Office Snacks: Mabel Lozano
In our Office Snacks series we interview members of our community to delve into their varied buffets of experience and come away with juicy insights and ideas.
Hi Mabel! We’d love to get to know you a bit better, how’d you get to where you are today?
Through hard work, being ‘real’ with myself on what I wanted/what sparked joy, staying curious, and an amazing support network (both professional and personal!) that I’m incredibly grateful for.
I started my career in recruitment because being able to match someone to a fulfilling job truly sparked joy. Later on, I realized how important and life changing an awesome workplace culture can be—that’s when I decided I wanted to be part of that.
Nowadays I’m dabbling with all things people and culture and couldn’t be happier!
How does your typical day look, do you have a set routine?
Routines come and go throughout my life and right now I am at a stage that they don’t have a positive impact.
Pre-COVID I had a well-defined routine that changed very little and worked excellent with my life.
During COVID I struggled with not having or creating a new routine because my situation kept changing (govt rules, family emergencies, friends getting pregnant, and uncertainty during work).
I really craved and missed my old reality, and it wasn’t until one of our Execs said something along the lines of “you should be mourning the old reality because COVID will have deep impacts on our future”, when I realized I had to move on.
I then committed to living day-to-day and, honestly, it was one of the best decisions because I started journaling to stay present and learned to enjoy the simple, mundane, day to day things.
It’s been a few months now that my world feels ‘normal’ again (my new normal) and the things that I’m currently doing to keep feeling great are; breathing fresh air every morning, moving my body meaningfully each week, one spin class a week, eating dinner with my partner, spending quality time with my family, reading every week and hanging out with friends.
How do you describe your job to others?
Every decision and initiative we put into place is bringing us a step closer to the work culture we’re striving for and is aligned with our values. I’m also involved with almost all things that affect people within a company; attracting, developing, and retaining talent.
Respect, transparency, and over communication. In my opinion, if keep these three things as top priorities, you can nail candidate experience.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
Seeing people thrive, enjoying, and being engaged in their jobs.
What’s the most challenging?
When folks are not engaged in their jobs and dreading coming to work! Usually when this happens I try to bring some energy into the room.
I have a few things that are my ‘go-to’ strategies for this. Asking people to do a stretch with me, starting meetings with a ‘what am I grateful for today’ exercise, or thinking about a silly joke in advance.
How’s the world of recruitment changed in the last few years?
Employees have more power now than ever before. They’re seeking change in the workplace, speaking up, and really changing what ‘work life’ looks like.
I think more recently, and specially in tech, the ‘hustle’ culture is dying. People are realizing that you need to be OK in other aspects of your life to show up at work and are prioritizing that.
Companies are also realizing that happy, engaged employees are a lot more valuable so they are more willing to put programs and initiatives in place. I believe the workplace is truly changing for better!
How do you see it developing in the coming years?
We will see more flexibility, more flow between work and life, and way more wellness programs embedded in our day to days.
How do you ensure a great candidate experience at your company?
Respect, transparency, and over communication. In my opinion, if you keep these three things as top priorities, you can nail candidate experience.
What’s your “couldn’t live without this” recruitment tool?
An ATS (applicant tracking system)! It’s a hands on a tool that will give you better stakeholder experience and will remove a lot of the human error/mundane work out of your day.
When you’re able to automate your admin/mundane tasks you have so much more room to innovate, be creative, and pay more attention to the things that matter the most (people!).
If an organization wants to find the right people for them, what should they invest in?
- Having a clear understanding of what is your EVP (employee value proposition) at all levels. Everyone in the organization can talk about it, understands it, and sees the value.
- Hiring or training an SME to help you with it.
- Build the muscle that hiring is everyone’s job, not only Managers or P&C.
What is your number one piece of advice for a successful recruitment process?
Ah one is tough so I’ll have to give you my top 2!
- Clear communication with all stakeholders (internal and external) on what are the expectations, how to prepare, and what is the outcome of the interview.
- Having a recruiting framework and scorecard laid out really helps with avoiding bias and setting a better playing ground for everyone involved.
Lastly, and most importantly, what’s your favourite office (home or otherwise) snack?
Coffee all day everyday. ☕️
What’s your favorite office snack?
Work in People and Culture? Want to share your ideas?
Applications to be interviewed are open to anyone (yes anyone!) so don’t hesitate to fill in the form for an opportunity to share your knowledge and ideas.