Her Story
About Elena
I've been working in tech for about 10 years now. I was born and raised in Italy near Milan, and I really wanted to move to the States after being an exchange student in high school. I got my bachelor's and master's degrees in International Marketing Management in Milan, and then I moved to San Francisco. My goal wasn't really to focus too much on the college piece because I wanted to find a way to eventually establish myself long-term in the U.S. I started with an internship doing recruiting at a little boutique agency, and once I sorted out my visa situation, I moved to Postmates, which was my first tech startup. After that, I worked at Checker, a background check startup that's now much bigger, and then I spent about three and a half years at Plaid. I've been at eBay since 2023, where I focus on tech recruiting for software engineering. I recently got promoted to manager and now lead a team of three recruiters building software engineering teams for North America, covering all of the U.S. and Canada. I've consistently been a top performer at every company I've worked at and have been promoted within two years or less at each one. This is the first time I've moved into a management role, and I'm pretty happy with how things have unfolded and the consistency of constantly moving up.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elena
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received is that you have to slow down to actually move faster. You don't have to respond or attend to everything or everyone immediately, even though you feel like you have to, especially as a woman.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women entering the tech industry to remain confident in their skills and the things that they have learned, and that while it will be challenging, it is worth the effort, and it's worth giving it a try. People will remember you for what you've said and what you've done when you had nothing to gain. It's easy when you have to ask for something, and it's always harder when you're asking for something because you need it. But if you just show up in a certain way consistently when you really don't need much, that's when you really build a foundation that means so much more.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The tech field in general is very heavily man-dominated. It's always been, and despite a lot of positive changes, I still think it will remain the case likely for the time being. There's more women, there's more diversity, but it's just a different type of effort to show up and let them realize your value. You have to work twice as hard.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think networking and having a personal brand are the most important things, because you are you first. I am Elena Branchini first, and then I represent the company I work at, not the other way around. The way I represent myself is obviously going to be the way I represent the company I work at. In talent acquisition, there is a component of it that's almost like you have your own little side of the business that you own, and how you show up is important. It's important that you know people, and then you grow your network, and then you take the time to ask questions and listen to what others have to say, and learn from others that maybe have been in that position for longer. I also think it's important to have a pretty healthy lifestyle. I'm a big fitness advocate and fan. I've run a few 10Ks and half marathons, and it's nice to travel to unplug and then come back.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · California
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.