Meet Jarian Wade | Head of Compensation, Square

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jarian Wade and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jarian, what role has risk played in your life or career?
The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward! I have always viewed risk as a stepping stone to greatness and it’s been one of the common themes in my life and the life of those I admire. I believe that every decision you make, every opportunity presented to you will have some level of risk involved. The earlier you figure out how to cope with and/or manage risk, the sooner you will reach your true potential. I have been taking risks my entire life but many of the pivotal moments in my career followed the riskiest moments of my life. Whether it was graduating with no employment, changing jobs twice during a pandemic, buying/selling a home during a recession, starting a non-profit, asking for a promotion, etc., all of these events were accompanied by big decisions and even bigger risks. The silver lining in each situation is that they turned out to be the best decisions I have ever made and although I was very uncomfortable going through it, the reward was far greater than the risk. I also made the decision to trust God and bet on myself and as we all know, God is undefeated!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started out in compensation after graduate school. In this line of work, I have been responsible for ensuring that employees are paid fair and equitable in comparison to peers, etc. Over the past 11 years, I have worked at several different companies in various sectors where I have continued to ensure employees were receiving top dollar for the work they do. Currently, I am working as the Head of Compensation for Square (a financial services and digital payments company based out of San Francisco). In this role, I support the entire organization and liaison with HR, Talent Acquisition, Finance, and leadership to ensure our compensation programs are operating effectively and efficiently. My role is strategic in nature where I spend a lot of time improving on existing compensation strategies while also being creative in my approach to how we pay our employees and remain competitive in a tough market. My ultimate goal is ensuring that our compensation is aligned with talent, competitive and simple!

I am mostly proud of the organization and the opportunities we have in front of us. Working at a company at the forefront of economic empowerment is a real dream. Square literally helps millions of sellers run their business from secure credit card processing to point of sale solutions. Cash App is also under our umbrella, and we are growing in this space at an unprecedented rate. With technology being at the forefront of everything we do in today’s society, I am really proud to be at a company that’s changing lives and communities every single day.

Regarding what sets me apart from others, I believe I am unique because of my background and my experiences. The way I approach things is usually atypical and I like to attribute that to everything I have been through in my life. I don’t move unless I am moved, I don’t speak unless I have something of value to contribute and I don’t believe in doing anything at the expense of my foundational beliefs. I have learned that when we compromise who we are, we end up in situations/careers/relationships, etc. that may not be beneficial to us or others. It’s better to be genuine, take risks and always reach for higher. None of this is easy but with hard work, a little patience and God, you really can’t lose!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Luckily, Atlanta is one of the best cities to visit for a good time so it’s not difficult to curate a nice itinerary! For starters, I would take them to Old Fourth Ward and grab food at Ponce City Market. This is a great choice because there are tons of restaurants and various types of food so you can pretty much have a taste for anything and find something good here. The ambiance is also pretty cool with the skyline views! Following that we would probably swing down to the beltline and check out some of the street art throughout the trails. Next, I would take them by edgewood to visit some of the local bars for a quick drink then maybe do the typical tourist things like the Aquarium, Fernbank Museum, little five points, etc.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Regarding my success thus far, I have to shoutout my wife Brittany! She is constantly in my corner and pushing me to do and be my best at all times. They say a man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. This has been completely true for me!

Instagram: @realjwade

Image Credits
@jordanviision