Celeste Drumhiller’s professional holy trinity is comprised of being Facebook’s technical recruiter, an iSchool alum, and Napa the Golden Retriever’s social media mom-ager. For Drumhiller ‘14, innovation, a passion for doing what you love, and most importantly, an inherent curiosity for figuring out what you don’t love have helped shape her path to success.
The most recent HINDSights speaker reflected on her time at Facebook, the apprehensive transition from university life to professional life, and carving her prime position in the working world.
Celeste Drumhiller ’14 meets with iSchool students at an informational session.
She told students that change is scary – whether you’re a senior in high school moving to college or a senior in college about to pop the university bubble and head out into the real world. Celeste acknowledged that these are major life transitions that every student inevitably faces.
She also discussed how learning industry-specific skills in classes can allow you to feel more prepared entering a new internship or a full-time position, and how her courses at the iSchool contributed towards that.
“I was taking project management course, a database course, and UI/UX courses that each gave me the opportunity to really figure out what exact area I might want to work in,” Drumhiller explained.
While the scariest part for Celeste was figuring out exactly what she wanted to do, these courses led her to the more important realization that she wanted to avoid working in a hands-on technical position. This ultimately led her to pursue a career with Talener in technical recruiting.
Celeste Drumhiller ’14 (left) tables in Hinds Hall to meet with students one-on-one.
For those experiencing similar qualms regarding the more technical career route, Celeste expanded upon the technical recruiting sector. “You’re essentially the middle-man between the employer and the candidate. If an employer doesn’t have enough resources to fill a role, they may hire an agency to fill it.” While Talener was a smaller company, they operated at a high volume that set Celeste up for success with a more rigorous career with Facebook, she noted.
Celeste brings “doing what you love” to the next level. She discusses a recent conversation l with her mother where she said, “I don’t know how I’d ever work anywhere else.” Drumhiller’s plans involve climbing the ranks within Facebook. Even so, she stresses the importance of remaining flexible when looking to move up within a company, and says she plans to embrace a very open-minded approach to doing so.
Celeste’s willingness to strive towards success through different paths has brought her to slightly different, yet equally successful ventures. On top of the passion and dedication she devotes towards her position at Facebook, she also dedicates time and focus for Napa, her Instagram-famous Golden Retriever. Napa’s fame came about organically, as Celeste was simply sharing lovable content of her dog with the Instagram world. Both Celeste and Napa’s success share a similar theme: figuring out what you love, finding your niche, and pursuing it.
