Meet Raif, the Hero Behind the Recruiting Efforts that have Built Our Amazing Team

Raif is celebrating two fast-paced years of building the Stride team—here’s a bit about his journey as Stride’s Talent Recruitment Manager.

Raif, you’re a Talent Recruitment Manager here at Stride—tell us a bit about what you do.

For the past two years (and change), I’ve been leading our recruiting efforts and collaborating with our managers and leadership to create an inclusive, scalable, and efficient recruiting process to build high-performing teams here at Stride. 

Daily, I have the pleasure to connect with talented people across a diverse set of industries. I’m often the first person an applicant or candidate interacts with at Stride. I try to provide a transparent and white-glove candidate experience for each and every candidate that’s interested in joining our team.

Where are you from originally?

I like to think that I was born for the world. Hehe. Joke apart, I was born in Birigui, São Paulo and grew up in Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. Then for university, I moved to London, UK, where I attended Regent’s University London, UK. There, I had the opportunity to graduate with a BA in International Business with Management and spend two semesters abroad—in Montreal, Canada, and Lille, France. 

The US has been home since 2014. Before settling in San Francisco, CA, my wife and I had the wonderful opportunity to live in two other great cities in the US—Los Angeles and New York.

What were you doing before you joined Stride?

My career started at a boutique recruiting startup in Los Angeles. I have always been passionate about smaller, mission-driven companies, and that was my first taste of the industry. When I relocated to NY, I had the chance to broaden my experience and work at a large entertainment company, now called Audacy. 

Once back in the Bay Area, I decided to return the focus of my career to startups that were aligned with my values. So, for the past few years, I have been working at Series B or C startups to help define their recruiting needs and grow their teams.

Why did you choose to work at Stride?

I’ve known about Stride since I moved to the US. After my conversations with the team and leadership, I found that Stride’s mission really resonated and aligned well with my own. That is always an important decision factor. Not to mention that everyone that I met during my interview process at Stride, either over the phone or in person at the office (those were pre-COVID times), were fanatic and incredibly welcoming. That made the decision even easier!

What’s the most rewarding part about working at Stride?

There are two things. To have the opportunity to work in something innovative and impactful that can really make a difference to millions of people’s lives—I find that is incredibly meaningful and rewarding. Another thing is to have the opportunity to speak and work daily with extremely talented individuals. You are constantly learning and having the chance to have insightful discussions, and that aggregates value.

What’s your favorite memory at Stride (so far)?

Before going remote due to COVID, one of my favorite memories was our office in San Francisco. The environment, the Lunch & Learns, the team presentations, the demos, the allyship discussions, the meals shared together, and the afternoon coffee discussions. 

After going remote, our recent offsite event is definitely on top of the list. We were able to get a larger portion of Striders together for a few days of team bonding activities and events. Since our team grew this past year, it was memorable to see so many new faces and how excited everyone was.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

Traveling, playing the guitar, playing tennis and baseball (not together—that would be weird. Or not, actually….!)

Favorite food?

Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine, Brazilian (churrasco & traditional dishes), Spanish, French & Italian. But always open to explore outside of the favorites!

What’s your current dream vacation?

There are way too many places that I still dream of visiting. Antarctica, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Arctic Circle, Alaska, Snowboarding in the Alps, Petra, Southeast Asia, to name a few….

Want to work with Raif to help everyone get their own affordable benefits? We’re hiring!