TTC AMA: Career Journeys in Talent Acquisition

Firstly, huge thank you to all our members who participated in The Talent Community’s recent Slack-based AMA focused on Career Journeys in Talent Acquisition. This event brought together perspectives from a variety of TTC member’s careers in the industry, providing insights into navigating careers, leadership, and the ever-broadening landscape of talent acquisition. To follow up I thought I’d do my best to summarise what was a busy and fun discussion so we can keep the learning going! 

Panellist introductions and their career journeys so far:

Annie Jackson kicked off the discussion by sharing her career path: beginning in a graduate recruitment agency before transitioning into an in-house Talent Acquisition (TA) role at Qubit. Over the years, she moved through various positions, ultimately becoming the Head of TA at Cleo. Annie highlighted the importance of clear communication about career goals and seizing opportunities as they arise, even when it means pushing beyond your comfort zone.

Gina Godsiff summarised her own journey from agency recruitment to an internal recruitment marketing role at Co-op, where she developed her expertise in employer branding. Her move to Northern further expanded her scope, giving her the opportunity to influence an entire industry. Gina’s experience underscores the value of aligning your career with your passions, which in her case meant combining creativity with recruitment.

Kish Lakhani shared his experience of transitioning from agency work into sourcing, eventually specialising in this area (his sourcing tips continue to blow our minds!). He emphasised the importance of networking with peers and continuously upskilling, particularly in data analysis and talent intelligence, to stay ahead in the field. His career has been shaped by both organic progression and intentional learning, demonstrating how a blend of both play a role in career development.

Asheraf Amhama spoke about his journey from agency tech recruitment to in-house roles, and eventually, to entrepreneurship! After a successful stint as the Head of Talent at a tech scale-up, Asheraf took the leap into founding his own recruiting business. His story is a testament to the importance of resilience, finding your niche, and embracing the challenges that come with significant career shifts.

Laura Herbert, who transitioned from TA roles to becoming a Chief People Officer (CPO), shared her perspective on career growth. She discussed the importance of making lateral moves to broaden your understanding of the HR field, advising that taking ownership of your career, seeking mentorship, and not being afraid to step into roles even when you don’t feel 100% ready are key to advancing into leadership positions.

Stepping Up in Talent Acquisition

When quizzed on progressing into leadership positions, Kish and Annie both highlighted the necessity of being proactive in discussing career goals with your managers. Kish shared how he carved out a new role for himself by presenting a clear strategy and role evolution plan to his manager, while Annie noted that pushing herself forward when opportunities arose was crucial in her progression to a Head of role.

Laura added her insights, explaining that while many candidates may have strong delivery experience, what often sets successful Head of TA candidates apart is their understanding of the full candidate lifecycle, strategic alignment with business goals, and the ability to add value beyond recruitment delivery. She advised creating a learning plan that covers the necessary skills, behaviours, and technical knowledge to progress, and to seek out an external mentor to provide guidance and perspective.

Mentorship and Learning from Mistakes

Mentorship emerged as a recurring theme throughout the AMA with both Kish, Annie, and Asheraf all speaking about the importance of having mentors at different stages of their careers. Whether it’s to embrace feedback, gain new perspectives, or navigate specific challenges, mentorship has played a key role in their professional growth. Annie particularly shared how external mentors helped her shape her career and provided critical guidance during challenging times, while Kish discussed how he personally sought out mentorship to develop specific skills like sourcing and stakeholder management.

The panel also discussed mistakes they’ve learned from along the way - this was a great question and one that we can all resonate with! Kish shared his experience of assuming that being good at his job would naturally make him a good manager, only to realise that management requires a completely different skill set. He emphasised the importance of seeking mentorship and training in management before taking on such roles. Gina echoed the sentiment, noting the importance of being prepared, especially when introducing new concepts like Employer Branding to stakeholders. Annie reflected on the importance of being clear with her team about progression opportunities and taking time to reflect on her own career goals.

Laura shared a powerful example of walking away from a role that wasn’t the right fit early in her career. She emphasised the importance of taking ownership of your own career progression, rather than waiting for opportunities to be handed to you. Her experience taught her that taking accountability for your goals, learning, and overall career direction is critical to achieving long-term success.

Specialisation and Passion

When discussing specialisation, Gina and Kish both mentioned that their careers naturally progressed as they became more specialised in their fields. For Gina, she echoed earlier comments about her passion for the creative side of recruitment that led her to focus on employer branding, and Kish finding his niche in sourcing, where he continues to deepen his expertise. Annie and Asheraf also contributed, highlighting how focusing on leadership recruitment and embracing management roles helped them land more senior positions.

The conversation then turned to how participants have differentiated themselves in their careers. Kish credited networking and staying current with industry trends as key to becoming a subject matter expert, while Asheraf highlighted the importance of prioritising team wellbeing and development. Annie noted that resilience, positivity, and loyalty to her employers were instrumental in her career progression, while Laura stressed the power of delivering on promises and maintaining a strong focus on commercial impact and customer-centric design.

Transitioning into New Roles

In response to a question about transitioning from Talent Acquisition (TA) to Employer Branding (EB), Gina provided valuable advice on how to make this shift. She described her role as wearing two hats: one in Recruitment Marketing, closely aligned with TA, and the other in Employer Branding, which often aligns more with marketing. Gina recommended that those interested in EB should be inquisitive, ask questions, and get involved in creative campaigns, while also gaining a solid understanding of recruitment processes and candidate experiences.

There was the classic recruiting question about how to make a move from agency to in-house roles: Asheraf, Annie, and Kish all offered practical advice. They highlighted the importance of developing strong stakeholder management skills, learning to prioritise workloads based on business needs, and using data effectively to influence decision-making. Annie also suggested gaining experience in building interview processes from scratch, particularly for those looking to join early-stage startups (a top tip for anyone moving from a Corporate to start-up background, too!).

Advice for Aspiring Leaders

With the hour nearly up, one of the last questions asked for advice for aspiring leaders. Asheraf advised hiring based on team needs and skill gaps, rather than trying to find a perfect archetype. Kish highlighted the importance of curiosity, strategy, and specific skills like advanced search techniques and data storytelling. Annie shared her experience of progressing from Lead to Head of, emphasising the importance of stakeholder management, reporting, and demonstrating your value to leadership.

The importance of external resources and upskilling was also discussed. Kish and Gina provided a list of recommended tools and communities for those looking to advance their careers, including sourcing games, SourceCon, and The Employer Brand Space.

Conclusion

Final sentiments from our amazing panellists shared a key takeaway: Gina stressed the importance of aligning your career with your passions; Kish highlighted the role of continuous learning and data in career advancement; Asheraf reminded us of the importance of resilience and finding your niche; Laura emphasised the value of taking ownership of your career; and Annie encouraged being proactive and seizing opportunities.

If this article has got you thinking, you’re welcome to come and discuss once again in our TTC Slack Channel, where you can share your thoughts, ask further questions, and connect with other. 

One final thank you to our incredible panellists for giving up their time to answer questions and our next AMA is all about RPOs later in August! Stay tuned, and let the TTC team know if you have an idea for a future AMA.