Career Journeys in Talent Acquisition: Zeinab Gamal

Thanks for reading! This series is designed to shine a spotlight on Talent Acquisition professionals and highlight their career journeys and learnings so far. Today, we're joined by Zeinab Gamal. If you'd like to be next, please reach out to a TTC Community Manager.

Introduce yourself in one sentence:

This is Zeinab Gamal, a Talent Acquisition Specialist with 2 years of experience in scaling teams across technical, commercial (marketing & sales), engineering, customer services functions, driving the business growth.

Can you walk us through the key milestones in your career in the talent acquisition space? What were some pivotal moments or decisions that shaped your journey?

My pivotal moments that really shaped my journey were shifting from non-tech to tech recruiting, and moving from a small early stage startup to a fast-paced scale up, where I have to wear many hats from sourcing all the way to the offer stage, run against the clock, juggle multiple things at once, and most importantly adapt on the fly to the craziness of the hiring market.

For example, technical candidates often have multiple offers and high expectations around flexibility and packages, which makes timing and strategy critical. I consider this experience like a boom, it definitely flipped my perspective on recruitment, made me focus on the important pillars of the process, enhanced my metrics over time, and saw recruitment less as a transaction and more as a partnership. Bottom line, it significantly shaped my approach to the TA process.

In this rapidly evolving industry, what strategies or practices have you adopted to continuously enhance your skills and stay ahead of the curve? Do you have any resources or learning methods you'd recommend to others?

In today’s competitive and volatile market, I always try to keep up with the latest trends in TA field by joining TA/HR people communities to exchange insights and learn more attractive and effective approaches to speed up the process, as well as enhancing the candidate experience which reflects on the employer branding, reading blogs specifically those focused on technical recruiting, moreover staying updated on the AI & sourcing tools as everything is evolving with the advancement of technology. And nowadays we have multiple ways to source candidates worldwide which is so essential to stay ahead, and leverage those tools, reduce the time to fill, and attract the top-notch ones, however, it’s not sufficient because the market is becoming more challenging day by day, so we need to stay on top of market change, remain proactive and most importantly adapt quickly to change.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your career in talent acquisition, especially when you were actively seeking work? How did you overcome it, and what advice would you offer to others facing similar hurdles?

The most challenging part of the hiring process has always been the hiring managers’ expectations, the slowness of making decisions, and choosing the right candidate for the role. One issue I used to face regularly is the acceptance rate, because the majority of candidates withdrew their applications either due to the length of the process or because they have already landed another offer. To tackle this kind of problem, I always start my process with a kick-off call to make sure we’re on the same page, their expectations are realistic, and I maintain healthy communication to provide them with the market landscape if we have issues with budget or something.

I also give the candidates a heads-up that they’re on the shortlist, so they don’t lose their drive. On the other hand, this taught me two things during my job-hunting journey. First, rejection is redirection, and sometimes it has nothing to do with my skills, but they might have chosen someone who met their needs more than me. Second, silence is not a sign of rejection and my advice would be to never get your hopes up too high or stop pursuing other opportunities.

The recruiting world can be fast-paced and demanding. How do you strike a balance between your professional commitments and personal life? Are there specific routines or rituals you follow?

Since the recruiting world is fast paced and I’m the kind of person who values work-life balance, I always try to stick to a time management style so I can get my work done properly and even ahead of schedule. It goes without saying that health comes above all else, so I need to recharge my battery, otherwise it affects everything I do. Honestly, I don’t have a specific ritual that fits all, but I make sure to keep small moments for myself to stay energised and focused.

As someone involved in talent acquisition, you've likely witnessed various technology and trend shifts. Which technologies or trends do you believe have had the most significant impact on the industry, and how have they influenced your role?

Indeed, there have been many technological shifts, and the market has changed a lot. We’ve been using some technologies and new trends that have really facilitated the process, changed the way we work, and saved time and effort for other important things that impact both employer branding and the TA process, like improving candidate relationships, strengthening employer reputation, enhancing the interview experience, and speeding up offer acceptance, to name a few. I’m talking about ATS platforms, AI sourcing and screening, and scheduling tools that really streamline the process, and needless to say, they’re indispensable

For those entering the talent acquisition space or those looking to pivot within it, what's the one piece of practical advice you'd give to help them thrive, especially if they are actively job-seeking?

It’s a matter of time, everything takes time, so landing a job does too. Embrace your failures and learn from them, hop into events, grow your network and professional connections, because it’s definitely something that can open up many doors for you.