As a diverse, remote-first workplace, Evolving Web’s recruitment process is very international. We hire talented, creative people from all over the world. Being a third-culture kid myself, I’m uniquely positioned to leverage my diverse background and experiences to ensure a diverse and inclusive recruitment strategy.
Growing Up Diverse
In my early years, I was exposed to many different cultures and people from all over the world. I’m originally from Senegal and the Gambia but I was born in Abidjan. When I was 3 years old, my family and I moved to Dakar for a year, and then to Tunis, where I spent the majority of my childhood. I attended high school in Ottawa, university in Montreal, and now I live in Toronto.
My class photo from middle school
Being able to live in so many different places and having such a diverse cultural background has not only taught me about how to be respectful and open to different cultures, but it’s also been essential in shaping me into the person that I am today.
While I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to experience so many rich cultures, I also realized very early on how much inequality and disparity exist in our world. I was made aware at a very young age that as a Black, African woman with a somewhat nomadic experience, the way in which I navigate the world and my experiences will always be different from those of my peers.
Me holding my certificate at my high school graduation ceremony
While this was a harsh reality to face at a young age, it fueled me to want to make a difference in the world and reduce some of that injustice in any way I could. These disparities made me aware of the impact I could have. Despite being a minority in a lot of the spaces I occupied, I was still in a position of privilege with regard to my socioeconomic background. I knew I had to use some of that privilege for good and pay it forward.
A Crossroads: Finding My Path Forward
Initially, I thought helping others meant becoming a lawyer. I studied International Development, with minors in Economics and African Studies at McGill University with the intention to go to law school afterwards. But within my first semester of undergrad, I realized that the law path was not for me. For as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a lawyer. Realizing that I didn’t have the passion I thought I did for law was tough, but I took it in stride and knew I had to pivot.
McGill Graduation day
I did, however, love my areas of study and enjoyed what I was learning, so I stuck with them. The question that was always in the back of my mind was, “What do I do with this after I graduate?”
Recruitment Meets Inclusivity
Upon graduation, I happened to fall into recruitment and quickly realized that it was something that I really enjoyed. Not only did I get to help people find positions that were a good fit for them, but I get to contribute to the growth of an organization focused on doing work that is aligned with my values.
Being at Evolving Web has allowed me to dive further into the world of recruitment and talent acquisition. My academic background has also been fundamental to my work in international recruitment because it’s given me the ability to understand the nuances of working within such a diverse organization.
Passion Project
My multicultural background and experiences have always been foundational to who I am as a person, and now they’re the primary lens through which I see my work.
Me and my HR team wearing our Evolving Web swag
Being part of a remote-first, diverse organization like Evolving Web, I have the opportunity to interview and meet so many different people from all over the world and help them take the next step in their career growth. The interview process can be daunting and nerve-wracking for the interviewee, especially if you’re interviewing in your second or third language. For many, you’re a candidate for a company in a country you’re not all that familiar with. So I always focus on centring the process around respect and empathy. For me, that means treating everyone the same regardless of their background, continuously checking any conscious or unconscious bias, and demonstrating the same kindness that I would hope to receive.
Join Our Team
We’ve built an eclectic team of recruitment coordinators, designers, developers and marketers here at Evolving Web. Our team not only spans the globe, it also represents a wide range of artistic and technical talent, languages, demographics and backgrounds.