A Glimpse at ApplyBoard’s Six Core Values

ApplyBoard’s core values and their accompanying definitions are our compass—aka our guiding principles—in our mission to Educate the World. They align with our strategy, mission and goals, and unite us in a shared sense of purpose as we work together as one team to break down barriers to education all around the world. Our core values are also the foundation of our company’s unique culture, and:

• Guide every decision we make at every level to help us realize our goals and fulfill our vision
• Inform how we interact with our students, recruitment partners, partner schools, and one another
• Ensure accountability for all of us, regardless of our role

Examining Our Core Values

ApplyBoard is on the cusp of celebrating our eighth anniversary. In the last eight years, we’ve become the world’s leading online platform for international student recruitment. We’ve grown to more than 1,500 team members across over 30 countries. We’ve helped more than 600,000 students from more than 125 countries along their educational journeys. So our Executive Leadership Team thought it was time to sit down together in person to examine our six core values.

They determined that our core values still represent who we are as ApplyBoardians and the work we do in our mission to Educate the World—however, there was something missing! They worked together to establish definitions of what each core value looks like in practice. These definitions will help all ApplyBoardians model these behaviours every day in the work that we do and in the interactions we have with both our customers and fellow ApplyBoardians.

ApplyBoard Core Values: Defined

Without further ado, here are our six core values and their accompanying definitions:

Core Value #1: Helping Students Achieve Success

Helping Students Achieve Success means that we:

• Make students’ dreams come true 
• Maximize students’ full potential with the best schools and programs for them
• Directly or indirectly change students’ lives in a positive way

Core Value #2: Delivering an A+ Customer Experience

What does Delivering an A+ Customer Experience look like in action? It means that we:

• Provide a “wow” experience for our customers
• Always respond to the customer with the best resolution
• Be customer obsessed in everything we do

Core Value #3: Caring About Each Other

Here’s how ApplyBoardians demonstrate Caring About Each Other. We:

• Embrace each other’s differences
• Practice empathy and understanding
• Acknowledge each other’s wins

Core Value #4: Taking Ownership

Taking Ownership means that we, as ApplyBoardians:

• Act on behalf of the entire organization
• Step up to be part of the solution
• Hold each other accountable to our goals

Core Value #5: Innovating and Improving

Our fifth core value, Innovating and Improving, means that we:

• Empower each other to challenge the status quo
• Show up curious and dig deeper
• Take risks and learn from our mistakes

Core Value #6: Making Work Fun

Rounding out our six core values is Making Work Fun. It means that we:

• Celebrate success
• Promote cross-functional relationships and collaboration
• Work hard and play hard

A Year-Long Celebration

For our core values to truly stick, each and every ApplyBoardian must model them—regardless of role and level—and they must be entrenched in everything we do as a company. That’s why we’ve committed to celebrating our core values all year long and beyond.

Every two months, we’re shining a spotlight on a different core value, where we’ll do a deep dive across company-wide meetings and events, our internal newsletter and resources, and in general day-to-day conversation. Team members are also encouraged to rock virtual meeting backgrounds that visually represent the core value we’re spotlighting. Regardless of whether they’re connecting one-to-one with a fellow ApplyBoardian or on a team call, these backgrounds are always a great conversation starter.

We’re also celebrating individual ApplyBoardians who embody our core values. We started the year off strong with our first-ever ApplyBoard Core Values Awards, where we handed out awards named after each of our six core values to ApplyBoardians who personify them. We’re also spotlighting team members on our Core Values in Action video series. We’re looking forward to sharing these videos with you right here on our Life at ApplyBoard blog, so be sure to check back soon!

If ApplyBoard’s core values resonate with you, please check out our Careers page and come help us Educate the World!