Many candidates have specifically mentioned looking at our blog to learn a little more about the culture at Verity Credit Union. After hearing this comment about 25 times a light bulb slowly lit up in my head (hey sometimes those light bulbs take a while to turn on). Why not ask someone who is relatively new to Verity (a little over five months) how they would describe their experience so far? The following questions were sent to d’Arcy, a MSR at our Wallingford branch.

What was your first three months at Verity like?

My first three months have been so much fun. I remember when I was leaving my in-person interview; I ate this peanut butter cookie that my soon-to-be new supervisor gave me. I had this spiritual experience, like I was biting into a new chapter of my life. It’s been a whirlwind of new information and new faces. The schedule never gets boring; there is always training or a meeting (or a short day or a day off) to mix things up. All the smiles and free food help, too!

What is something that really surprised you about working here?

There are two things that immediately come to mind. The first is how each and every person at Verity seems like a genuinely nice person. I remember talking about this with a couple of other new hires – we were blown away to meet so many kind and helpful people all in one place. I think we all felt honored to be chosen. In the words of a fellow new hire at the first Quarterly Breakfast we attended, “We are all Verity happy to be here!” The second thing I noticed, right from the very beginning when I first checked out the website, was Verity’s approach to keeping things simple and streamlined. This is something I notice every day – my peers and leaders are constantly thinking of new ways to make things easy for our members, easy for us, and easy on the environment.

I believe this question tells a lot about someone’s personality, what are your thoughts about the smurfs?

They really creep me out. I just did some research and found out that they’re “three apples tall”. Does this scare anyone else? They just happen to be the same size as garden gnomes???

What are some things you see Verity doing to help the communities we serve?

Well one thing Verity does is pay its employees extra money to walk, bike, carpool, bus or ferry to work. This helps our communities by freeing up parking spaces, and helps our global community by cutting down on pollution. We also make an effort to volunteer in our community, both as individuals and as employees of Verity. We are careful to match our products appropriately with our members’ needs, so that we really are improving their lives and in turn improving the communities we are a part of. This may not be as tangible, but I believe that our positive and caring attitudes do a lot to help the communities we serve, just by brightening someone’s day when they visit one of our locations.

What have you enjoyed most about your first three months at Verity?

I think the most enjoyable thing has been meeting new people; peers, leaders, role-models and members alike. It’s been really nice to visit Headquarters in Northgate and have our CEO Bill always greet me warmly and remember my name (how does he remember everyone’s name?). I’ve made some really close friends here already, and I certainly enjoy that every day. I feel like I belong here, and that is a special feeling.

One of our main goals in HR is to make the transition to Verity as smooth as possible. How important do you feel the first three months are in evaluating an employer and determining if they are a long term fit?