Talent Acquisition Manager Employee at NEXT Insurance

Alice Lu Alvarez

Talent Acquisition Manager

As an individual contributor, Alice hires for most of NEXT Insurance’s senior positions across departments. As a manager, she also oversees a lean team of high-powered recruiters who are focused on hiring for other teams.

“What you may often find in hyper-growth startups is a gradual decline of transparency and teamwork as scaling continues. This is simply not the case at NEXT.”
- Alice

Tell us more about your job. What’s a typical day like in your role, and how does your work impact the company?: I work with hiring teams to help refine their interviewing process, shadow new interviewers, and sit with hiring managers to find ways to reiterate and make the candidate experience as engaging and exciting as possible! As a team manager, I also play a part in onboarding, such as coaching new team members on their candidate calls, meetings, and even offers. A typical day at NEXT includes sourcing top talent for my various positions, jumping into meetings with my peers and direct reports on anything related to the hiring process, meeting with new vendors to research top softwares, and crafting reports or presentations. As recruiters, we interface regularly with internal clients (our hiring teams) and external candidates, so I feel it is one of the most dynamic and rewarding roles to fill at NEXT.
What attracted you to work at NEXT Insurance? How did you know it would be a good fit?: I was laid off suddenly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a tough adjustment to look for work in a candidate-dense market. While I searched for my next full-time role, a friend and I started a small business to help those who were impacted by the pandemic look for new jobs. This work entailed providing guidance on resumes and cover letters, interviewing practice via mock sessions, and coaching on how to handle an offer negotiation. Starting a small business taught me so much about my passion for recruiting and reinforced my drive to do something meaningful. So when I saw the opening for this recruiter position at NEXT, I jumped at the chance. The interview process was one of the most transparent and engaging experiences I’d ever had and it was an easy decision to make the move to NEXT.
Tell us about when you’ve felt most proud of your work or colleagues.: Most recently, my team and I worked with one of our hiring departments on a high-touch candidate experience. Over a month-long period, we hosted multiple working sessions with the hiring team and executives. As a result of the dedicated time, genuine interests shared by the hiring team, and collaboration, we identified key areas of candidate drop-off and opportunities for improvement and successfully closed two hard-to-fill positions!
What do you value most about your company’s or team’s culture? What sets it apart from other places you’ve worked?: I love that we value open work environments where we genuinely collaborate with every single NEXTer. What you may often find in hyper-growth startups is a gradual decline of transparency and teamwork as scaling continues. This is simply not the case at NEXT. Depending on the day, I may find myself in one-on-one syncs with leadership or driving a project with various team leads. This open collaboration-type space is arguably one of the most compelling attributes intentionally cultivated by NEXT since it was first founded in 2016. I am so proud of the unique space we work in and for such a meaningful mission—I always share this with each candidate I speak with!
How does working at this company allow you to have a work-life balance?: Working at NEXT has taught me that I will always have work to do, but I need to work smarter—not harder. My entire team and I work autonomously and with trust. We are trusted to get our work done, whether it is within a regular 9-to-5 workday, or maybe I’ll log on earlier in the day to finish earlier because I have plans in the evening. Most recently, I took time off for a mini honeymoon to Hawaii and I didn’t feel the need to log on at all during that week because my team took over my responsibilities. In 2020, I also had to take some time off for a personal family matter and my team 100% supported me while I was away. It’s different for everyone because we all have different work styles and energy levels. For me, on a day-to-day basis, I will work in blocked time slots so I can dedicate a full hour to lunch or to walk with my dogs in the afternoon.
What advice do you have for someone in your field applying to jobs at your company?: This goes for any company you’re interested in: Take the time to research us, get to know our company values, watch our ads (I know our #BuiltByBusiness campaign reeled me in on Youtube!), social content, videos, or reading blogs. The effort you put in goes a long way as we get to know you. Be persistent in your search and, most importantly, have confidence in yourself. As someone who suffers from the occasional bout of imposter syndrome, I started taking all of the positive feedback (compliments, reviews, remarks, etc) I’ve received and saved them in a folder on my computer. They serve as fun reminders—or a little pick-me-up—when I’m having a challenging day.

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