Trust in Tech, Episode 8: Hiring and growing trust & safety teams at small companies

Welcome to the Trust in Tech podcast, a project by the Integrity Institute — a community driven think tank which advances the theory and practice of protecting the social internet, powered by our community of integrity professionals.

In this episode, two Trust & Safety leaders discuss what it’s really like to build teams at small companies. We discuss the pros and cons of working at a small company, what hiring managers look for, how small teams are structured, and career growth opportunities.

Alice Hunsberger, VP CX, Grindr interviews Colleen Mearn, who currently leads Trust & Safety at Clubhouse. Previously she was the Global Vertical Lead at YouTube for Harmful and Dangerous policies. In both of these roles, Colleen has loved figuring out how to scale global policies and building high-performing teams.

Timestamps:
0:30 - Intro/ Colleen’s background
2:30 - Tech policy jobs
5:26 - Downsides of Big Tech
6:30- Collaborating cross-functionally, working with product teams
9:45 - Building teams at small companies
12:30 - Types of people who succeed at small companies
16:00 - Career growth
17:00 - Growing a team, which roles to prioritize
20:45 - The hiring process at small companies
23:15- What hiring managers at small companies look for
24:45 - Cover letter controversy
27:20 - Pivoting to Trust and Safety mid-career, vs. starting as a content moderator
34:30 - Outro

Listen here! Or listen on Apple Podcasts // Spotify

Trust in Tech is hosted by Alice Hunsberger, and produced by Talha Baig.

Edited by Alice Hunsberger.

Music by Zhao Shen. 

Special thanks to Sahar Massachi, Cass Marketos, Rachel Fagen and Sean Wang.