Why I joined Cogito: New Talent Manager Derek Popek Explains What Makes a Job The Perfect Fit

As a recruiter, I always ask candidates why they join a company. I do this for two reasons. First, I want to understand what motivates the candidate. Where do they get their drive? What kinds of challenges and problems peak their interest? What kinds of companies appeal to them? Understanding a person’s motivation for career decisions is huge in understanding where they’ve been and where they’d like to go. Secondly, I want to see that they have a specific goal in mind. I find that the most successful people are driven AND have big ambitions. These are the people that I want to work with and that is why I joined Cogito.

The majority of people reading this likely haven’t heard of Cogito. I wasn’t familiar with the company until a month ago when a former boss recommended I check them out. He was impressed with their VC partner, OpenView Ventures, who funded their series B last year. He mentioned they were on a rapid growth track and were looking to hire their first Talent Manager. As I did my research, I was thoroughly impressed with the leadership team they had assembled and their product, which helps call center agents improve interactions with customers. The software leverages behavioral science while giving agents easy to use cues on what the person on the other end of the call is feeling. As someone who is frequently frustrated by customer support calls, I was intrigued.

As I interviewed with the team, it became crystal clear that this product was going to take off. Cogito has already landed contracts with Fortune 100 companies in financial services, insurance and healthcare. What became even more clear though was Cogito had brilliant people who were driven and had big goals. The team is building something unique and while everyone is looking to automate call centers through chat bots, they’re going the other way. The people are collaborative and wanted input on how they could continue attract and grow a team. The CEO, Josh, even described one of the four pillars of the company’s culture as “embrace diverse perspectives”. As someone who grows teams by hiring talented people, I love that they want people who think differently.

I know Cogito is the place for me because it hits everything I look for in a company and in an opportunity. I want to be around brilliant, driven and nice people tackling big challenges and that is exactly what we’re doing at Cogito.

By the way, we’re hiring in Software Development, Machine Learning, Marketing and Customer Success so reach out if you want to be a Cogician. To learn more about our open positions click here.