Rachel A. 

Principal Candidate Experience Specialist

I’m currently a Principal Candidate Experience Specialist at Toast, and have been with the company just over two years. Though I’m still early in my career in the world of talent acquisition and tech, I’m a self proclaimed “professional auditioner/interviewer” from years in the theater industry, and that past role is what makes me so passionate and understanding of my current position. 

The year is 2014. The time, between 6:00am and 7:00am EST. The place, New York, NY. I’m standing in a line of 100+ actors wrapped around the block outside of a building on 38th Street and 8th Avenue. This was a typical morning for me while I was regularly attending auditions. I, along with the hundreds of others were hoping to book our dream job.The audition was the job, the job was the vacation as they say. I considered myself a professional auditioner after five years attending hundreds, maybe thousands, of auditions. During this time, I consistently found myself responding heavily to the energy in the room, whether that was the holding room or the audition room itself. Was the monitor calling our names giving off positive energy and wishing us the best of luck? Or, were they acting disgruntled because they needed to fit in 350 girls before 4:00pm, all of whom dreamt of starring as Belle in Beauty and the Beast? My best auditions were those that provided a good experience and included friendly, encouraging, and upbeat creative team members who only wanted us to do our best. This notion was something that I always took note of and it’s resonated with me since.

Fast forward. The year is 2020. The time, probably between 10:00am-11:00am EST. The place, Boston, MA. I’m metaphorically sitting in a virtual waiting room while physically sitting in front of my laptop, waiting to join a job interview for a restaurant tech company called Toast. How many individuals am I up against? Unsure. Were there 100s of others? Likely not. But the stakes I felt going into the process felt the same, thinking to myself, to quote A Chorus Line: “God, I hope I get it.” 

There was something about Toast that made me want and need the job I’d applied to. That job was a Candidate Experience Specialist. Why was I, someone who had minimal coordinating experience, knew nothing about recruiting, nor tech, qualified for such a position? The answer? My familiarity and knowledge of the restaurant community didn’t hurt. But I genuinely believe that it was my “role” as a “professional auditioner” who had thousands of “interviews” under my belt that truly made me a great fit to set candidates up for success and help them perform to the best of their abilities so that they landed their own dream job. 

I knew from the start of the process that Toast was special, and I wanted to be a part of that every day. I was set up for success and put at ease even before my interviews began with a game changing “Virtual Tour” to help get me settled before meeting with four members of the TA team. The next two hours flew by because the individuals I spoke with were welcoming and extremely knowledgeable. The conversations flowed with ease and I was even more convinced that Toast was the place for me after speaking with such human, genuine, and kind people.

The feelings I felt as I wrapped up my interview with Brianna, my now manager, were the same feelings I felt after I knew I nailed an audition. I’d made it to “final callbacks” and the creative team and I were on the same page. We knew we would work together tremendously well. I’d nailed the dance portion and the singing portion. We laughed, we exchanged personal stories, and felt a strong connection immediately. There are few things as great as this familiar feeling. 

I received a phone call the next day, at the exact time that Brianna told me she’d call. Even that was a testament to how Toast strives to create the most positive interview experience it can from start to finish. Toast empowers the restaurant community to delight guests, do what they love, and thrive. Why shouldn’t a company translate their mission statement to their candidates and create a hospitality-driven experience to help set candidates up for success? We know that we do our best work when we are set up for success. The Candidate Experience Team does just that - they set candidates up for success by creating memorable recruiting experiences and empowering them to succeed throughout their interview journey. Toasters want the best experience for their candidates, and I’m proud to contribute to the process every single day.