In this episode, I speak with Yamna Naveed Khan, the Transformation Lead Manager at SITA, a world-leading specialist in air transport communications and IT. Yamna leads SITA’s Innovation, Strategy and Partnerships across Middle East and Africa. For the past 10+ years, she has worked in digital transformation and with tech startups. Yamna led the first FinTech Accelerator in Saudi Arabia and has consulted and led teams with UAE and East African government entities on their digital strategies and innovation roadmaps. She founded employee benefits startup PerksPlus, and consulted and mentored many startups and SMEs in the UAE as well as ran workshops and programs (especially for women-led businesses). As a young woman in tech, Yamna has been a speaker at many stages. She’s been featured in leading magazines as a female founder and was also nominated as ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ by ArabianBusiness. Let’s get to know Yamna and how she makes things happen.

In this episode, you’re going to hear from Sally Maier-Yip, the Founder & Managing Director of 11K Consulting, a China-specialist communications consultancy which she founded in 2015. Based in London and Shanghai, Sally and her team garner awareness for brands looking to target Chinese investors and high-net-worth-individuals, and her agency does so through delivering tailored communications strategies based on unique cultural and market insights.

Sally lives in London with her husband and her two boys. She is an award-winning woman entrepreneur and also the Co-founder of The Chinese Mums in Business Club. Her life’s mission is to be a positive influence on people around her.

Sally has an interesting story - from switching from journalism to PR and how she won the first client when she started her own agency to being a genuine cultural ambassador of China through her work and ingeniously using LinkedIn to her personal and professional advantage, you'll want to hear Sally's responses to my many questions in this episode. Let’s learn how Sally makes things happen.

In challenging job markets, many professionals increasingly connect with recruiters as a pathway to land the job of their dreams. Yet if you speak to job seekers, most will have very mixed reviews of their experiences connecting with recruiters; some common quips are as follows:

• "I'm sick of being ghosted by recruiters."
• "You can email a recruiter or drop them a message on LinkedIn, but don't hold your breath for you'll never get a response."
• "I never bother with recruiters, they've never been helpful. I managed to get all my jobs without a recruiter."
• "All recruiters really care about is their commission."

But as a marketer having worked within a global FTSE listed recruitment company for six years, I know very well that there's more to the story. There are recruiters, and then there are talented recruiters who are smart, professional and genuinely driven to help companies meet and hire the best candidates in the market. And I personally know many such recruiters. Possibly topping the list is Devanjali Rishi, Director - Executive Recruitment at Michael Page. Currently based in New York, Devanjali, became the company's first intern to progress to Director level in the MEA region.

Sit back but listen closely, because how often do you get to hear straight from a recruiter on all things jobs, careers, interviews and more... this episode has me interviewing Devanjali on:

• What a career in recruitment is like and who makes the perfect recruiter
• Responding to misconceptions around recruitment companies
• Navigating hiring freezes during recessionary environments
• The biggest hiring mistakes companies make
• Keys to sourcing the right talent in a sea of applications
• Advice to job seekers feeling overwhelmed
• How the recruitment industry has evolved to being more inclusive
• Managing teams and nurturing young talent

Follow Devanjali's career on LinkedIn

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See you next time, and meanwhile, keep making things happen!