A Human Perspective

On this episode, I'm joined by a couple of close and long-time friends, Mala and Kemi. We chop it up as we normally would whenever we meet up... but maybe a little calmer!

We discuss our thoughts on Imposter Syndrome. What it means to us. How it shows up in our professional lives. How we manage the related feelings. The factors that may create the feeling in the first place, and so on.

This is an open and honest conversation between three professional women and dear friends.

This year has seen around a quarter of a million people being laid off in the Tech space alone. I’ve said this before, I don’t see this trend coming to an end any time soon. I talk more specifically about layoffs in a previous episode, ‘When the Bubble Bursts: The Layoffs of 2022’. You can find out more there about my opinion on these layoffs, what is happening, etc.

In this particular episode, I focus more on the people being impacted by these layoffs. This is particularly rough ride for them. Not only are you having to come to terms with being made redundant but because this is now so common, you have company… and yeah, there may be some comfort in that but… you have a lot of company.

If you’re in this position, this episode is for you.

Some people feel bias is unconscious or simply another term for decision-making. In this episode we discuss the concept of unconscious bias and my thoughts on the topic as a whole.

Off the back of Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK ending, In this episode, I share some musings on the link between mental health and social media.

For the past couple of years I have been sharing my lessons from the previous year.

Last year was a little different. I experienced a lot of drastic changes, I stood up for myself in ways I hadn’t for some time, I took chances and I remembered some truths I’ve always known but buried. But I didn’t get the chance to properly reflect until the end of the year… and to be completely honest, I’m still reflecting now.

In last week’s episode, I provided an insight into a Recruiter’s role, with a focus on some of the work Recruiters do with internal stakeholders. This week is the second instalment focussing on the work Recruiters do with candidates.

After the initial interaction with the hiring manager and other key internal stakeholders, the Recruiter would normally have an understanding of the role, have the job description, know the interview process, have developed the job description into an engaging job advert and posted it on relevant job boards. Now, applications have started to roll in...

I started off my career as a Recruiter and still dabble in recruitment from time-to-time. If you’re to go by the many the negative comments on LinkedIn, Recruiters often get a bad wrap. Yes, there are some awful Recruiters out there but that doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing people too.

This is the first of duo episodes. In this first portion, we will discuss the work Recruiters do with internal stakeholders. The second part, next week’s episode will focus on the work Recruiters do with candidates.

I received a LinkedIn message from someone asking for advice a couple of weeks back, and I am yet to respond. I nearly responded, but not to answer the call for advice, but to give advice on how to approach people on LinkedIn. This episode is for that person, and anyone else who may need guidance on how to approach people on LinkedIn.

If you’ve never approached someone on LinkedIn before it can be daunting! How do you even start?

This episode is a follow-up to an episode released a few weeks back called, 'Saying No at Work: Workload Edition'. In this previous episode, we discussed the common occurrence of being overloaded at work, and how to push back or find ways around it.

However, let's face it, saying “No” is easier said than done. In this episode, we dive into this a little further.

With more companies choosing remote working or at a minimum following a hybrid model than ever seen before, we are navigating uncharted waters en masse. Trying to understand what works and how to work in this new space, whilst considering the realities of juggling and prioritising personal lives and wellbeing.

One of the more tricky and also most important parts of working remotely effectively is the ability to build good relationships professionally and personally - both inside and outside of your team.

We're seeing an increasing number of companies in the start-up / scale-up tech space making people redundant this year. LinkedIn is littered with posts of people announcing they have been made redundant. Even companies like Netflix, that had massive wins during the pandemic are letting people go. In this episode I touch on some reasons why this may be happening.... now.

Ask most females who they first admired and emulated when they were very young, too many will tell you Cinderella... and I’m one of them.

This expectation of women to have a feather-like personality is planted so deeply, most are unaware of it, but it’s there and it’s impacting the way women are perceived and navigate the workplace.

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I am conscious I am approaching this topic discussing traditional gender roles and relationships. This is not to negate the experiences of others but to kickstart an important conversation. I also don’t want to assume I know or understand what those who don’t fit these norms experience. Please forgive me for any ignorance I may display, and do let me know if I could have approached this in a better way. I’m always open to feedback and learning.

Last week I shared tips for candidates attending remote interviews. This week we wrap up with advice for hiring managers.

Though easier to schedule in, remote interviews can be so difficult because you lose so much context when not sitting in the same room. It’s harder to connect or build rapport and people are harder to read. Their background setting may disrupt and influence your thoughts about them, the camera angle of the call may be off-putting... you’re now judging so many new factors we simply didn’t need to consider before.

This is where having a clear and solid interview process comes in.

I’ve been actively recruiting again recently and noticed interviews are becoming easier to attend yet more difficult to navigate and judge. Not meeting face-to-face physically can mean you don’t get a good grasp of a person or company, and this can lead to mistakes being made on both sides, including a company hiring the wrong person due to not qualifying their skills correctly or communicating the responsibilities effectively or a candidate taking on a role, then joining and realising the culture is toxic or doesn’t align with their values. Sometimes the hiring manager is behaving too lackadaisical on the call, putting off the candidate... other times the candidate hasn’t paid attention to their surroundings and they’re not presenting themselves best on camera.

To help all involved, I’ve put together some tips to help both candidates and hiring managers better interview remotely.

This week, we kick off with advice for candidates.

It's been a while, but I'm back! 😊

I’ve been pondering this topic for some time. Starting and stopping and starting from scratch over and over again. You see, the topic of of accents and English speaking ability is onion-layered but I do feel this is a very important conversation to have. I've tried my best to hit the areas I feel are particularly important.

When you hear someone with an accent, what judgements do you make?

The nature of resignations is changing. Where there was once a high probability of someone being convinced to stay, people are much more sure about wanting to leave and move on. With that, managers need to be much thoughtful and proactive about how they handle the exit of leavers. I’ve put together some tips inspired from my own learnings to help managers navigate this inevitable experience more effectively.

On this episode, I discuss the differences between large company culture vs small company culture with Keisha Akinwunmi, Talent Mobility Program Manager EMEA at Netflix.

This conversation evolved into a sneak peak of what life is like inside Netflix and why the company is so successful.

The concept of Freedom & Responsibility is easier said than done, but I believe Keisha has shared some key steps to reaching this Utopia.

In a previous podcast episode with Stijn Smet called Pride & Prejudice, he introduced the term, "False Acceptance"... and for some reason I have not been able to shake it. When preparing for this episode, I was pondering how to demonstrate examples of false acceptance, and then Bukayo Saka did not score the last penalty shot at the end of the Euro 2020 Finals...

This is a special podcast, my first ever (published) interview and I couldn’t have asked for a better guest. A colleague, Stijn Smet, joined me to discuss Pride month and Prejudices. This is quite a vulnerable and exposing conversation for both of us. I’ve personally been nervous about sharing this because we do also touch on some of the prejudices I have to navigate as a black person. I hope you find this conversation helps to expand your mind and heart.

Everyone claims to be a hard worker in the summary of their CV profile, but for some of us, this is a harsh reality. I used to always proudly say I was a workaholic, but I didn't realise at the time that this was actually toxic. In this episode, I explore my experience with workaholism and I share some tips to help you support anyone you may know or work with who suffers in a similar way or perhaps to help yourself. ;)

I'm back after a week away which happened to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. I've come back from this break rested, calmer and with a fresh new outlook on intentions vs goals and appreciating the Now. ❤️

Some people run towards managerial roles. They see this as progression, a reflection of their own superior knowledge and standing. Working in the tech space, I've learnt this is nonsense and pure ego.

Find out a little about me, the human behind A Human Perspective.

Website: https://www.ahumanperspective.com/

Medium: https://ahumanperspective.medium.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lolaoguntokun/