I pitched Tinder the job I wanted to do — and ended up getting hired full-time

Aug 05, 2026 09:23 PM - 1 month ago 420

Ryan Stewart headshot

Ryan Stewart is simply a marque trading head astatine Tinder. Tinder

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Ryan Stewart, a 28-year-old marque trading head astatine Tinder, based successful Los Angeles. His personality has been confirmed by Business Insider. This portion has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

I started arsenic a design intern astatine Tinder successful the UK successful 2021, and from there, I benignant of weaseled my measurement up. Now I've been pinch the institution for almost 5 years, and I activity retired of the Los Angeles office.

I applied during COVID, erstwhile it was difficult to get immoderate job. So I was sending retired a batch of applications.

I was a very progressive Tinder personification astatine the time, truthful I consciousness for illustration that gave maine an edge. I really knew really it worked, and showing that I had penetration into the merchandise helped.

This is really I turned the occupation into a full-time role:

I was eager to learn

Being based successful the UK gave maine a flimsy advantage because the European squad was smaller and that gave maine much visibility. So I tried to make the astir of that opportunity. I was ace eager to study from the group astir me.

Something unsocial astir Tinder is really un-hierarchical it is. To this day, I consciousness nary nervousness stepping up to the CEO and asking a question. They really attraction astir everyone's opinion, and they're not pretending to cognize much astir Gen Z civilization than anyone else.

The much I was exposed to that, the much it emboldened maine to put successful a one-on-one pinch the elder head of a team, conscionable to learn.

I decidedly felt tense astatine first, but framing those conversations arsenic a learning acquisition — and approaching them pinch curiosity — helped. So, if you can, whether that's a one-off Slack aliases a squad meeting, you should effort to beryllium curious.

I sounded my ain role

During my internship, I made it a priority to inquire questions, get to cognize different departments, study really everything worked, and connection support wherever I could. Over time, that helped maine build spot and get a clearer consciousness of wherever I could make the astir impact.

While I was there, a batch of the teams successful Europe needed designers, and I sewage requests from each complete the continent — successful Spanish, French, and German. At the end of my internship, I was supporting a batch of group successful the region.

It became clear that I was filling an important spread successful the organization. I besides knew that if I near astatine the extremity of my internship, respective initiatives I was supporting would suffer continuity and momentum.

So aft my internship was over, I really put guardant a petition astir what I thought the institution needed, based connected the gaps I saw successful the business. My mindset was that the worst point they could opportunity was "no," and I was already leaving anyway. So, I mightiness arsenic good springiness it a shot. Perhaps a small boldly, I scheduled clip pinch a wide head to coming the role, explicate the business request I had identified, and make the lawsuit for why I should capable it.

The domiciled I primitively sounded was called "creative trading associate." It focused connected processing and executing imaginative concepts crossed Tinder's integer trading and societal channels.

They appreciated the initiative, and it ended up being accepted — truthful that's really I bulldozed my measurement in. Later that month, I was told the headcount had been approved and that they wanted to bring maine connected full-time.

My domiciled has grown significantly. Now I lead immoderate of our largest world marque campaigns and partnerships, collaborating pinch apical imaginative agencies to create strategy, build trading plans, bring campaigns to life, and oversee productions astir the world.

While the position I person coming is rather different from the 1 I initially proposed, it was built connected the aforesaid foundation. Pitching that domiciled created an opportunity for maine to enactment pinch the company, deepen my acquisition crossed trading and imaginative disciplines, and yet turn into broader marque activity responsibilities.