15 years in HR. 10 years as a journalist. One mission.
Get hired for how you communicate.
You don’t get hired for your potential.
You get hired for your ability to communicate it.
About Elena
Somewhere right now, a door is closing.
Behind it, a hiring team is deciding who gets the offer. For fifteen years, I was on the other side of that door.
I’ve been part of more than 1,000 hiring decisions for companies like Amazon, AWS, Toast, State Street, Citizens Bank, and OneStudyTeam. I’ve watched polished, perfect-on-paper candidates lose the offer over one sentence they never knew mattered. I’ve watched nervous candidates stumble through every answer and walk out with the job and a signing bonus. I know exactly why each of them won or lost, because I was in the room when it was decided.
Before HR, I spent ten years as a journalist. That’s where I learned that every person has a story worth hearing, and that most people tell theirs badly. Today, I help you tell yours so the right people actually listen.
I serve on the Goodwill Employment Program Advisory Board and speak regularly at Northeastern University and the YMCA employment program, coaching job seekers to land the job of their dreams. But my favorite work happens one person at a time, when someone who’s been hearing “no” finally hears “yes.”
When that door closes and they start talking about you, I want you to already know what they’ll say.
My StoryFrom the newsroom to the hiring table
10 years
Journalist
As a journalist, I learned what makes a great story, and how to find the one hiding in every person I interviewed.
15+ years
Executive Recruiter
As an executive recruiter and HR leader, I was part of 1,000+ hiring decisions and saw how they get made.
Now
Career Coach
Now I help people close the gap between how good they are and how good they sound, so they land the offer.
before HR, the newsroomTen years as a journalist
Before I moved into HR, I spent 10 years as a journalist. Interviewing people and telling their stories taught me what a great story feels like: the details that make it real, the sentiment that makes people care, and the timing that keeps them listening.
That’s exactly what interviews need. Not a list of duties, but your story, told in a way that makes you look like the person they want to work with. I teach you how to tell it.
Join the storytelling sessioninside the hiring roomI know how these hiring teams work
I’ve recruited and hired for companies across finance, technology, insurance, and research, including Amazon and AWS. I know what their hiring teams screen for, how their interviews run, and how decisions get made after you leave the room.
a network that opens doorsWhere I serve and speak
My work in the community means a wide network of HR leaders, recruiters, and hiring managers, and I can connect candidates with the right people.
Board Member
Guest Speaker
Guest Speaker
Co-Ambassador
why I careGiving back is part of the work
Twirl for Wishes
A Massachusetts nonprofit that pairs kids facing critical illnesses with professional dancers. Together they learn a routine and perform on stage, raising money for Make-A-Wish.
www.twirlforwishes.orgEvaluation Hero
I also run a nonprofit that gives other nonprofits performance review software for free, so small teams can give their people real feedback and growth without the enterprise price tag.
On the ballroom floor
I compete in ballroom dance, including the Yankee Classic and the Commonwealth Classic. It taught me what I now teach my clients: confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s practiced, one step at a time.
I’m a Catalyst. What’s your archetype?
Take my free 2-minute assessment and discover how you work best, where you thrive, and your blind spot.
Find my archetype