Shortlister Spotlight: Veronica,Instructional Designer- Assessments

Veronica Lalwani, Instructional Designer- Assessments

Shortlister Spotlight: Veronica,Instructional Designer- Assessments

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In this instalment of Shortlister Spotlights (a Q&A series to get to know some of our team members) meet Veronica, Instructional Designer, Assessments 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.

The girl who drives an orange car, loves reading and writing in her spare time, Veronica works on all things assessments that candidates take on Shortlist platform. 

Read to know more about Veronica’s journey.

So Veronica, tell us about your life at Shortlist.

I am an instructional designer for assessments at Shortlist. In my role, I create skill-based assessments, collaborate with domain experts who create questions for Shortlist and I ensure all those questions are available in our online library. Think of me as a friendly online librarian who is a lot of fun to talk to! 😁

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Well, I wanted to be a doctor, but along the way, I figured I couldn’t sign up for all that studying! So I chose to study business management instead. In hindsight, it only makes sense because I come from a family that eats, sleeps, and breathes business. This also explains why I love working in a startup and my in-built sense of accountability.

What is your professional background, and what were you looking for in your next career step when you found Shortlist?

I have a professional background in training delivery, training content creation, and developing and reviewing e-learning modules. I was looking for a new challenge in instructional design when I chanced upon this niche of skill-based assessments at Shortlist. I have a bachelor’s degree in management studies (BMS), and I also have a master’s degree in management (MMS or the equivalent of an MBA) with a specialisation in HR. Interestingly, I had no prior experience in recruitment before I joined Shortlist, but learning on-the-job has opened up a whole new world for me.

Veronica, Instructional designer assessments with some team members

How has your current role impacted you?

It has made me realise the importance of gathering candidate data beyond the CV. Most of us may not be great resume writers, and if the next hiring decision is based only on the CV, that won’t be as fair as it can be. My role exposes me to different job descriptions across organizations and enables me to design assessments for relevant competencies for that job. I’m grateful that I get to work with a custom-built product like Chaplin, which is the internal Shortlist assessments online library. I am the woman behind a few hundred of those questions that are used in our jobs.

What’s your professional superpower?

I have a keen eye for detail. I am nimble with using any kind of technology and love building valuable relationships along the way.

What’s your favourite Shortlist memory?

The India staff retreat (May 2019) and the pop quiz that Aratrika (our awesome HR manager) organized on Republic day in Jan 2019.

Veronica on acing the pop quiz

Right after the pop quiz

What are three words or phrases you would use to describe Team Shortlist?

Competitive. Driven. Accountable.

What’s your favourite Shortlist value? (Learn more about our values here!)

My favourite Shortlist value is ‘Own it’, and the aspects that resonate the most include ‘Be your best, even when no one is looking.’ and ‘See the needful and do it.’ I strive to bring my best self to work every day and attempt at creating some assessment magic (of course there’s science involved!).

What do you like to do outside of work?

The girl with the orange car

I enjoy reading, writing, spending time with my loved ones, and going to the movies, and I enjoy seeing people’s mixed reactions to my orange car. (Not necessarily in that order!) and how can I forget good ol’ retail therapy 😉

What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to?

Reading – ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ by Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym for J.K. Rowling – one of my favourite authors over the years)

Watching – The movie ‘Klaus’ on Netflix and endless reruns of Harry Potter movies and The Princess Diaries

Listening (to the audiobook)  – ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear

Why is the Shortlist mission important to you?

My work enables me to give job seekers a chance to demonstrate their potential for the job they are applying for beyond the CV. My work also empowers employers to take a more informed decision while building great teams.

We like to give (virtual) high fives to recognise our team members when they do something awesome. Now is your chance to make a public high five to a fellow Shortlister:

Work friends

Great minds twinning together

Huge hi-five to everyone in the tech team, which builds our amazing product and a special shout out to Niranjan and Venkat who are always very helpful and super-responsive to my tech requests on Chaplin. Another high-five to the operations team who keep me on my toes to keep the question library organized in the best possible way. A big shout-out to Lotika and Mridvika who continue to bring our awesome clients on board (you go girls!) and last but definitely not the least, a big high-five to the leadership team at Shortlist for building a fabulous work culture that makes Shortlist unique.

Any final words?

Shortlist has been the turning point in my career. I have observed the same for many of my colleagues and candidates that we’ve placed. I hope we continue to build our dream team and also keep getting better at helping our employers build their dream teams.

Thank you, Veronica! We’re so glad to hear your experiences on Team Shortlist.

Did reading about Veronica’s experiences make you want to join our squad? Check out the rest of our crew here.

We’re hiring…Follow this link and stay up to date on job openings! We have more openings at Shortlist.

Apply today –  we’re excited to hear from you.

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.