CECILIA D'COSTA

• Drove measurable business impact as program manager for international engineering hiring, reducing time-to-hire from 52 to 39 days, and achieving a 100% offer acceptance rate for new hires in Israel and the UK.
• Led the build-out of Pendo's inaugural U.S.-based AI team, driving cross-functional collaboration with Total Rewards, Finance, and HR to architect a new compensation band for AI talent.
• Revamped the interview process for global engineering teams, moving from an unscalable system to a repeatable, "evergreen" hiring flow that effectively filled multiple headcounts weekly.
• Designed and delivered interview training for the entire engineering organization, including new processes for technical assessments and presentations to evaluate AI expertise, and cultural fit.
• Utilized a data-driven approach to identify and remove hiring roadblocks, ensuring a high offer acceptance rate, and a more efficient hiring funnel.

• Served as a technical talent expert, delivering full-cycle recruitment for a high volume of technical roles, from candidate sourcing and qualification through offer acceptance.
• Built exceptional hiring manager partnerships by providing strategic advisory on talent availability and technical assessment processes.
• Provided a high-touch candidate experience for every applicant, driving the interview and offer process with proactive communication and consistent partnership.

Key Achievements & Metrics:

• 2023: External Offer Acceptance: 600% above goal | Requisition Closure: 189% above goal.
• 2022: External Offer Acceptance: 105% above goal | Closed 68 requisitions.
• Achieved 100% on both Candidate and Hiring Manager surveys (2021-2023).

Projects & Initiatives:

• Spearheaded the creation of Machine Learning interview prep resources and built a comprehensive ML/AI Interview Question Bank.
• Served as a Hiring Committee Facilitator and DEI Circle Facilitator to advance diversity and inclusion goals.

• Partnered with business stakeholders to define and execute talent acquisition strategies for go-to-market/sales roles that aligned with business objectives.
• Developed and implemented hiring plans to ensure diversity and organizational fit.
• Maintained a highly efficient recruiting process, filling an average of 30 requisitions in 60 days or less.

• Led the full recruitment lifecycle for technical, corporate, sales, and university roles, exceeding hiring goals, and ensuring a seamless candidate experience.
• Collaborated with hiring managers to define job requirements, craft compelling job descriptions, and implement innovative sourcing strategies.
• Streamlined processes, reduced time-to-fill, and increased retention through effective onboarding and development programs.

University Recruitment:

• Developed and executed high-impact programs to attract and hire top talent, including interns, new graduates, and transitioning military personnel.
• Built strong relationships with universities, students, and military personnel, positioning Lenovo as a leading employer.

Special Projects:

• Led and created the Employee Referral Program.
• Managed Glassdoor presence and recruitment event planning.