Meet Ali, Recruiter, seeing worth in others

My 'why' is really a desire to live life to the fullest and to pour into others. I love a good challenge, and I'm wildly competitive. On the other hand, I'm a total extrovert; quarantining has really confirmed this fact about myself. I love being around people, and I always strive to help individuals see their unique worth. Being a recruiter at Qualtrics allows me to tap into these parts of myself. I'm able to set goals and chase them and know that I'm making a significant impact on building our company as we pioneer the XM category. I'm also able to meet people from around the world and understand what's important to them and guide them as they make huge career decisions that truly impact their entire lives!! That's pretty significant!

What attracted you to Qualtrics in the first place?

The culture, hands down. I started interviewing right as the 2019 X4 lineup was being announced. I saw some big names (i.e. Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey) on the speaker list and was like, "Wow, this place sounds cool." Then I started interviewing with the individuals who are now my colleagues, and I was sold. The real differentiator was the way people lived the TACOS values. They didn't have to tell me about them - they were just on display in my conversations with employees and in the way that people interacted with one another. It reminded me of the culture on my cross country team in college, and I knew I had to be a part of it.

What does your day look like?

It's so cliché, but no two days are ever the same at Qualtrics - it's one of the perks of being here! However, generally speaking, most of my days are spent speaking with candidates or in internal meetings. The candidate calls range from initial conversations to check-ins prior to interviews to offer calls (my favorite!). Likewise, internal meetings vary drastically, from goofy team meetings where we spend 45 minutes playing games to more serious discussions with hiring managers to align on strategies for hard-to-fill roles. I love the work hard, play hard component of each day, and the fact that I almost always get to the end of the day and am shocked that it's already time to wrap up!

You moved to Utah, right?

My husband and I love the outdoors and were looking to make a move West and embrace the mountain lifestyle. Neither of us had been to Utah prior to my interviews with Qualtrics, and we didn't know much about the area, but when the opportunity came, we figured, "Why not?" Honestly, I cannot say enough about how great this place is. On any given day, I can go hiking, trail running or mountain biking at a moment's notice. I had never skied prior to moving here, but it has become one of my most favorite activities and I now love winter! Side note, the sun is almost always shining here, which is a really big deal having grown up in West Michigan where it is grey and cold pretty much every day from December-March. I'd be lying if I said we don't miss our family and friends back home or Lake Michigan in the summer, but we've found amazing community and beautiful mountain lakes that have helped us to feel at home here in Utah, and for that, we are so thankful!

Any tips for someone who is considering a role at Qualtrics?

Trust the process and revel in it. These are two mantras that were always reinforced on my team in college, and I'm so thankful that I've been able to carry them into my career. Qualtrics is moving fast, and things are always changing, and it's vital that you are excited by that idea. Something I share often with candidates is that the best part and simultaneously, the most challenging part of working at Qualtrics is that you have to embrace ambiguity and the idea of a growth mindset. If you do that, you'll be amazed at the opportunities at hand and the doors that open. That being said, it's not for everyone, and that's okay.

What has surprised you most about working at Qualtrics?

How multi-talented people are. I'm always amazed to hear of the incredible things my coworkers are doing, not just in their jobs but outside of work too! It's so cool to see people pursuing their passions in so many different areas.

How do you feel you've been able to apply what you studied at school to your career?

As recruiters, we often joke that we all have a story of how we ended up in recruiting. After all, nobody gets a degree in recruiting, at least not that I've heard of! I studied marketing and actually worked in marketing for a small company coming out of college. I quickly realized that I was really interested in something a bit more on the sales side, and ended up in recruiting. It's been fun to take the lessons I learned in undergrad about market segmentation and target audience and messaging and really apply those same concepts in order to find and attract the best talent to Qualtrics. Additionally, I've worked on a number of initiatives with our People Brand team and I also get to recruit for a variety of positions on our marketing team! It's been so fun to apply my degree in a way that I hadn't necessarily anticipated when I was in college.

Qualtrics is growing, and if you're ready to find your "why" at a place like this, you can explore our open opportunities at any time by visiting our career page or by joining our talent community.

	Ali is an alumnus of Michigan State University and started her career at Allied Electric. She ran cross country and track and field at Michigan State University and continues to train for marathons post-collegiately...though the surplus of amazing outdoor activities in Utah has distracted a bit from running.

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