In this instalment of Shortlister Spotlights (a Q&A series to get to know some of our team members) meet Shivani Nair, Talent Consultant from our Mumbai office!
At Shortlist, we love building our team almost as much as we love building yours!
We have some pretty amazing people across our three offices who have a real passion for what they do and for the Shortlist mission.
Read to know more about Shivani’s Shortlist journey.
Tell us about your life at Shortlist.
I joined Shortlist as a Talent Consultant less than a year ago. My life at Shortlist is filled with a lot of exciting and diverse projects. Exploring the unknown and learning something new every day is a must-have for my ideal job profile and my work as a Talent Consultant at Shortlist is exactly that.
I never know what the next consult will bring, whether I’ll be diving into researching taxation to find someone their perfect Finance Controller or Business analyst or exploring luxury goods website designs to looking for a Head of Marketing or my personal favorite, helping non-profits find the most passionate people to fulfill their program needs.
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was little I wanted to be a lawyer because I mistakenly thought that being an advocate meant you could talk as much as you wanted and everyone had to listen to you. 😛This was reinforced by my love of debating and in general articulating my view of the world in a persuasive manner.
What is your professional background, and what were you looking for in your next career step when you found Shortlist?
My educational background is in finance having done my Bachelors and Masters degrees in accountancy and business. However, I was always passionate about educational equity and reform and have been volunteering with non-profits in the education sector all my adult life.
I joined Teach For India as the recruitment lead for Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. After focusing on extensive stakeholder management, candidate management, and brand building for two years I was looking for an opportunity to explore and learn something new. That’s when Shortlist called and I couldn’t pass on an opportunity to explore talent acquisition in-depth in such diverse industries across the country and the globe.
How has your current role impacted you?
My current role has reignited my passion for learning and exploring diverse viewpoints as each role brings with it a different industry to research, a different skillset to explore and a different talent pool to understand.
Each client also introduces me to a different work culture and hiring process. Additionally, getting to speak with and understand the thought process of different industry leaders has opened my eyes to how different hiring and talent management processes work and how it’s something that I would actually want to understand a whole lot more.
Tell us about a candidate that inspired you.
My first few roles were mostly with non-profits. Many of the candidates I spoke to were even at the cost of taking a significant pay cut looking to shift into a more impactful role as they wanted to use their skills to add value to the society. That coupled with their humility and the fact that many of my candidates looked for challenging work, not just comfortable positions has been a major and constant source of inspiration for me.
What’s your professional superpower?
Calling it a superpower feels like a stretch, but I think my love for connecting with people and genuine interest in figuring out each person’s story is a huge advantage in a job that is so reliant on building strong client and candidate relations.
What’s your favourite Shortlist memory?
Midnight cycling adventure with team
Every successful hire.
I love the feeling of being instrumental in changing someone’s life in some way or helping an organization fill a role that was vital to them. The midnight cycling adventure we went on as a team is one of my favorite memories in Mumbai.
What are three words or phrases you would use to describe Team Shortlist?
Fun. Highly motivated. Diverse.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Anything that involves exposure to trees, ocean views, or sunsets, usually involving long walks. Reading novels. Exploring new and foreign cultures through food and cinema often obsessing over their language. Currently obsessed with learning Korean.
What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to?
Currently re-reading one of my favourite authors- Michael Crichton’s Sphere as I’m surrounded by books from my childhood being stuck at my parent’s place during the lockdown.
Why is the Shortlist mission important to you?
Employability is closely connected with educational reform, and both areas are close to my heart. The amount of wasted potential in our country is ridiculous and while a number of factors come into play, a flawed hiring and selection process contributes significantly to it.
The way Shortlist approaches hiring is a much-needed intervention for the recruitment space in India. Though it doesn’t always seem evident or even implementable with 100% of our clients I see Shortlist recruiters try to encourage a more skill-based, unbiased, and empathetic hiring practice on a daily basis. Hopefully one day we will be working much more directly on this vision.
How is Shortlist different from other companies?
I think what truly sets us apart is the combination of expertise and empathy with which we operate with our clients and candidates.
We like to give (virtual) high fives to recognize our team members when they do something awesome. Now is your chance to make a public high five to a fellow Shortlister:
Team Hustlers
High fives to :
• The hustlers – my team! I’m grateful every day for the opportunity to meet, work with, and learn from a team of such distinctly different but identically awesome people.
• A special shout out to our Leadership team for holding everything together when the world seems to be falling apart and retaining not only all of us but their sense of humor as well.
• Our amazing intern Ronak and our fabulous fellows Ahlam and Vaibhavi. Feels like we wouldn’t last a day without them.
Any final words:
As much as I miss our beautiful office, the ceaseless banter, and Friday drinks, I think right now is probably the gladdest I have been that I am a Shortlister. In times of adversity and isolation, this team and organization has shined through and how!
Thank you, Shivani! We’re so glad to hear your experiences on Team Shortlist.
Did reading about Gunjan’s experiences make you want to check out the rest of our squad? Check out the rest of our crew here.
If you would like help building your team, let us help you. Shortlist offers a wide range of recruitment solutions that help companies build great teams.
