Nov 8, 2022
Bolt has over 100 million customers in more than 45 countries across Europe and Africa. With multiple products and markets, we continue to grow and scale at the speed of a start-up.
Keeping up with this fast pace means rapid personal development for our employees. That’s why we value potential over experience.
We believe talented and hard-working people can grow their careers fast, and we’re lucky to have some of the best working at Bolt.
We value people who can solve complex problems and work autonomously, those who are collaborative, pragmatic, and ready to roll up their sleeves.
However, as much as working at Bolt may seem exciting and full of opportunities, the fact is that it might not suit everyone.
It’s important to remember that the job application process isn’t a one-sided game. Understanding a company’s culture, mission, values, and growth plans is essential in understanding if it’s the right fit.
We spoke with our people partners to understand why Bolt might not be a good match for some potential candidates. Here’s what they told us.
We’ve come a long way since 2013 when our CEO, Markus Villig, personally recruited drivers on the streets of Tallinn.
And even during the pandemic, we continued to grow, launching Bolt Food and Bolt Market, helping customers to order meals and groceries to their door as regular dining and shopping shut down.
Having no two days the same may sound exciting, but launching new products and features at speed requires devotion and energy.
“Bolt’s a rollercoaster. If you’re looking for a slow and smooth picnic in the park type of job, there are probably other companies out there. You’ll enjoy working at Bolt if you enjoy an adrenaline rush.”
People partner, Bolt
You also need to prioritise your tasks, keep your stakeholders accountable and stick to deadlines — all without hand-holding from your manager.
Communication and active collaboration are key to success at Bolt.
No matter your role, you’ll have to communicate with many stakeholders on a daily basis. This may be challenging if you’re looking for a calm, quiet work life with little interaction.
But look at it from a different perspective. Most of our employees consider peer-to-peer learning one of the most valuable benefits of working at Bolt.
As you’ll be working with talented and passionate people from different backgrounds, being in contact with them and building strong connections can help you develop rapidly.
This may seem to contradict the previous point, but hear us out.
At Bolt, you need to be able to combine both — working with stakeholders and figuring things out alone.
Each day will bring new challenges — some more pressing than others. Some may have clear guidelines, but you’ll often have to take the initiative and figure things out on the go.
This may seem chaotic if you’re used to straightforward, precise tasks and processes. Our departments that have been around since the early days are more mature and may have a more solid structure.
New teams and roles have been created as we’ve continued to expand. In these situations, you’ll have to think on your feet and design processes yourself.
In both cases, we expect employees to be independent, self-driven, and autonomous.
You’ll have managers who are approachable and ready to help, but they won’t hold your hand when it comes to daily decision-making — you’ll need to take ownership.
There are no quiet days at Bolt, so setting boundaries and saying “no” to lower-priority tasks is an important skill.
Saying “yes” to one thing means saying “no” to something else, so you must choose carefully.
It might also be challenging to keep up with the fast pace if you underestimate the importance of holidays and rest.
We don’t just take ownership of our tasks and projects but of our physical and mental health too. This is especially relevant when you work in a hyper-growth environment.
Bolt isn’t full of know-it-all personalities. Instead, we value those who want to gain new knowledge and experience, as this mindset helps us raise the quality bar and stay innovative.
And we offer unique opportunities for those ready to work and learn.
You essentially have two options at Bolt: grow horizontally and become an industry-leading professional, or grow vertically and move into more senior roles.
Whichever direction you take, to achieve success, you need a strong work ethic. You should be willing to acquire new skills, be passionate, take the initiative, and understand what you want to achieve.
One of our keys to success is being frugal and data-driven. Not everything has to be A/B tested, but each decision needs to be backed up by numbers and show a return on the money we put into our products.
We don’t do things randomly just to pass the time, and we don’t roll out products because our competitors do. We need to see value and potential in what we do and be able to explain our decisions.
“You aren’t the right fit” is a possible response from recruiters that can mean many different things. “In most cases, it’s about the attitude,” says one people partner.
We all have a project or two that we’re proud of — but staying humble is important.
At Bolt, our employees come from different backgrounds, but we’re all working toward the same goal, so we must remain collaborative and not put ourselves above others.
We value people who can admit their mistakes and learn from them.
Feedback is essential to our work life — we challenge each other but always mean well. We can accept feedback and learn from it, but we also give feedback to help colleagues grow and raise the quality bar even higher.
A company’s mission and values don’t only create a unique cultural environment. They also serve as a motivation for it’s employees.
Our mission is to make cities for people, not cars, and finally bring private car dependency to an end.
Owning a car may give someone the feeling of independence, comfort, or privacy, but the issue is that private cars are parked 95% of the time.
We believe society can benefit from more green space in our cities and putting these spaces to good use (instead of more concrete car parks).
Our recent City Vision research explored people’s travel habits and willingness to change. And all arrows pointed in the same direction — people are ready to trade their cars for better city life.
You may find it challenging to get motivated and work towards our common goals if this mission doesn’t speak to you.
Despite all the challenges, working at Bolt is incredibly rewarding and allows you to develop professionally and create an impact on a global scale.
If you think you and Bolt are the right match, we have hundreds of open vacancies. Join us on our journey and help us make cities for people, not cars.
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