Recruiting Leader @ Zapier | Former Educator | Advocate for job seekers, humanizing recruiting, and making the workplace more equitable for everyone!!

WARNING: There are scam accounts using my name. The only domains I use are "zapier.com" and "bonniedilber.com". If the email comes from any other domain, it's a fraudulent account, please report to your email provider, and to the FTC. https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
If you receive comments referencing me on your posts, these are bots as part of a scam, please report and block those accounts! 

A bit about me: I'm a former educator and dog/toddler mom who is passionate about equity in the workplace. I love to be outdoors except when it's super hot, I'm a foodie who hates cheese, and I like cooking, politics, and travel. I have a full time job managing the GTM/Ops recruiting team at Zapier, and also love creating content on recruiting, workplace culture and trends, and career development. There's a lot of misinformation and I try to combat it as much as I can! 

My goal is to educate and bring transparency to recruiting and hiring processes - I hope my content helps you understand why things play out the way they do. That doesn't mean I always like or agree with the realities of being a part of the working world in 2025, but I think we're all better off when we understand the rules of the game we're playing. 

All opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer! If you'd like to work at Zapier, please apply directly on our jobs page. 

I do not have the capacity to respond to DMs or answer one-off questions but DO answer reader questions and offer free 1:1 chats via my newsletter on beehiiv - your best bet is to submit it there!
You can access all of my resources here: https://linktr.ee/bonniedilber

Bonnie Dilber

If I were looking for a job in 2026, I'd:
- build an agent on Zapier that understands my skills, values, and goals and delivers 10 newly posted roles that are a good match to my inbox every day.
- use Anthropic Claude to review those job descriptions and pull additional company insights to help me shape my application, networking strategy, and interview prep.
- use Lovable to build a portfolio website that shows (not tells, but SHOWS) my achievements, results, testimonials from former colleagues, or even individualized landing pages to make my case for why I'm the right fit for a specific role. 
- use Gamma to build executive-friendly slides for presentation stages.
- use Cursor to prototype a tool that shows my approach to solving problems. 

And there are two reasons I'd do this:

1. I think it would make my job search easier and more efficient then scrolling through 20 job boards every day trying to figure out what to apply for.

2. It would show actual AI fluency - something a lot of companies (at least in tech!) want - in a far more meaningful way than things like: 
- an AI-generated resume 
- copy-pasting AI-generated copy into an application
- reading from an AI assistant in interviews
- saying, "I use chatGPT for everything" in interviews with no meaningful evidence of impact

The bar for AI fluency for non-technical folks like me is evolving.
In 2023, it was, "I have a ChatGPT account."
In 2024, it was, "I use an AI assistant to think through problems. 
In 2025, it was, "I'm using a variety of AI tools in my work." 
And in 2026, it's, "I'm using AI to build solutions that help me deliver stronger results by making me better, faster, and more strategic."

Recruiting Leader @ Zapier | Former Educator | I’m a fan of transparency in recruiting, leveraging AI to make work more efficient and human, and workplaces that work for everyone.

Just some quick reminders that in the US:

1. Employers shouldn't be asking you for your current salary. 

It's illegal in some states. And  even where it's not illegal, it's wrong.
Your previous earnings are irrelevant to your future earnings, and companies should be setting your compensation based on their salary ranges and compensation philosophy, not on what you've earned in the past.

If asked, you could respond with something like, "My current salary isn't relevant, I'm currently interviewing for roles in the $200-230k range, but ultimately I'll consider the total package when making my decision here." 

2. Employers shouldn't ask you to do an unpaid work trial. 

A small project in the interview process or even a few hours of co-working as part of the interview process is fine.

But being asked to do a week long unpaid work trial violates FLSA protections. 
If this is asked of you, you could note, "I'm happy to demonstrate my skills through the interview process, but a week-long unpaid trial isn't something I'm able to commit to. I'd love to find another way to show you what I can do." or even, "Extended unpaid work trials aren't compliant with FLSA protections. I'd be glad to do a paid trial or a shorter skills assessment instead."

3. Required onboarding and training should be compensated.

The FLSA also clearly notes that any sort of training that's mandated for your job should be compensated. 

Of course, this doesn't apply to things that you seek out and choose to attend for your own development. Your employer does not need to pay you if you attend a conference that they did not ask you to attend.  but anything at their request or encouragement should be compensated.

If you're asked to do onboarding before your start date, you could say, "I'm happy to work on this, should we adjust my start date accordingly?" or "I won't have the capacity to work on this until my official start date, but look forward to prioritizing it on day one." 

I genuinely believe that most employers want to do right by their employees  and if they are making these sorts of requests, it probably has more to do with not understanding the policies than it does intentionally causing harm. 

Often these sorts of things happen as a result of an eager but uninformed manager or recruiter vs a company policy to take advantage of workers. So I think you should feel perfectly confident speaking up when there's misalignment - most people will appreciate the redirection.

It doesn't matter if the real reason companies are laying off thousands of people at a time is because AI is increasing productivity or because they over hired or because their shareholders need a short-term win even if it means a long-term loss or because they're about to be acquired or because they simply aren't making enough money to pay everyone.

What matters is that thousands more people find themselves unemployed today.

Here's some advice I will share:
1. Take a beat to be angry and scared and bitter and relieved and whatever other emotions you're feeling.
You have no obligation to write a post thanking your former employer today (or ever), and it's also perfectly great if you want to do so because you had a great run and your last day doesn't erase that, or because you want to play the game as you navigate an unexpected job search.
There is no right or wrong way to respond to traumatic experiences.

2. Don't let the negativity on social media get you down.
There are a small number of loud voices that get disproportionate attention with narratives of doom and gloom.
Often, their poor outcomes are often a result applying for jobs they simply aren't competitive for, submitting high numbers of low quality applications, unrealistic expectations for remote work, etc. 
People who apply for jobs they are extremely well-qualified for, leverage their networks effectively, and manage their expectations around things like location and industry are for the most part doing OK out there. 
I promise - lots of great companies are still hiring great talent every day - Zapier is one of them!!

3. Use this time to upskill with AI.
Y'all the bar is rising rapidly and an advantage those who are currently unemployed have the opportunity to invest in building these skills rapidly. 
Challenge yourself to build real solutions - things you could use you in your role, or that accelerate your job search. 
And share these online. I promise, if you're applying to AI-forward companies, this will be a huge competitive advantage. 

4. Build something on the side.
I firmly believe everyone should have a side business in 2026. 
Job searches often take 6+ months these days, so this gives you a source of income, expands your network, and gives you a way to keep your skills current. 
We're increasingly seeing that employers are no longer loyal to their workforce, and you can be cut loose at any time so we need things to fall back on. 
Those who talk about the future of work are increasingly talking about how workplaces will consist of fewer full-time employees with a rotating group of experts that bring in niche skills as needed. That means more of us need to build the skill of jumping in and quickly adding value, and contract work does that. 
And sometimes, those side businesses or short-term contracts can pave the way to a long-term opportunity. 

Hopefully this helps someone out there, and I'll drop some resources in comments!

There are a wide range of people who can do a job, but often we default to the "usual suspects" - people who enter a field and have a natural upward trajectory. 

Last year, we had a conversation with our sales leadership team around broadening our candidate pool beyond "the usual suspects" - those who had grown up in tech sales. One profile that came up was consultants with strong technical backgrounds. 

The issue is that this is a really hard profile to attract since many of these folks aren't necessarily looking for sales roles. 

So we made a post about this profile as one that could be a great match for sales. And within a few minutes Adrian Obleton saw my post and applied (using my referral link which you'll find in comments cause no gatekeeping over here!)

What stood out: Adrian has several years of consulting experience with exposure to GTM across many companies, he's a founder himself which suggested he'd be comfortable with our current stage where we're still in building mode, and he even studied computer science in undergrad which gave us confidence he could talk the talk with technical buyers. It was clear from our first conversation he could easily build the selling skills as he had everything else we'd want in a strong seller.

Adrian is currently doing a series of blog posts on his transition from consulting into sales (gonna drop that below too!) 

One thing Adrian talks about in his post is how consulting trains you to diagnose problems before jumping to solutions which translates well to discovery in sales, and they typically have strong business acumen since they're navigating complex organizations. But check out his post for more of the transferable skills between consulting and sales!

Couple of takeaways I hope y'all will have from this post:
1. If you're currently hiring, think about other experiences that may have built the skills you need on your team to help you expand your profile. 
2. If you're open to those unique profiles, just put it out in the world with a post like I did - you may just get the perfect applicant!
3. And most importantly, if you're someone who sees some of yourself in Adrian's journey, then check it out and apply for an AE role at Zapier!

M2A Media

• Provides L1 and L2 technical support as part of M2A’s 24/7 ‘Follow the Sun’ coverage model for our global media streaming clients through AWS/Elemental, FreshDesk, JIRA and proprietary software systems.
• Utilizes Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype and other communications platforms to connect with clients and coordinate real-time triage assessments with Operations teammates around the world.
• Oversaw talent evaluation and interviewing of candidates for two Media Operations Support positions with M2A’s new Portland office.
• Performed location scouting/preliminary assessments for M2A’s Portland office and assisted senior management in equipment acquisition and logistics for employee access, safety, etc.
• Recommended cost-effective solutions for improving and sustaining company operations, staffing, and support with emphasis on better serving our clients and exceeding expectations.
• Staff Development via regular 1-1 meetings, training & development and annual appraisals to team members.
• Monitoring & maintaining the security, consistency & availability of all supported client systems & services.
• Identifying faults and issues and recommending appropriate paths to resolution and fixing as
appropriate within agreed SLAs.
• Creation, maintenance and ownership of operational documentation and communication
associated with these processes.
• Contributing positively to the objectives of the Operations team and M2A.

Media Operations Manager

- Constructs, narrates and edits topical video content for YouTube, using both Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro, along with Apple Motion, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Audition.
- Contacts and books guests for first season of "Skull Sessions", an idea-focused, conversational podcast.
- Coordinated recording schedules, performed pre-interview research and created post-production graphics.
- Edits and mixes all audio and video content to guarantee highest production quality.
- Established, maintains and updates RSS feed and YouTube channel so new content is posted under weekly deadline.

Digital Media Creator, Producer, Writer, Editor

Intead - International Education Advantage, LLC

- Created long and short-form topical content for Intead's 'Intelligence Blog' covering global higher education and healthcare
- Worked with CEO and editors to develop topics for content and refine initial/secondary drafts for maximum branding impact.
- Cultivates sources, performs research from trusted educational and healthcare sites, journals, etc. and accurately cites them in all produced content.
- Focused on content that is applicable to educational and healthcare institutions around the world, not just domestically.

B2B Copywriter

WOIO

- Sourced, produced and edited breaking and topical multimedia news packages for one of the country's biggest media markets.
- Wrote 2-10 stories ranging from 250-1,000+ words daily and paired with video content for station's website.
- Daily news content averaged 20,000 - 100,000 individual website hits and consistently ranked in Top 10 among reporters and producers.
- Utilized ENPS, ARC, Media Encoder, CrowdTangle and other applications as part of daily content creation.
- Coordinated with producers, directors and reporters on all breaking and developing news stories.
- Used AWS Elemental to schedule, produce and direct 1-10 OTT/Digital daily news reports for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the station's website.
- Used Canva, Adobe Photoshop and other software to create custom graphics and other elements for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to engage with our target audience and draw in more users.
- Used ChartBeat and other analytical tools to measure web traffic trends, SEO viability, and other key media metrics, then develop strategies to improve efficiency.
- Balanced time management to source, research and complete long and short-form news copy and consistently meet daily and weekly deadlines.
- Helped move WOIO's digital news market ranking from #3 to #2 during 1st quarter of 2022

Assignment Desk Editor/Digital Content Producer

The Incomparable Network

I contribute to The Incomparable Network's series of pop-culture based podcasts. Currently, I am part of the crew behind the "Teevee Podcast", discussing the latest TV shows capturing the attention of popular culture.
- Records, edits and produces content prior to upload with emphasis on quality and maximum audience engagement.
- Organizes and schedules recording sessions with cohosts to coincide with production and release deadlines
- Performs topical research to ensure accuracy and continuity across multiple episodes
- Oversees conversation and discourse to make sure co-hosts stay on topic and recording fits within time constraints

Podcast Host, Researcher, Writer and Contributor

Sun Sentinel Media Group

Remote Copy Editor

Bangor Daily News

- Designed, laid out and edited 2-16 pages for the daily editions of the Bangor Daily News and weekly editions of the Piscataquis Observer and Aroostook Republican.
- Improved production efficiency by outlining need to update protocols for creative and classified departments to coincide with new daily and weekly printing deadlines.
- Proofed and copyedited 5-20 articles daily, following AP style guidelines, to ensure maximum accuracy, clarity and conciseness prior to publication.
- Collaborated with reporters, editors, advertising reps and publishers via Slack and Google to ensure sections are completed within deadline.

Publication Designer/Copy Editor

Major League Baseball

- Utilized radar tracking system to document every pitch for Cleveland Indians home games during 2019 season.
- Edited plays using video 'scrubbing' software to ensure time signatures, player positions and movements are accurately recorded for League office review.
- Collaborated with BTS tracker, video scrubber and T1 technical assistant to ensure maximum efficiency.
- Used Slack to communicate with League office, off-site/remote personnel regarding game changes, technical issues, etc.

Data Operations Specialist

The Telos Alliance

- Provided real-time customer support for all Telos Alliance products.
- Updated company's Equipment Loaning program by improving inventory tracking, availability and financial structure.
- Utilized database ticketing support system (CRM) to process basic parts orders and repairs
- Assisted with copywriting and editing of FAQs, Support Documents and manuals

Client/Technical Support Representative

Boston Herald

- Collaborated with eight-member pagination team to create 1-3 daily editions of the Boston Herald.
- Designed 3-5 tabloid pages per night, under 6-8 hour deadline with goal of maximum readability, creativity and presentation, following AP style.
- Copy edited 5-15 stories per night to ensure accuracy and clarity for all content.
- Constructed engaging headlines, subheads, cutlines and photo captions for all submitted articles.
- Proofed 20-40 designed pages per night to identify and eliminate typos prior to publication.

My full portfolio is available at https://www.devinjhiggins.com
If you would like to schedule an interview or if you'd like more information, feel free to reach me at devinjhiggins@gmail.com.

Struggling to get your company's story out to the right demographics?
Looking to grow your digital audience or media footprint?
Need to evolve your approach to meeting the media demands of the 21st Century?
Want to make your public relations/communications department more efficient?
Need someone who will run through a wall to get the job done, is solution-oriented, creatively versatile and able to consistently meet deadlines?

Then let's talk about how I can help provide those solutions.

Inside everyone trying to achieve something is a story worth telling. I want to help you tell yours.

Who am I?

I'm a veteran multimedia communications creator and editor with a skill set covering print, audio, video and digital formats. Since 2007, my experience spans the full spectrum of informative storytelling including government, crime and law enforcement, business/economics, health care, education, community, real estate, sports, technology, transportation, etc.

What I bring to the table in more than 15 years experience with the following:
- Google Analytics  and HubSpot SEO Certified
- Digital/Multimedia Content Creation
- Branding, Marketing and Content Strategy
- Adobe Creative Suite, Canva and Final Cut Pro
- Microsoft Office (Word/Excel/Powerpoint)
- Copywriting and Copyediting
- Publishing, Layout and Graphic Design
- Interviewing, Fact-Checking and Research  
- Photography/Videography
- WordPress/CMS Web Design and Coding
- Public Speaking, Presentations

What interests me are stories. Stories about people doing what they do to make the world better, to improve communities, to foster better communication and discourse, to bridge the gaps in technology, education, healthcare, and build opportunities between the haves and have-nots. 

My goals are to stay ahead of the curve, enhance my current skill-set and continue to reach my potential, to think outside the box and make the places I work for better without politics, agenda or drama.

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Bonnie Dilber

Devin Higgins

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