This month, to ring in the summer, we will be bringing back a popular perk from last summer known as Sundae Friday! Sundae Friday is another time when employees can get together, relax, and enjoy a “build your own sundae!” For Sundae Friday we bring in several gallons of ice cream from the local Palo Alto Creamery, and employees can build their own sundaes! It’s just another opportunity to take a break and enjoy some ice cream during the hot summer months.

This past week I was privileged to attend our annual retreat. This year we went to
Beaver Creek, Colorado for some fun in the snow. As always I enjoyed the team building and working sessions, but my favorite thing about the experience was building the bond and camaraderie with my fellow employees. My position has the advantage that I get to meet every employee. However, the retreat allows me to see them in action. I witnessed one employee cheer on another as they rock climbed and raced against the clock. I saw my group in the working session decide how they thought our company should spend millions of dollars in the next fiscal year. We were able to voice our opinions on where we need to put our focus the next few years to continue to be successful. I even got to swing dance with the President of Homestead!

My favorite moment of this experience was at the end of our celebration dinner when everyone had their arms around another employee screaming the song “Don’t stop Believing” by Journey. It could not have been a more appropriate message and moment to portray the feeling of attending a company retreat. Now that it is Monday morning and we are all back in the office, we have an unbreakable bond and the morale is through the roof. You could be a part of our amazing culture. We are always looking for fun, smart and inviting employees who would thrive in this type of organization.

Hi Everyone, Happy spring! Now is the perfect time to be job hunting! Many of you just finished school and are nervous about leaving school. Others may have always had the desire to learn more in their field. Just because you are done with your formal education does not mean your education has to stop. Not only do we encourage employees to challenge themselves and learn on the job but we also have a tuition reimbursement program. Many of our employees participate in this program by attending seminars and completing certificates in their field. You can also use this program to earn your undergrad or graduate degree. It is your chance to obtain real work experience while continuing to expand your knowledge.    

Regular full-time and part-time employees in good standing with Homestead/Intuit and working a minimum of 20 hours per week are eligible to participate in the Tuition Assistance Program. 

Therefore, I would like to encourage you to start thinking about what career path is right for you and how you can obtain it. As a participant myself, I can tell you first hand that we are dedicated to helping you achieve your ambitions.

Homestead will give you the tools you need and help you get there.

-Rachel, HR Assistant

In November 2007, Homestead rolled out a new wellness program- Now Walk It Out. Employees interested in participating all received pedometers. They then keep track of their weekly steps and report them in at the end of the week. Those that meet the monthly step goal are all entered into a raffle for a chance to win a great prize! Prizes in the past have included SpaFinder and Foot Locker gift certificates. We also have three walks that occur throughout the work week that allow employees to walk some extra steps and get a little fresh air.

Walking has tremendous health benefits. It is important in weight management, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, alleviating stress, and strengthening muscles, bones and joints. However, the walking program is also beneficial in that it gives employees the chance to interact on yet another level. Employees from various departments attend the scheduled walks, and you can learn a lot about an individual, their aspirations and their passions on a forty-five minute stroll. You can also learn more about what projects they are working on and how it affects the overall business goal.

It’s a sunny day today…so get out there and walk it out!

Company social events are a great way for employees to interact and get to know each other outside of their daily work. Homestead has monthly social events that range from tie-dying to magic shows! This month we had our social event at Blue Chalk Café, a restaurant in downtown Palo Alto. There was plenty of food and drinks, and we also had a team competition where the winners received free movie tickets! Below are some photos of Homestead employees kicking back and having some fun!

-Kelly McMahon, HR Assistant

Community Service is an integral part of Homestead’s culture, and something that the company holds near and dear to its heart. In fact, it is our third responsibility in the Homestead Creed-a responsibility to our community. It is our responsibility to better the community in which we work. At the end of 2007, Homestead employees partnered up with Family Giving Tree, a non profit organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that is dedicated to providing children with gifts that they may go without during the holiday season. Homestead filled children’s wish cards, and also volunteered at the donated warehouse, sorting thousands and thousands of gifts! It truly was a miraculous experience.

This upcoming month we look to continue our community service program by working with Hidden Villa, a nonprofit, 1600 acre organic farm and wilderness preserve that has multicultural and environmental education programs for children, youth and the community. As volunteers we will help maintain their farm during the month of March by making compost, planting and doing irrigation work. We have worked with Hidden Villa in the past, and it has always been an exciting and fun event!

Employees at Homestead truly care about giving back to the community, and we look to bring in candidates that hold that same value in their hearts.

Hidden Villa 2007

Family Giving Tree 2007

Happy Valentine’s Day! What better way to celebrate than announcing to your loved ones  that you are applying for a great job at a great company. As many of you know, Homestead was just acquired by Intuit. Therefore, in one job you get to work for two great award winning companies! Homestead was awarded one of the Best Places to Work for in the Bay Area in 2007, while Intuit has made Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For the past 6 years straight! What more could a candidate ask for? I’ll tell you!

Today’s candidates want a full package and that is what Homestead, an Intuit company, delivers. We offer much more than just generous benefits. Just to name a few, we spoil our employees with:

Starbucks Machines
Stocked Kitchens and/or Cafeterias
Tuition Reimbursement
Gym Membership Reimbursement
Free Homestead and Intuit Products

And that is only a few. You’ll have to step inside our offices to see all the amazing perks we offer. Check out our careers page at www.homestead.com/careers to find the job for you. Here are a few pictures to give you a sneak preview:

Welcome to the Homestead Careers Blog- you are in for a treat. Our awesome Human Resources team decided to start this blog to give better insight into the world of Homestead and why you should consider being a part of it. First, let me tell you a little about myself. I graduated from Chico State with a BA in Organizational Communications and a minor in Sociology. I enjoy working with all departments at Homestead but my recruiting focus is in our Internet Product and Support Specialists Team (IPSS), Oracle Database Team and other various positions. I also enjoy being a part of our University Outreach program and I work hard to keep up the fabulous culture we have here at Homestead.

For my first post, I decided it would be best to ask employees of various departments what they would tell someone who was considering joining their team. I loved the answers I received and they reminded me of many reasons I love to come to work daily. We work hard and play hard. We love to provide award winning products along with world class service and have a little fun while we do it. So why should you join Homestead? Let’s see what our employees would tell you:

“That’s a pretty tough question you have there. Honestly, I’m not really sure why a candidate would want to be a part of the most fun, smartest and best-looking crew in town (DEV!). I also don’t really know if prospective Homesteaders are really interested in working with incredibly talented and enthusiastic teammates on products that real consumers use and love worldwide. Do you think they’d want to join up with the department responsible for such nefarious acts in the past as…?
• Homestead Video Game Olympics
• 4×400m Relay Challenge
• Talent show performances including Irish dancing and double-dutch
• The legendary event, “Man vs. Mayo”
All in all, what someone should think about when considering Homestead is not the free homemade curry delivered by a teammate late at night (TRUE!), the free snacks, drinks, and in-house Starbucks machine (ALSO TRUE!), or even the cuddly panda cubs playing throughout the office (COMPLETELY UNTRUE!). I’ve been at Homestead since I graduated college nearly 8 years ago. When in all comes down to it, the reason I love it here is the camaraderie. I get to work and have a great time with lots of brilliant, friendly people who are here for same reasons I am. “
-Greg, Software Development

“Join the IPSS family if you are interested in becoming part of a world class organization!”
-John, IPSS-Inbound

“I feel that the Design Services Department is the heart of Homestead. We take that ‘do it yourself’ business model to another level by providing a higher platform of creativity to our customers, while allowing them to maintain their sites on their own. Frankly speaking, we rock!”
-Ijeoma, Design Services

“I’m proud to be a part of Homestead who has become a second family to me. We’ve got great people and a wonderful atmosphere. The vibe still feels the same as when I first walked in almost a decade ago!”
-Maylene, HR & Administration

“The IPSS team is the backbone of the company! We make sure that the customers get the help and the answers that they need to succeed, and as the first point of contact with the customer, we have the most knowledge about what the customer wants and expects from the product. Instant results and instant gratification!”
-Jon, IPSS-Online Group

“A candidate should join our team/department because our department embodies the core values of what makes Homestead so special. Teamwork is critical to our success; as such it requires intelligence and kindness to excel. We focus on what we want to achieve professionally and design responsibilities and opportunities to meet those goals based on skill and background. We are as dedicated to serving our customers inside of Homestead as our company is dedicated to serving our external customers. Finally, laughter and fun are an integral part of how we operate on a day by day basis, because life is too short to work without them.”
-Tim, Finance

As you just read, we have a pretty unique bunch around these parts. We are dedicated to creating a better world through technology and are looking for more like us. Please feel free to leave a post with questions or comments for our Recruitment Team. Come Make Your Mark!

-Rachel, Human Resources Assistant