Name: Angie Verros
Check it out: Angie’s awesome sourcing consulting company, Vaia Talent!
What do you do, and what is your favorite part of your job?
I run a sourcing consulting company. I love helping companies scale!
How did you get started in recruiting/ talent acquisition?
I am a stockbroker turned recruiter. I had a difficult time finding a job after Sept 11. After numerous attempts to help me stay in the financial sector, my recruiter said to me, ‘why don’t you just become a recruiter?’ The rest is history!
What are you most looking forward to as a judge?
Learning more from peers.
What’s a notable trend in recruiting that you’re seeing lately?
I’m hearing a lot about blockchain. Interested in seeing where that will go.
What’s your favorite museum?
Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago
Name: Katerina Kibben
Check it out: The Recruitment Marketing Library is a series of searchable data, images and downloads to help recruiting teams build better recruitment marketing strategy.
What do you do, and what is your favorite part of your job?
I help talent leaders translate their employee’s stories into recruitment marketing strategies that attract the right candidates. My favorite part of my job is listening to how much people love their jobs and digging into that data to write creative programs that work.
How did you get started in recruiting/ talent acquisition?
I was the first social media ninja (yes, ninja. I have the business card to prove it) at Monster.com.
What are you most looking forward to as a judge?
Reading new content and thinkers in the space.
What’s a notable trend in recruiting that you’re seeing lately?
Diversity technology is translating all the talk into action by using AI to study indicators and recommend action. I’m looking forward to the tremendous impact that technology could make.
What’s an interesting book that you’ve read recently?
Callings by StoryCorp. It’s a book of stories about people who love their work. If you need a reminder about why you do recruiting, this is it.
Name: Gaurav Valani
Check it out: Follow Gaurav on Twitter @GauravValani.
What do you do, and what is your favorite part of your job?
Gaurav Valani is an Advisor, Executive, Entrepreneur, and Professional Speaker. Gaurav is responsible for leading a robust talent acquisition and HR team tasked to help Overstock.com and its subsidiaries build and implement strategic global recruiting and human resource initiatives which will help them attract, retain and empower the best talent in the marketplace. Gaurav oversees strategic and tactical responsibilities supporting over 2,000 employees. He also plays a consultative role advising senior business leaders on potential HR contributions, recruiting solutions, implications and risks of proposed business initiatives. In addition to his “day job” Gaurav serves as an Advisor for several start-ups.
How did you get started in recruiting/ talent acquisition?
Same as most people in our industry – by accident. I was working with a Head Hunter when I first started and he suggested that I try out his job. I did, and the rest is history. =)
What are you most looking forward to as a judge?
Hearing the fresh and innovative ideas of my peers.
What’s a notable trend in recruiting that you’re seeing lately?
I’ve recently started to see several startups that remove the recruiter out of recruiting and leave it up to AI, and billed as a SaaS play. I think it’s interesting and has potential to disrupt the staffing industry. I’m excited to see what comes of this.
What’s an interesting book that you’ve read recently?
Sapiens and ‘the ONE thing’