At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Nidhi Sareen for an exclusive interview with us. Nidhi is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Hiring Consultant and Mentor. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Search Professional at wowJobs. Let’s learn more about her inspirational journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Nidhi:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I did my schooling from Mr. Marshal and St. Mary Convent School and further pursued Microbiology from the prestigious Mukand Lal National College in Yamuna Nagar. I was a passionate individual from the beginning and always aspired to be one of the youngest achievers by delivering high performance in all walks of life.
To add to my skills and knowledge, I also completed a Masters Diploma in Marketing and Human Resources, which sharpened my skills and added to my knowledge. I represented the school in NCC (National Cadet Corp) and during my school time was an active member of HelpAge India. an international non-governmental organization Child Awareness Movement Association (CMCA), and also its members.”
I was a column writer as well, creating awareness on city development and challenges faced by residents. I researched the plight of Cancer Patients and the challenges their families go through while treatment. This project I did at PGI hospital, Chandigarh. I have been an all-rounder in studies and cultural activities. I was always an active participant in Debates, Elocutions and Athletics. I was also a state player of Kho-Kho.
I have always been very passionate about learning about people and people behaviour, which led me to change my career direction from Sales and Marketing to Talent. I saw not only fresh graduates but senior professionals also struggling for the right guidance for their career moves.
This became my stepping stone to become a part of a talent management organization. Adecco was my first concern. I have always been keen on building something from scratch and Adecco gave me an opportunity of establishing their Pharmaceutical business line. Since then I have been guiding and mentoring professionals in getting their dream company.
I got an opportunity in mid of my career to establish an HR company in partnership with a renowned and serial entrepreneur by the name wowJobs. wowJobs is a Dubai headquartered Search and Selection firm, which aims at delivering the best of services across Industries to both clients and candidates. Today we have successfully established ourselves in South East Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.”
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I chose entrepreneurship because I always wanted to make an impact. I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and read the success stories of all the successful entrepreneurs. You see – It’s fascinating how you build something from scratch to build an empire around it and not everyone can do it.
It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills. Thanks to my mentor Vipul Prakash (Ex-Founder Elixir Web Solutions and Founder Wow Softech Private Limited) who gave me valuable inputs to make the journey a lot easier for me.”
During college, I was always a key member of groups. I was seen as a good influencer and a genuine guide. I always demonstrated leadership skills and was trusted by professors and students. I also have a strong analytical skill which got nurtured over the years in different assignments that I took over and helped me in my venture immensely.
‘wowJobs’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving with the help of your startup?
wowJobs heart is “WOW”. Our vision was to build a “WOW” company, our colleagues should feel ”WOW” being a part of us, Our candidates should feel “WOW” in all the interactions with us and Our Clients should get a “WOW” feeling from the services we tender to them.
Our aim was to build a global delivery centre out of a B Class town, addressing the employment issue in and around Dehradun. Dehradun has always been close to my heart as I spent Childhood here and I saw though education facilities are amazing in the city but aspiring individuals had to leave and move to metro cities, especially in Human Resources.”
The second vision is developing a network across the globe where we can offer a job of choice to candidates across regions.
We also intend to develop a common platform for clients and candidates, where candidates who face employment issues during times of crisis can reach out to various employers and employers can also easily find such needy talent as per their need.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
During COVID, we incorporated a big change in our business processes to support our team during these difficult times.
~ We moved to 100% work from a home model including our support staff.
~ We introduced a weekly online open house to ensure connectivity among teams. In fact, in this period people in our company created strong bonds. Teams worked long hours and over weekends to serve the clients.
~ To ensure a regular flow of business we launched a 3-2-1 concept, each employee to generate 3 information about the industry; approach 2 prospective clients every week and 1 to be signed up. This helped us immensely in generating new business in Covid-19.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I always try to make sure that I empower the right people for the right work. This way I do not feel overburdened with work that leads to stress. In my free time, I try to travel, spend time with my family, and try to maintain my work-life balance as much as possible.
Travelling helps me clear my mind and focus on issues that need my attention. I am a spiritual person, I start my day with meditation and yoga which gives me energy and supports me in my goals.
I would say that I get motivated seeing my parents work tirelessly in their respective fields and that drives me to go on despite all the challenges.
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
One thing I would say that helped me and my company grow is the ability to listen to our employees and clients. We believe that clients are not interested in products but in getting their problems resolved. We also believe employees are a great source of knowledge and giving them a platform to share ideas can lead to great business propositions.
We believe we can know our client well if we place ourselves in their shoes. This is our secret of doing well with our clients.
Giving an opportunity to our people to share their views, develops a feeling of ownership, hence each person in our company and works for their own company. We all at wowJobs are entrepreneurs and this is the only reason for our growth.
In your opinion, what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful startup?
In my opinion, it should be a mix of both. You just cannot go ahead with an idea jotted down on a piece of paper without like-minded people working on it.
I have seen companies with very innovative ideas with niche market segments fail just because they lacked proper team spirit in them.”
To be successful, you should team up with co-founders who share your vision behind the idea and you also need to hire the right people for the right position so that it gets implemented in a proper way.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I love my work. Anything you do in life you have to have a passion for and should not feel like work.
Recruitment is my passion, I love connecting with people, knowing and sharing knowledge. Introducing new industries and the journey of establishing them is actually highly enjoyable and inspiring.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Be open to experiment and believe in your capabilities. It’s okay to make mistakes and see them as an opportunity to learn.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
