Summer was founded on the belief that all student loan borrowers (42 million individuals and counting) have the right to financial health and stability. We understand the landscape, and many of us are borrowers ourselves.
We believe that Summer team members deserve the same personal freedom and financial well-being we promise our partners. Commitment to those ideals, expressed in our mission, culture, and values, makes Summer a great place to build a career. Curious to learn more? Read on to dig deeper into who we are and why we believe that the work we do, and the people we do it with, are one of a kind.
A [Fintech] Force for Good
Key investors like QED, Greycroft, and General Catalyst recognize our ability to make a difference in the fintech space, where student loan debt will reach a staggering $2 trillion by 2023. This burden disproportionately affects women and borrowers of color, inspiring Summer to provide free support and guidance to borrowers carrying significant debt.
In 2020, Summer was officially certified as a B Corporation—companies that use the power of business innovation to solve social and environmental problems. In 2021, roughly 4,000 companies in 77 countries met the B Corp criteria.
B Corps like Summer share a mission to serve society. Our B Corp certification holds Summer accountable to high standards, which we aim to meet and exceed by always standing on the side of borrowers, protecting our customers, attending to the needs of the most vulnerable, engaging with like-minded partners, and creating a workplace culture that honors our values.
Culture as Connector
At Summer, we hang our hats on empathy, diversity, growth, determination, and humility. We also believe in having fun together—that means remote cooking classes (ask us about our virtual biscuit-making class), happy hours, workouts, and plenty of other adventures.
We support professional growth, too, via our inclusive culture and our commitment to develop internal talent and promote from within. Because we know our talent is worth the investment and our long-term commitment.
Our team reflects our dedication to DEI initiatives that bring the expertise and viewpoints of historically underrepresented professionals into the organization. Below is a window into steps we’re taking to reach the broadest possible pool of qualified talent:
Recruiting:
- Summer conducted a detailed analysis by department of our recruiting funnel and invested time to better understand stages at which women and BIPOC candidates were not making it to the next phase of the process.
- We consulted expert advisors and HR leaders and incorporated their notes on inclusive interview practices and communication of benefits, for example.
Feedback + Development
- We revamped our interview evaluation process to promote evidence-based feedback and combat unconscious bias.
- We tailored feedback questions to our company size and industry based on consultations with DEI experts at Culture Amp.
Compensation + Benefits
- We revised Summer’s employee handbook to be clearer on benefits policies.
- We hired a DEI consultant to independently evaluate every team member’s 2020 compensation based on a matrix of experience, performance, and market salaries for our stage and industry.
- We collaborated on 2021 raise bands and promotions based on industry practices, investor input, and an audit for impact on different groups.
We are passionate, collaborative, strategic, and mission-driven: We value human relationships and the bottom line. Our culture prizes shared ownership and no-blame accountability that encourages learning from mistakes and effective feedback.
TLDR: Our culture honors our values. We know our products and services are only as strong as the team that builds them, and we’re proud of the empathy, diverse experiences, determination, and humility everyone brings to the table.
A Window Into Hiring at Summer: What You Can Expect
We are intentional about where we post the role to attract a wide range of diverse talent.
In the initial screening call, we go beyond the resume, discussing your career journey and what led you to this conversation, growth areas, and how Summer can help you get there.
We value open communication. We are very transparent in our interview process and ensure that candidates are always aware of where they are in the process and what to expect next. We never want a candidate to feel left in the dark. We are a rapidly scaling organization, which we believe makes consistent communication even more critical.
We don’t want it to feel like a quiz. Although some nerves are to be expected, our goal is to create a welcoming interview process so that candidates can be themselves. We want candidates to get a sense of what it would be like to work with us.
Our interview process includes an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate their skills. For technical roles, we ask you to complete live technical exercises with the support of a member of our team. For non-technical roles, we may provide a take-home exercise.
We look for people who align with our values and will contribute to broadening our culture.
Benefits for a Full Life
Empowering borrowers to navigate their student debt helps employers attract and retain top talent. We take those lessons to heart at Summer: Our culture values each individual’s potential as well as the work we do together. That means we also recognize the value of time and how our team invests their professional energy.
At Summer, we aim to motivate and reward our growing team, whose creative, meaningful contributions help us reach our shared mission both in our current position as a growth-stage company and as we reach new goals in the future. We strive to support the whole person, in and beyond the (virtual or actual) office. That means generous compensation and equity, and a broader recognition of the immense value of time via thoughtful parental leave policies, unlimited vacation time, and flexible working hours. We provide holistic insurance coverage, including access to virtual therapy and gynecological and fertility services, and contribute to 401(K) programs. And, no surprise here, we help our employees resolve their student loans by contributing to their repayment plans!
Building a better life is a universal human goal. It’s entirely possible to build a meaningful career and contribute to the greater good—it’s what we encourage our team to do every day. Visit our job board to learn more about our open roles.
