At Shortlist, we love building our team almost as much as we love building yours! We have some pretty amazing people across our three offices who have a real passion for what they do and for the Shortlist mission.
Today we’re kicking off Shortlister Spotlights, a Q&A series to get to know some of our team members. First up is Lotika Baruah, a Senior Business Operations Manager in our Mumbai office!
Tell us about what you do at Shortlist:
As part of the Operations team (or as we like to believe, the heart of the organization!) we work on matching the best candidates to the right positions. This includes a lot of micro-functions like client management, research, creating custom screening questions, assessment design, and eventually reviewing applicants to find the best shortlist of candidates for the role. We also work closely with the product teams to improve operational efficiency and create a fabulous candidate experience.
What is your professional background, and what were you looking for in your next career step when you found Shortlist?
I have a background in HR and have worked across different sectors to scale their HR functions. Ironically the thing I have had the least experience in, prior to joining Shortlist, was recruitment. I have a Masters in Organization Development.
What’s your professional superpower?
I am a good problem solver!
Why is the Shortlist mission important to you?
In countries like India there is no scarcity of skilled talent, and a simple search on Naukri for a sales guy will fetch you over 3 million hits. In situations like these people with good resumes or those that have worked for bigger and better brands have an unfair advantage and get selected often without an objective review process. This is why the Shortlist mission is important to me. It gives every candidate a fair shot by asking them to demonstrate a given skill set as opposed to simply stating it on their resume.
What are three words or phrases you would use to describe Team Shortlist?
“Culture machine,” “fun,” and “always got my back.”
What do you like to do outside of work?
I am a crazy group games fanatic — Catan, Monopoly, Taboo, Heads Up, Mafia, Psych. It’s a safe outlet for the crazy competitor in me (though “safe” is using the word very loosely, if you ask my closest friends and family).
What’s your favorite Shortlist value? (Learn more about our values here!)
“Be a whole person.” I love the fact that a company is invested enough in your overall well-being (not just professional) to make it one of the core values. I live and embody this every day, and receive constant support from the team at Shortlist.
What’s your favorite Shortlist memory?
I have a ton of them. But my favorite so far is when all of us were working alongside the carpenters to get the office furniture in place. That was my first experience of living the startup dream!
We like to give high fives to recognize when our team members do something awesome. Now is your chance to make a public high five to a fellow Shortlister:
I have a couple of high fives — the biggest will always be to Rishabh and Ben — for hiring me to be a part of the Shortlist story, even though I was far from the perfect candidate on paper.
Also to Kriti, for being a constant de-stress pill in office, be it with Bollywood trivia quizzes or all of the amazing ‘quotable quotes.’
What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to?
I am currently thinking and dreaming Game of Thrones because of the latest season! I mostly read fiction, and I’m currently reading ‘If God Was a Banker’ by Ravi Subramanium.
Tell us about a candidate that inspired you:
There was a candidate that I had once shortlisted who was very different from the initial requirement shared by the client. However on speaking to him, he totally bowled me over with his application and performance over assessments. He is currently hired by the company and is responsible for an entire business unit. Candidates like him remind me of the Shortlist mission and what we are here to achieve.
How is Shortlist different than other companies?
You are the master of your own career here at Shortlist. If you want to do something, own it and get it done. With people in the team that are the best across their respective functions, the learning opportunity is massive. This is why Shortlist is different. You actually see yourself play a key role in building something big from scratch.
If you would like help building your team, let us help you. Shortlist offers a wide range of recruitment solutions that help companies build great teams.
