Skip to main content

People Behind the Product: Get to know Pinterest’s Recruiting Coordinators

a collage of people smiling

For every talent recruiter and sourcer, there’s a recruiting coordinator behind the scenes scheduling interviews, connecting with job candidates, and ensuring the engine runs smoothly. We sat down with the Pinterest Recruiting Coordination team to learn more about their experiences and the role they play during the recruitment process. Keep reading to explore what exactly a Recruiting Coordinator does, what it takes to become one, and what Pinterest’s RCs love most about their work.

What exactly is a Recruiting Coordinator? How do they drive impact in the recruitment process?

Kevin Candido (KC): A Recruiting Coordinator (RC)  is the human touch behind the hiring process. We as RCs provide our candidates with a memorable experience that can be one of the deciding factors for joining Pinterest. We take pride in how we showcase Pinterest to candidates through our hard work and attention to detail when coordinating their interview process.

Malia Ramos (MR): A Recruiting Coordinator is the glue in the recruiting process! Not only do we schedule hundreds of interviews a week, we also drive impact by ensuring an amazing candidate experience for those who meet us while also providing a seamless hiring process for our hiring teams and interviewers. We work with so many cross functional partners within and outside of recruiting, so it’s been great being able to meet other Pinployees across all offices.

Why did you want to be an RC? Who can be an RC?

Dunmay Mok (DM): I am passionate about a million things, but ultimately what I want out of my career is to provide a hospitable and encouraging experience for someone as they become the best version of themselves. As an RC at Pinterest, I get to be an essential part of someone’s journey as they take steps towards their next achievement. If you enjoy handling multiple tasks at a time, working with people across different teams, and/or want to break into the Talent Acquisition world — look into being an RC!

Gabby Ramdass (GR): I interned at a recruiting firm, and I thought recruiting was super interesting! As an RC, you learn many different skills (ex. organization, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills) that lay the groundwork for any career path you’re looking to pursue. There’s an opportunity to work on cross-functional projects and immerse yourself in areas you’re interested in — it’s a great way to network as well.

What skill set do you recommend for someone who wants to be an RC? What skills do you learn as an RC?

RCs need:

1) To be organized – When you are scheduling 50+ interviews per week, that’s 50 people, 50 lives and careers that you’re responsible for. It can be a lot to juggle but if you’re organized, you’ll know where to go for answers and what to do when things don’t go according to plan.

2) To have strong communication skills – Having clear, concise, and effective communication is necessary in the RC role as even a small miscommunication can lead to a very poor interview experience. The best RCs are thorough and detailed in their communication, ensuring that we’re able to deliver on our commitments.

3) To have a growth mindset – The RC role is easy to learn but tough to master. Those with a Growth Mindset will recognize this and do all that they can to hone their craft. When that is done, the expectation for RCs is to spend time thinking about other ways that they can make an impact or about the career paths internally that they can take when leveraging their RC background.

As an RC at Pinterest, you’ll learn how a world-class recruiting organization operates. From sourcing to operations to making hires, RCs get to see the majority of the recruiting process.

Jade Donovan (JD): I really feel you have to care about developing positive relationships with people – internally and externally, in order to excel in this role and get the most out of it. You should possess strong communication skills and follow HR best practices.

What are some things that you love about what you do? What are some challenges that RCs face on a daily basis?

DM: As someone who is super process-oriented but still values innovative work, I love that I get to drive creative projects throughout the year with a focus on improving our candidate experience and internal operations. RCs have the flexibility to dip their toes into other functions of the organization, and we’re always encouraged to learn new skills or bring new ideas to the table.

MR: I really enjoy working with the people on my team. The RCs are one of the reasons that I look forward to work every week. Challenges include “fires” that come up on a daily basis – from last minute reschedulings to timezone coordination, we are always on our toes for anything that comes up.

Sam Blackmon (SB): I love building my team, and watching them succeed and grow. Their success is my success. RCs face last minute changes in interview loops, technical difficulties between interviewer/interviewee and prioritizing what job duty is most important on a day to day, and all of these challenges equip them to be the best professionals they possibly can be.

A recruiting organization includes RCs, sourcers, recruiters and more. What are some ways that you partner with the broader recruiting organization?

Vy Dang (VD): The awesome thing about being an RC is getting to work with different people in recruiting who have the same determination and goal which is to make sure all candidates have the best interview experience they can, regardless of what the hiring result is.

GR: Working cross-functionally on projects, immersing ourselves in the recruitment process through attending on-site kick-off and candidate debriefs, and jumping at opportunities to help out are all ways we partner with recruiting!

How did you hear about this role? What career tactics helped you get to where you are?

Tracey Thong (TT): I was actually contacted by a recruiter via LinkedIn! I was a Tech RC at Walmart eCommerce when Pinterest reached out with this exciting opportunity – I always preach to have your LinkedIn updated as much as possible because you never know who will land on it!

VD: I saw the job ad on LinkedIn and applied right away! When it came time for the interview, I made sure to practice, practice, practice! This is the advice I will always give to everyone to get through the interview process for any position.

To help prep for the interview, I created a Google Doc and inserted general questions I thought might be asked such as:

  1. Tell me about yourself.
  2. Why do you want to become a recruiting coordinator?
  3. How do you stay organized and keep track of all your tasks?

Then, I wrote down brief answers and studied them. I find this helps me every time I interview because I feel more confident, comfortable, and in control of what I’ll say.

What made Pinterest stand out to you during the interview process? Pinterest chose you, why did you choose Pinterest?

KC: The care that Pinterest had in the interview process supported my decision to choose the company. My interviewers who are now my leaders really listened to me during our conversations. They saw who I was and why I could be an addition to their team and Pinterest. Knowing that I could be my authentic self and vulnerable during the interview process helped me realize that Pinterest was the right company to choose for the next step in my career.

JD: I knew from my first conversation that it would be the right company culture fit for me and I could excel in the role because Pinterest supports career growth goals and genuinely cares about their employees.

What activities does your team do to stay connected in a virtual environment?

VD: Every month, our “Game Masters” plan game nights/lunches to get together and play fun games! I look forward to these events to have a chance to spend time with my fellow colleagues and take a nice break from work.

Every week, one of our RC Leads, Monica Climaco, hosts an “Aux Co[o]rd Scheduling Jam” and it’s optional for RCs to join in a Google Meet if they have tricky requests, questions, or just want to virtually hang out with the team while jamming out to music!

Recently, one of the RC’s, Kevin Candido, started a “Spontaneous Coords Chat” where people can pop in a Google Meet to chat and say hi! Another way to take a break and socialize with coworkers!

What are you currently pinning?

KC: Office desk inspiration, food and recipes, future travels, as well art inspiration for my secret passion projects.

GR: Recipes, tattoos, and new outfits!

VD: I’m pinning different ski outfits as the winter is slowly approaching.I’m excited to be back on the mountain! I’m a huge food lover and always look for different ways to cook salmon, steak, and veggies. I also have a sweet tooth so I Pin different healthy desserts to make at night time.

MR: I have my first SOLO trip to Seattle coming up so I’m starting to Pin things around that. Other recent boards are new hairstyle ideas, photo inspo and fashion inspo!

TT: I recently got married, so my recent pin was actually wedding nails! I went with the classic french tip but on almond shaped nails

SB: Recipes, DIY projects for the new crib.

JD: Vintage movie posters and record covers.

DM: Fall fashion, new hair color trends, and different ways to practice mindfulness. 

What is your favorite memory at Pinterest?

KC: Anytime I get a chance to share a virtual meeting room with my whole team or actually meet them in person for team outings in a safe socially distanced environment is a favorite memory that I continuously cherish.

GR: In my first week, the company hosted Pinterest Presents. I already knew it was my dream to work for Pinterest, but the event made being a part of the company more concrete and even more amazing!

VD: My favorite memory at Pinterest is experiencing my first ever KnitCon! It’s an internal 2 day event focused on collaboration and creativity through keynote sessions and hands-on workshops that are taught by Pinployees, Pinners, Creators and guest teachers. Simply time to be inspired!

MR: I have too many! But I think the one that stands out is when I took over the @LifeatPinterest Instagram account for KnitCon. I’m a content creator on the side and thought it would be a great way to practice my skills. It was probably one of the most hectic and stressful days I experienced because I still had a lot of scheduling to do, but I really enjoyed being able to put my creative skills to work and have my two worlds mix that day. Looking back and seeing what I was able to accomplish and showcase to not only Pinployees but to those following that account really makes me proud.

TT: Hmm..this is a hard one! My favorite memory would be seeing my coworkers be a part of Knit Con! I was so proud to see them doing what they love outside of their daily tasks, but still contributing to work!

SB: It was actually my onboarding week in San Francisco, it seems so long ago and it was pre – pandemic but everyone was in the office together and it was just a fun time.

JD: Meeting my team – everyone was so nice in Ireland and the US. I was made to feel really welcome even though I onboarded remotely.

Interested in becoming an RC or know someone who would be a perfect fit? We’re hiring! Click here to explore opportunities.

Related Articles