On a Mission to change Perception towards HR Industry says Shankar Shahi, Talent Acquisition Specialist

I had the pleasure of interviewing Shankar Shahi who is a Talent Acquisition Specialist (Core Talent Services) who helps organizations shape their future with astute hiring. He unites innovative talent with the best available opportunities at the speed of thought! With 6+ years as a Technical Recruiter, he has successfully onboarded 750+ best-fit talents. Being a passionate HR professional with a mission to drive better work cultures and create more meaningful candidate experiences, he grooms talents and helps organizations reach their maximum potential.

Shankar comes with significant experience working in Strategic Planning, Employee Development, Recruitment (Lateral and campus Hiring), stakeholder management, and Process Improvement Process which is account and domain-specific and includes both Project Specific Hiring and Bulk Hiring. A strong background in IT Recruitment with a Product and Service based Organization that works in multiple domains has helped him carry a multi-pronged approach to any hiring problem statement.

Thank you so much for joining us! 

What excites you about the technical hiring you do?

Shankar: We have heard about Earn While You Learn during college days for a part-time job. Technical Hiring is all about Learn while you Earn in a Full Time Job. It’s a field that gives you an opportunity to understand about firms that are hiring at various levels, growing in the market, and those that are competing to grow their business, and in turn to have this process running. “HIRING” for the Best Fit Talent is what excites me the most.

We act as Real-Time Talent Advisors in this whole process during the journey of the Company expanding and Employing Resources at Various levels. Technical hiring is one of the most important verticals in the Human Resource Industry as this gives you an opportunity to witness new challenges on a day-to-day basis. It makes sure that you bring out the best Version of Yourself while providing Solutions to these challenges.

After recruiting techies, how do you like to spend your free time? 

Shankar: My free time also involves things related to Hiring. I connect with new people in the IT industry and discuss the things happening in the Tech world and various firms adding to it. I am a Human Resource Professional by Passion and profession and a writer by Heart. I turn into a chef and a solo rider on weekends. I am a shopaholic and a big-time Foodie.

When it comes to tech hiring, what is the one thing that frustrates you or your team?

Shankar: I would say there are two things that frustrate me and my team the most:

• The absence of appropriate content in resumes.
• The right amount of clarity that candidates lack when they decide on looking out for a job search and in turn wasting a lot of their time and the resources involved.

In light of the economic downturn and the pandemic, what are some of the major hurdles you have faced and how are you tackling those hurdles to find the right fit?

Shankar: The major hurdles that I have faced are:

• Proxy Candidates

1. 1. 1. Post-pandemic, all our interview rounds have been updated to virtual.
      2. The number of proxy candidates in virtual interviews has increased dramatically.
      3. Pre-interview demo checks and mandatory switching on of videos during interviews.
      4. Thorough checks with candidates before the interview process.

• Moonlighting

1. 1. 1. This has impacted the business and has caused Infant Attrition due to the wrong set of candidates joining in.
      2. We have made sure these candidates go through a thorough process of BGV.
      3. The business has supported us in monitoring the progress of new joiners in the initial days just to make sure they are fully available during working hours and there is no sign of any additional work that they do.

• No Show during the interviews

1. 1. 1. We have intimated to candidates that it’s difficult to reschedule their interviews more than once and their candidature would be dropped irrespective of their interest levels.
      2. We have done follow-up calls on the day of the interview just to avoid unexpected reasons from candidates like,’ forgot about the interview, don’t have meeting invite ‘ and so on.
      3. A detailed JD and due diligence screening call is done to explain to the candidates about the Job Profile we are hiring for and what is expected out of them.

In your experience, how has technology changed the TA process, especially the role of tech in evaluating a candidate’s technical skills?

Shankar: Technology has made the hiring process easier and more efficient with the ability to utilize pre-hire assessment tools to evaluate candidates. The emergence of skills assessment platforms like TurboHire, Interview Mocha, Naukri RMS, and many more have changed hiring by removing some bias from the hiring process. 

This can help to improve diversity and create equal opportunities in your place of work. Applicants are given the chance to be selected based on merit, not on other factors.

The introduction and adoption of AI in the hiring process have transformed how recruiters spend their time. Incorporating AIML-driven tools to help recruiters with the mundane tasks of recruiting allows them to focus more on the human element and strategy which is often lost. Whether it be scheduling multiple interviews, providing candidate touchpoints, or onboarding, AI has the potential to continuously evolve your hiring process to become more efficient.

What challenges do you foresee in technical recruiting in the future, and can you also talk about the respective technology that would solve the same?

Shankar: As mentioned above, with the addition of Technology into the overall Recruitment process, I see the Human Touch is getting lost eventually. With all the AI getting incorporated, the interaction of a recruiter with the candidate is going to be very limited.

There might be no right technology that would solve this, but individual Recruiters must take the initiative and make sure that the candidate is also given that Personal touch apart from the system-generated emails bombarding them all the time. A recruiter must make sure that even if technology is in place, he/she acts as the 1st POC for the candidates and is their go-to person in case of the smallest query.

If you had to share, “words of wisdom,” with a tech recruiter who’s about to start their journey in tech recruitment, what would they be?

Shankar: Yes, for anyone willing to start their tremendous journey to be a Tech Recruiter, and just follow this set of W’s:

• For yourself:
  Why – Why do you want to be an HR Professional? What – What made you think that the HR industry is the right industry for you? Who – Who do you look up to in the HR industry that might have motivated you for this field?
• For connecting with candidates:

          Why – Why do you think you are looking for a change?

          What – What are your expectations from the new role?

          Where – Where do you see yourself in the next 2 years once you switch your current job?

The most important thing is to Communicate on time and you will be the HR that candidates will look for.

Be a HUMAN resource professional, not a Human Resource Professional.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Shankar: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shankar-tag-r/

Personal Handles:

• https://instagram.com/broken_but_bold?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= 
• https://www.facebook.com/shankar.shahi.7
  

Thank you, Shankar, for shedding light on the nuances of tech hiring and inspiring the next wave of HR professionals. Your dedication to refining the HR landscape and fostering meaningful candidate interactions is truly commendable. Here’s to driving innovation and human touch in tandem!