Tracey Heiman shares everything you need to know about working in design recruiting at Dropbox
At the frontlines of almost everything we do at Dropbox is our recruiting team. From finding awesome talent to promoting our unique culture, they’re an essential part of our growth in all the right ways. Tracey Heiman, a Senior Design Recruiter, has been helping us bring on new team members for nearly three years, and she let us in on the secrets to success in her role.
If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
I loved Inspector Gadget when I was a kid. Now that I’m a mom as well, I’d love to have a semi-bionic body with expandable arms and shoes that turned into roller skates — I would just crush multitasking!
What’s something a lot of people don’t know about you?
I grew up going to the snow as a kid. I started off skiing and then learned to snowboard when I was about 13 and got really into it — when I was in college I joined the snowboard racing team! I thought for sure after having kids I would never get on a board again, but last year to my surprise, I did! Muscle memory is an amazing thing!
What do you think is the best thing about the role you have now?
Everyone I get to work with, both on the people team and the design team. I work with creative, highly empathetic, and inspiring co-workers. I feel so lucky to work with good human beings, most importantly.
I love connecting really good people with our team and making those connections come to life. The best part is seeing folks we’ve had long standing relationships with in the halls after they’ve accepted their offers. It’s rewarding getting to see them interact with their teammates and becoming a part of the Dropbox family.
How would you describe your team in three words?
Determined, thoughtful, supportive and curious.
What advice would you give someone who’s thinking about becoming a design recruiter?
The design community is super small, tight-knit, and good at networking. As a design recruiter, we have to make sure to establish a trusted and respected personal brand because everyone knows everyone. It’s important to build really good relationships with people which can spread word of mouth; establishing yourself in a small network like this is crucial.
Design Recruiting is not black and white. We work in the grey area because part of what we’re evaluating is subjective. Folks who do well don’t get frustrated easily. Individual hiring manager’s opinions may differ — it’s not like engineering, where you get the code right or you get it wrong. It’s unique in that respect. So you have to be someone who is not easily deterred by constantly hitting roadblocks or having candidates not meet the bar. It will happen when it happens, and when it does, it’s rewarding!
How have you seen your team come together in the last few weeks as we’ve shifted to distributed work environments?
Everyone has really shown up for one another, people are constantly checking in on each other at both the individual and group levels. There’s a consistent drumbeat of “it’s most important to take care of yourself,” and that has really resonated deeply for me. We have Zoom happy hours, and people are sharing inspiring stories with each other on a daily basis, deepening our relationships in many ways. I know we’ll come out stronger on the other side; we’re experiencing something dramatic together and that’s a really powerful thing.
Anything else about your team you’d like to add?
My team rocks. I feel so lucky and honored to work alongside so many driven, savvy, kickass women (yes, currently only women)! And I’m just really grateful that Dropbox has stepped up so immensely in this situation, especially with supporting parents, giving us the support and encouragement we need. I am honored to work at Dropbox now more than ever.
