Meet David Seelochan, Principal Talent Acquisition Recruiter, EMEA
Based out of our Maidenhead office in the UK, I’m a Principal Talent Acquisition Recruiter within the highly skilled EMEA TA Team for Informatica. Currently, I am leading the Recruitment Process for Presales and Professional Services across EMEA. I joined in February 2018 thus have just concluded what has turned out to be the best year of my professional career to date.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to join Informatica.
What led me to join Informatica first and foremost was its reputation as both a market leader and employer. From people I had spoken to within the marketplace and the information available on social media, Informatica had developed a strong reputation as an employer and a great place to work. Upon applying, this message was fast reinforced within my first two interviews with whom would form my immediate management team upon joining – James Corfield, Senior Manager (TA EMEA) and Jeremy Bushaw (VP TA). I quickly clicked with both upon conversation and the further I progressed in the process, the more confident I was this would be the best decision I could make at this point of my career.
What do you enjoy most about working at Informatica?
Above all else – the company culture is such a warm and welcoming one. There is very little ego from top to bottom of management scale but plenty of drive and desire to continue growing. You find yourself continually motivated to 'outperform' what you did yesterday.
Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.
- Despite all of the streaming services available, I am the owner of the deepest and greatest DVD collection in the entire world, which I still enjoy adding to!
- I completed 8 marathons between 2007 and 2013 to raise money and awareness for the work done by Hospice UK. Along with a group of friends, I also organized and competed on a White Collar Boxing Night for the same cause. I'm currently weighing up the potential of taking on marathons #9 and #10 before the close of 2020.
- My wife and I got married five years to the day of our first date. So when we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary, we were also celebrating 15 years of being together.
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
Superman. The ‘S’ symbol has always been my favourite across any of the comic book universes and more than anything else, this is how I want my children to view me! Their very own go-to person who can solve all of their problems faster than a speeding bullet and will protect them forever.
What advice would you give to job seekers looking to join Informatica?
- A good CV is still a very powerful tool. Think about whose attention you are trying to capture and cater the contents accordingly. Keep it concise, relevant, and prioritise Key Achievements over generic Responsibilities. Don’t be scared to get a second pair of objective eyes to look over before you send it out. Even if you don’t welcome their opinion on overall quality (BTW if you don’t, you have chosen the wrong pair of eyes), they can pick up basic errors you may have missed (i.e. spelling and grammar).
- Be Honest. Hiring Managers would rather bring those into their team who fit core parts of the role and show the potential to learn the rest as they progress. Those who turn out ‘too good to be true’ are costly in a number of ways to everyone involved, especially you – the candidate.
- Preparation is key! Nothing will demonstrate your desire for a position more than the effort you make to understand how it meets your expectations and vice versa. Utilise all resources available (Company Website, Social Media Presence, Press Releases, Product Information, etc). If you have a task or presentation to deliver, ensure you are allowing adequate time to put together a finished article that represents you in your best light. Ask questions at each Interview/Conversation that will allow you to take away knowledge for the next stage. Remember, this is as much a fact-finding process for you as it is for us, demonstrating you are taking that seriously will impress. Everything mentioned may seem like ‘the basics’ but they are often overlooked.