Spotlight on HR: Ali Ghiassi

Spotlight on HR series:
A Conversation With Ali Ghiassi, Life Sciences and Talent Acquisition Professional

We’re putting together a series of articles with innovative and interesting human resource professionals. This is an opportunity to learn from other HR managers and exchange best practices, advice, and general experience. If you’d like to participate in this series and gain exposure to relevant networks, we’d love to hear from you! Send an email to tal@recruiterslineup.com.

Tell us about your work experience in HR.

I earned my BS from UNC-Greensboro with degrees in International Business, Economics, and Spanish. About 11 years ago, I began working for Aerotek, a large multinational recruitment firm. After about a year in I was offered an opportunity to build their life sciences practice for the NC, USA region. Over the next 7 years, I was able to build a successful practice and build a team, to a point that I was no longer needed. I then went in-house with one of my long-term clients, a global pharmaceutical company. I then spent 2 years in the UK with a small life sciences recruitment consultancy and have since consulted as a freelance recruiter for Pharma/Biotech/Analytics organizations. This has all culminated in an opportunity to step back into a leadership role in 2020, with a small biotech company as their head of Talent Acquisition.  

What are the unique talents you bring to the field?

Expertise in several technical areas in the drug development lifecycle, ability to communicate in multiple languages, strong EQ, cultural competency, and situational awareness.

Share your biggest success story in HR so far.

Building a successful recruitment practice while providing mentorship and opportunity for others, leaving behind a high performing team as my legacy who are all doing better than I ever did.

What is the best advice you’ve received during your career path, and from whom?

“Don’t ever stop being curious.” – Keith Prichard (Director, Aerotek)

What’s your favorite HR tech tool?

SmartRecruiter, Lever, The Predictive Index.

As an HR professional, how do you handle recruiting to achieve the best results?

By matching my style to that of the organization and/or individual leader I’m supporting. The organizations I’ve had the opportunity to serve over the years all have their own distinct cultures and core values that they hope to maintain. If that culture isn’t a conducive environment where a particular person can thrive and succeed, then it is our responsibility as a hiring team to come to this conclusion for all parties involved. 

It’s also important to continuously improve by discovering what the major areas of focus need to be and measure your progress.

What do you hope to achieve in 2020?

I look forward to locking arms with an amazing leadership team and doubling the size of an organization focused on providing much-needed therapies to those suffering from rare and orphan diseases.

To get in touch with Ali visit his Linkedin page.

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