A Day in the Life of Michele, Human Resources Coordinator at Backblaze

Michele, HR Coordinator at Backblaze

Most of the time this blog is dedicated to cloud storage and computer backup topics, but we also want our readers to understand the culture and people at Backblaze who all contribute to keeping our company running and making it an enjoyable place to work. We invited our HR Coordinator, Michele, to talk about how she spends her day searching for great candidates to fill employment positions at Backblaze.

What’s a Typical Day for Michele at Backblaze?

After I’ve had a yummy cup of coffee — maybe with a honey and splash of half and half, I’ll generally start my day reviewing resumes and contacting potential candidates to set up an initial phone screen.

When I start the process of filling a position, I’ll spend a lot of time on the phone speaking with potential candidates. During a phone screen call we’ll chat about their experience, background and what they are ideally looking for in their next position. I also ask about what they like to do outside of work, and most importantly, how they feel about office dogs. A candidate may not always look great on paper, but could turn out to be a great cultural fit after speaking with them about their previous experience and what they’re passionate about.

Next, I push strong candidates to the hiring managers for the subsequent steps, which range from setting up a second phone screen, to setting up a Google hangout for completing coding tasks, to scheduling in-person interviews with the team.

At the end of the day after an in-person interview, I’ll check in with all the interviewers to debrief and decide how to proceed with the candidate. Everyone that interviewed the candidate will get together to give feedback. Is there a good cultural fit? Are they someone we’d like to work with? Keeping in contact with the candidates throughout the process and making sure they are organized and informed is a big part of my job. No one likes to wait around and wonder where they are in the process.

In between all the madness, I’ll put together offer letters, send out onboarding paperwork and links, and get all the necessary signatures to move forward.

On the candidate’s first day, I’ll go over benefits and the handbook and make sure everything is going smoothly in their overall orientation as they transition into their new role here at Backblaze!

What Makes Your Job Exciting?

  • I get to speak with many different types of people and see what makes them tick and if they’d be a good fit at Backblaze
  • The fast pace of the job
  • Being constantly kept busy with different tasks including supporting the FUN committee by researching venues and ideas for family day and the holiday party
  • I work on enjoyable projects like creating a people wall for new hires so we are able to put a face to the name
  • Getting to take a mini road trip up to Sacramento each month to check in with the data center employees
  • Constantly learning more and more about the job, the people, and the company

We’re growing rapidly and always looking for great people to join our team at Backblaze. Our team places a premium on open communications, being cleverly unconventional, and helping each other out.

Oh! We also offer competitive salaries, stock options, and amazing benefits.

Which Job Openings are You Currently Trying to Fill?

We are currently looking for the following positions. If you’re interested, please review the job description on our jobs page and then contact me at jobscontact@backblaze.com.

  • Engineering Director
  • Senior Java Engineer
  • Senior Software Engineer
  • Desktop and Laptop Windows Client Programmer
  • Senior Systems Administrator
  • Sales Development Representative

Thanks Michele!

About Roderick Bauer

Roderick has held marketing, engineering, and product management positions with Adobe, Microsoft, Autodesk, and several startups. He's consulted to Apple, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Stanford University, Dell, the Pentagon, and the White House. He was a Ford-Mozilla Fellow in Media and Democracy with Common Cause in Washington, D.C., where he advocated for a free, open, and accessible internet for all, reducing media consolidation, and transparency in politics and the media.