This is my final week at LinkedIn!

This week marks my final week at LinkedIn after just over 3 years working in the EMEA Talent Acquisition team. I’m leaving sooner than I thought but LinkedIn has been the pinnacle and most pivotal moment of my career so far.

When I joined LinkedIn my first 2 days were at INduction in our EMEA HQ in Dublin where I learned where LinkedIn has come from and where it was headed and I began to immerse myself in the culture. I was told on day 1 that at some point I would leave LinkedIn but that when I leave I will be a better professional than when I joined.

This ethos of transformation is one of the leading cultural pillars at LinkedIn and something I have absolutely lived in my time at the company. For a company to tell you one your first day that you will leave and that when you do they want you to be better than when you joined was a refreshing experience. I recall my manager asking me after 6 months what role I might consider next at the company. I joined LinkedIn with 7 years experience in my field but found myself learning and improving rapidly. The learning culture at LinkedIn inspired me and was something I wanted to take advantage of. By constantly giving people new experiences, challenges, remits and opportunities you develop your employee’s into better versions of themselves and into new roles within the organisation. My role has enabled me to witness a wide range of people moving internally into a variety of roles that don’t follow linear career routes.

Whilst my job title has stayed the same my role has certainly transformed. I have worked across all our business units, across multiple geographies and most recently took the lead on all our hiring in our MENA region. Aside from this I have also developed my own projects around Pipelining initiatives and my proudest accomplishment will always be leading my EMEA team in Talent Branding. I am leaving an EMEA Talent Acquisition team that consider marketing a key asset in the recruitment arsenal. Helping my peers to see recruiters as marketers in how they approach their role has been truly inspiring and the work this team have delivered is nothing short of phenomenal.

In my 3 years I have undertaken a number of learning courses both online and classroom led and LinkedIn is blessed to have one of the best L&D teams I’ve ever worked with, every one of them is amazing at what they do. By pushing myself out of my comfort zone I have also undertaken public speaking engagements, something I had always wanted to do but never had the confidence to do. I’ve also had the opportunity to represent LinkedIn at external events and have been involved in photo and video shoots. One of my proudest moments was winning an award at the annual Christmas party for someone who represented the values LinkedIn holds dear, a UK wide award and something I will always carry with me. I’ve been fortunate enough to win a few other awards in my time at LinkedIn.

I’ve brought over 170 people into new roles at LinkedIn across EMEA, have found a mentor and been asked to mentor others. I’ve been surrounded by some seriously talented people and it’s been a privilege to see what they have gone on to achieve. I’ve also been able to dress up as a pirate, musketeer and mad hatter. I’ve amassed over 20 t-shirts and hoodies and travelled to Dublin, Dubai and San Francisco.

The culture at LinkedIn is what defines this company, it is an organisation with a huge amount of diversity but with everyone valuing the same ethos and driving the company towards its mission and vision which has always inspired me.

LinkedIn was a company I had always wanted to work for, I feel honoured and blessed to have been able to have been part of this company and to have delivered impact in my role. I know I leave with strong relationships. I move on to take an opportunity that I don’t believe I would have had if it wasn’t for my time at LinkedIn. It is an opportunity that I feel will continue to grow and stretch me and lead me on in my career. It is bittersweet to be leaving but I know I have developed friendships and relationships for life.

Lastly it falls to my to thank those who have made this all possible. Thank you to Manuel, Jerome and Lindsay for bringing me into the company and developing my skills. Thank you to Brendan who leads one of the best TA teams globally and was one of the original reasons I was so inspired to join LinkedIn. Thank you to Josh who leads our UK business, I feel he is one of the most inspirational and aspirational leaders I have encountered and the fact that the UK business is doing so well is no surprise with him at the helm. Thank you to Jeff for building such a phenomenal company with culture at its heart, the growth this company has seen in recent years, the product road map and future ambitions are all attributed to having one of the most inspirational CEOs leading it (we have a lot of inspirational people here.) Thank you to my wonderful colleagues both in EMEA and globally (there are just too many to mention in one blog) but with particular thanks to Alice and Charlotte who have made coming in to work every day a complete delight.

I am excited about my next play at Google and for the future ahead. I look forward to bringing all I have learned to my new role and company and to learning from them in turn.