Her Story
About Kierra
Kierra Brown serves as a Senior Technical Recruiter in Austin, Texas. She began her career in talent acquisition in 2016 at a top technical staffing agency in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she supported full desk recruitment and led an internal employee resource group for African American and Black employees and allies. Over the subsequent decade, Brown has worked as a consultant for companies including Home Depot and Accenture, held full-time roles with startups and big tech firms such as Meta, and is currently on a contract-to-hire position with a construction robotics company. She holds a bachelor's degree in business marketing with a minor in nonprofit administration from the University of South Carolina Upstate, earned in 2008, and a master's degree in adult education and curriculum from Strayer University in 2014. Brown maintains certifications as a SHRM-CP and Certified Human Resources Professional, which she earned at the beginning of the year. She is deeply engaged in diversity and inclusion efforts within human resources and talent acquisition, serving as an active member of Delta Sigma Theta since 2008, Black in HR, her local SHRM chapter, and United Way. Brown attributes her success to strong mentorship examples, networking, and referrals, and she advises others to narrow their focus in tech recruitment, attend networking events, and seek mentors while maintaining a thirst for knowledge.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kierra
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to having great examples in my life growing up, really great examples through mentorship programs or just in my own community, and then also just putting myself out there. I came into recruitment through networking and accepting an invite to a barbecue. Referrals go a long way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My great grandmother used to always tell us to use your head for more than a hat rack. Essentially, she was telling us and encouraging us, like, you have a brain, you use it. Really go after it. Pick up the books, listen to the podcast. Educate yourself. There's a wealth of knowledge. Always have a thirst for knowledge.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would definitely encourage them to sort of start with trying to figure out what you want to do in this field of tech recruitment because you can go so many different avenues. Narrow down as much as possible to maybe like the top three sectors. Then just go after those sectors, go after those niche companies. Attend in-person networking events. Finding someone who can advocate for you and be a mentor for you is really important.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
For tech recruiters, it is definitely important for us to have stability. Many of us have dealt with constant layoffs or just the changes with more AI coming in to do our jobs. But I think that's why it's important to lean into that human connection that you can get through networking and building out your connections and building relationships. AI can help us as talent partners and within human resources as a whole to work more strategically.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my career, I look for opportunity. I want to have the opportunity to work on something exciting. Something that's going to challenge me. And then working with people that can teach me something I don't know, or help me expand in just my wheelhouse. In my personal life, I definitely enjoy having people that I can relate to, and that I can honestly piggyback on as well. I've been very strategic in connecting with more people who can relate to some of the things that you experience as a corporate 9-to-5-er.
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