Autodesk Life
Our Employer Brand team is part of the Global Talent Attraction & Employee Onboarding team within Talent Acquisition. They are responsible for attracting future Autodeskers to work here by telling the story of current employees, the technology and products they work with, and why they love where they work. Meet the small but mighty team helping spread the word about #AutodeskLife:
Raymond Leung is Head of Employer Brand and is home-based in San Jose, California. He leads a team of creative talent marketers with the mission of showcasing Autodesk as an employer of choice for job seekers. He built Autodesk’s employer brand strategy from the ground up and has spent the last three years orchestrating activities around social media, content strategy, business consulting, and tools and programs, inspiring our global talent acquisition team to attract and hire the best talent for our future business success.
Kassidi Sorensen is an Employer Brand Manager and is home-based in Portland, Oregon (but enjoys going to the Portland office for social events). In her role, she helps showcase Autodesk’s culture from the perspective of the innovative and inspiring people who work here! Her day-to-day includes everything from creating employee spotlights and managing our recruitment social media channels to running targeted recruitment marketing campaigns and creating materials for recruiters to help educate candidates about the company.
Chelsey Allen is a Content Strategist and is home-based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In her role, she owns all messaging related to Autodesk as an employer and ensures a consistent style and voice across all our communication channels. Serving as the editor-in-chief of the Autodesk Life blog, she strategically mines for unique stories and paints a picture for readers. She also creates content for social media, newsletters, the Careers site, job descriptions, marketing materials, and more.
What is your favorite part about being on the Employer Brand team at Autodesk?
Raymond: My favorite part is being able to grow the team’s influence across the company. There’s always been a desire at Autodesk to share with the world all the amazing things we do and that innovators do with Autodesk software – these are the stories that need to be shared from an employee lens. When I first started at the company, few people had heard of employer brand or even our culture tag, “Autodesk Life.” Almost three years later, we have a consistent flow of content from Autodeskers across the globe who are interested in sharing their unique and personal stories with the goal of putting a spotlight on our amazing people, culture, and employee experience.
Kassidi: I enjoy giving employees a platform to share their authentic stories. Learning about someone’s personal and professional journey and being trusted to share it in a way they’re proud of is a huge honor. It can be really intimidating to put yourself out there, especially online, so it’s beautiful to see the journey and transformation in their confidence when their story goes out. I love hearing from employees that their story inspired someone else to have the courage to reach out and connect with them. I humbly brag that I have one of the coolest jobs in the entire company – getting to know inspiring people and giving them a platform to build connection and belonging.
Chelsey: Autodesk is such an amazing place to work — with so many inspiring employee stories to share — that it makes my job really fun! I truly enjoy going to work every day because there’s always something new to be part of. Creating and launching the Autodesk Life blog was a big undertaking that allowed me to really immerse myself in the company and our culture. I’ve been able to meet so many brilliant colleagues from different areas of the business, and they’re always thrilled to share their experiences and inspire people to consider a career here. There’s something about being able to connect talented individuals with exciting careers and impactful work that’s incredibly rewarding.
From your perspective, what makes Autodesk such a great place to work?
Chelsey: First and foremost, the people. I’ve never worked at a place where everyone truly works as a team to get things done. Autodeskers are so helpful; they will take time out of their day to help you with something or connect you with someone else if they don’t know an answer. A lot of companies will reference their amazing cultures and have a Culture Code of some kind, but at Autodesk, you can really see and feel it in everything we do.
Kassidi: Recognition is something that’s very important to me, and it’s thankfully a huge part of the culture at Autodesk. I struggle with imposter syndrome, so it’s really helpful when I’m reassured that I’m doing a good job. My manager is intentional about understanding how we each like to be recognized (since everyone has different preferences) and makes a conscious effort to recognize us in those ways. Since humility is one of our values as a company, I find that people here are extremely grateful when you help others and put forth an effort that helps us get closer as a company to reaching our goals.
Raymond: We walk the talk. Many organizations will preach about their culture and employee value proposition, but rarely do they infuse those elements into the entirety of the candidate and employee experience. Also, the people are amazing. We celebrate and welcome inclusivity and diversity of thought in everything we do. In my experience, most Autodeskers I’ve worked with are great stewards of the Autodesk brand and act in service of Autodesk’s bottom line. Lastly, Autodesk has a hybrid-first work culture, which may be intriguing for those who may want to work at home but would love the option of going into the office for intentional gatherings.
What advice would you have for someone who might be interested in a career at Autodesk?
Kassidi: Review our Culture Code and reflect on what it means to you. This includes our values and the ways we work, which are the common threads that unite us all as Autodeskers. Make sure our values as a company align with your personal values. If they do, really get to know our Culture Code and try to think of specific times throughout your past experiences when you’ve demonstrated these values. Try to identify stories and experiences that are relevant to the role you’re interested in as well. We’re looking for candidates whose values align with ours and can add to our culture – so my advice is to practice articulating these so you can shine in your interview!
Raymond: My advice would be to reach out to Autodeskers on LinkedIn and set up a 15–30-minute call to learn more about the team and overall culture of Autodesk. Specific to the team/org of course. When I was looking into a career at Autodesk three years ago, I found that most Autodeskers I reached out to were receptive to accepting a meeting invite. Since then, I’ve made it a point to meet with a few job seekers each quarter to have open conversations about Autodesk.
Chelsey: Explore our Careers site, read other stories on the blog, follow @AutodeskLife on social media, and connect with Autodeskers on LinkedIn. You can also join our Talent Community to stay updated on Autodesk news and new job openings. Lastly, check out our Customer Stories page where you can learn about all the amazing things our customers create using our software! Before joining Autodesk, I had no idea how much the company is involved in cool things like the biggest blockbuster movies and popular video games, as well as countless projects and initiatives that make the world a better, more sustainable place for all.
Ready to shape the world and your future? Join us at Autodesk!