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Digital mortgage startup Better.com has pledged to hire 2,000 Google Career Certificate graduates by 2024, according to an announcement on Thursday. The initiative is in conjunction with Merit America, a non-profit that trains Americans without bachelor’s degrees in high-demand careers including User Experience (UX) Design, Project Management, and Data Analytics.
Sarah Pierce
“As Better.com scales, we remain committed to bringing opportunities to talent who is high hustle and traditionally underrepresented, including targeted hiring efforts towards veterans and laid-off hospitality workers,” Better.com Head of Operations Sarah Pierce said in a written statement. “In the last year at Better, we’ve grown our employee population from around a thousand to more than 6,000 employees, and we’re not slowing down anytime soon.”
“It’s important to us that we look beyond things like college degrees to ensure we find smart, hard-working talent from all walks of life,” Pierce added. “We’re thrilled to commit to hiring 2,000+ tech-trained employees nationwide over the next three years through this partnership.”
In an emailed statement to Inman, Pierce said Better’s partnership with Google and Merit America is an extension of their 2020 hiring initiative. In the past year, Better has hired 5,000 employees and bolstered its c-suite with former Comcast CTO Diane Yu and Morgan Stanley Managing Director Kevin Ryan.
“In 2020, Better grew our employee population from around a thousand to more than 6,000 employees,” she said after referencing the boom in demand for mortgages and home-related financing during the pandemic. “Our business is booming and we’re building for long-term growth [and] we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to hire talented people to join our team.”
Pierce said these graduates will be eligible for positions in each of Better’s departments, which include sales, engineering, mortgage operations, corporate operations and recruiting. The roles are split between Better’s U.S. offices with multiple opportunities for remote work.
Once hired, Pierce said Better has a robust professional development program that provides additional training and avenues for employees to advance through the company.
“We believe it’s important to foster a company culture that encourages professional growth, curiosity and passion,” she said. “With this in mind, Better offers team members a variety of in-house professional development opportunities along with external resources.”
“Better is constantly growing and testing new ideas and areas for growth,” she added. “Our career paths are both ladder and ‘tree,’ meaning you don’t just have to grow up in the same department — you can branch out, learn new skills, contribute to our company beyond just what you were hired to do.”
Lisa Gevelber
Grow with Google Vice President Lisa Gevelber said she’s excited about Better.com’s commitment to hiring Google Career Certificate graduates, as an estimated 17 million Americans will need to make career shifts by 2030 to meet the demand within the tech industry.
Since 2017, Gevelber said, Grow with Google has helped 170,000 graduates get new jobs with an average salary increase of 57 percent.
“We are thrilled that Better.com is joining the Google Career Certificates employer consortium,” she added in a statement. “Their commitment to hiring at least 2,000 program graduates over three years will change lives and help break barriers for underserved talent to enter in-demand fields.”
