Meet Marina

I didn’t start in tech.

My first job in the U.S. was on the fry station at Wendy’s, learning how to move fast, stay calm under pressure, and communicate with a busy team in the middle of a dinner rush.

After a decade in hospitality, I moved into recruiting, first at a startup, then at an agency, and eventually into Big Tech.

My first Google interview? I failed.

The issue wasn’t my experience, it was how I talked about it. I listed tasks instead of telling stories. I focused on responsibilities instead of outcomes.

Once I learned to tell the story behind my work, everything changed. I passed the second interview and went on to recruit at Google and Meta, partnering with engineering leaders on roles across levels and product areas.

After thousands of interviews, I noticed something consistent: strong engineers don’t struggle with the work, they struggle with communicating their impact. They downplay ownership, skip context, or assume their contributions are "obvious" when they’re anything but.