How Strava Hires: Tips from Chief People Officer Michele Bousquet

Whether you’re an employer or job seeker, the hiring process is hard. Shining a spotlight on this problem, we spoke to Strava Chief People Officer Michele Bousquet about her best advice for candidates hoping to stand out, level up, and land their dream health and fitness job.

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Roles at high-growth health and fitness companies are highly competitive. What can candidates do to stand out?

MB: You don’t need to be an athlete to stand out, just authentic. Help us get to know who you are, how you show up as a teammate, and how you support your colleagues and organization.

When getting to know candidates, we want to understand if you are eager to learn, but we also want to understand what we can learn from you. We care most about what people can bring to the Strava team and how they can help strengthen our culture.

What does your company’s hiring process entail?

MB: We are building a team to reflect our community of more than 86 million athletes around the world at all intersections of diversity. We are committed to being antiracist and representation matters on our teams.

There are many different ways to explore opportunities at Strava. Even if your dream role is not currently posted, our talent team is always open to proactive conversations about opportunities at Strava and building relationships with folks interested in joining our team.

We do have a standard hiring process of interviews with the talent team, hiring team, and technical assessments for certain roles. But our recruiting processes are always evolving and we’re committed to flexibility as we build connections with people who could be impactful teammates.

Which credentials matter when assessing applicants?

MB: For us, it’s all about the individual and what they can bring to the table to help strengthen our phenomenal culture.

We are striving to find candidates from all backgrounds and all experiences as we build a team that reflects the diversity of Strava’s global community of over 86 million athletes. You don’t need to be a marathoner to work at Strava, but you do need to be ready to bring your authentic self to the team and strive with us. Your athletic credentials or academic degrees are only one piece of the puzzle.

Succeeding at a startup or fast-growing company is challenging. How do you screen candidates for intangible skills?

MB: We hire from a diverse pipeline because the more diverse we are, the more creative we become.

It’s really important to understand and learn a candidate’s story. We care about how candidates got to where they are now, and a resume is just one component of that story. Taking the time to get to know candidates and building real relationships helps us better assess how a person’s background aligns with our team’s needs.

MB: We’re looking for teammates to bring authenticity and energy to help us tackle big challenges and opportunities in the years ahead.

Applying for a job can be intimidating, but at our core, the team at Strava wants to get to know you. You don’t need to fit some mold or be intimidated from applying at Strava. Even if you don’t check all of the boxes in a job description, you could be a wonderful addition to our team.

Note: This Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity and readability