, right? I mean, where's that sweet spot where we have enough, we have the staff to support the work, but they're not under the water, right? Or we have a staff to support the work that is building up our culture and helping continue to shape us, shape us into who we are today. Today that's not a thousand people, right? Like that's not the goal. It could be one day that is where we could be. I know that growth in all the ways is is always the grow, but the goal rather. So there's there's not a number. I think it's just being intentional and strategic about where we choose to grow and being thoughtful about it.

unknown 29:06

Yeah.

Ava Hinds 29:07

And then I know you say that you all you guys mostly like promote eternal leaves, which I think is really cool and like pretty like definitely not really common. Yeah, we do that often.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

You know, I also mentioned this in a lot of my interviews, is that we we identify hard work and we very quickly reward it, which I think also kind of adds a culture.

Ava Hinds 29:26

Yeah, no, I agree. It's definitely something that makes I think carnition very unique. Yeah. As well. Yeah, absolutely. Well, see if anyone has any more questions. If not, do you have anything else you want to add?

SPEAKER_00 29:38

No, I I thank you so much for having me. It was great. Thanks everyone for joining.

Final Thoughts And Sign Off

Ava Hinds 29:44

Okay. Well, thanks everyone, and thank you everyone who asked questions as well. It was awesome. Well, see you guys in the next one.