Last Tuesday I celebrated my one-year anniversary at Redfin. I even got flowers!
Looking back, though, my love story with Redfin actually began more than two years ago. I received a call from a Redfin recruiter on Feb. 14, 2012, regarding a computer science internship. It seems appropriate that my relationship with a company I have grown to love started on Valentine’s Day.
While Redfin took the time to get to know me through interviews, I took the time to get to know Redfin. My background in college had been in Human Computer Interaction, which is the study, planning and design of the interaction between humans and computers. I loved it, but I didn’t realize I’d be able to apply it outside of the research community until talking to Redfin. At Redfin, I could use technology to reinvent the largest (and often most stressful and emotional) financial decision most people have to make: buying and selling a home.
That realization made Redfin more appealing than other companies. As a product manager at Redfin, I could make real estate easy, transparent and delightful for anyone using our products and working with our agents.
Even though I was an intern, Redfin never shied away from giving me real responsibility, which in turn gave me power to make a difference. With guidance from my team, I worked on the beta version of Redfin Collections, a feature that enables people to collect photos of homes for sale on Redfin. I remember once at a Redfin hackathon that Glenn told an audience of engineers “I can’t believe I’m trusting a 21-year-old with Collections.” Well, Glenn, neither could I, but I’m glad you did. In just 12 weeks, I got a taste for the impact I could have at Redfin. When I was offered a full-time position at the end of my internship, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be back the following year.
There was one other component that made my decision even easier: the people. After talking to college friends, I have learned that I often take for granted all of the smart, diverse people I work with day to day. I have mentors, best friends and role models I aspire to be like in 20 years. That’s pretty unique, and amazing.
As an added bonus, Redfinnians are also always down for adventures outside of work, like Joshua Tree National Park, Iceland, karaoke and hiking, to name a few (pics or it didn’t happen)….
It’s been a busy year at Redfin as a full-time product manager. Much like my internship, I’ve been busy trying to make real estate easier for our customers. I’ve even begun mentoring interns: people just like me two years ago, just as eager and excited to see what impact they can have on our customers and real estate.
About Kelsey Tempel
Kelsey is a product manager at Redfin on the Re-Engagement team based out of Seattle. Before Redfin, she worked in the Wellesley College Computer Interaction Lab where she was busy reinventing data collection in the science labs on campus. Outside of work, Kelsey enjoys traveling, hanging out with friends and volunteering with the Washington State Wellesley Club.
This post is part of a series titled “Why I Work at Redfin.” Check out other posts in the series to learn more about what it’s like to work at a growing customer-first real estate brokerage. For more information on Redfin, and to check out open jobs at the company, visit Jobs at Redfin.
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