Dear Uber Recruiter, part two!

I received a recruitment email from Uber last week. I was inspired by Tess Rinearson’s response and decided to write one of my own. I feel fortunate to be in a place where I am able to respond to recruitment offers in this way and believe it’s important to be visible in my politics as someone who works in tech.

Hey [name],

Thank you for taking the time to look through my work and reach out! It sounds like y’all are working on some fascinating technical challenges.

Over the past few years, it’s become clear to me that I do my best work when I work with organizations that are aligned with my values. Uber’s sponsorship of Urban Shield, an event that aimed to further militarize the police, Uber’s responses to reports of sexual assault on passengers, and Uber’s treatment of its drivers are just a few of the many concerns I have about Uber’s values as someone who cares deeply about racial and gender justice.

I know some lovely folks who work at Uber and I’m sure that your work is not the cause of Uber’s track record on race and gender. But the way a company spends money and publicly responds to events says a lot about its organizational priorities. For these reasons, I’m not interested in working for Uber.

Thank you again for your email, I appreciate your time and energy.

- Tara