After disrupting the lives of everyone around the globe to a level that no one has ever anticipated, the pandemic introduced certain changes in our living and working style. It was followed by The Great Resignation, which brought a lot of focus on HR professionals and headhunters. There is a war for talent, as organizations are looking forward to ramping up their business and seeking greater resilience, and intellectual and cultural agility in their future employees. Amidst this significant reprioritization of needs, wants and values that are currently being envisaged, Mindfield Resources has emerged as a pioneering platform where talent and demand amalgamate. A niche talent acquisition firm anchored in Dubai, Mindfield Resources is working across 32+ countries of the Middle East and Africa region, where they have partnered with clients through expansion, consolidation, recession, and the COVID pandemic. This long partnership journey with different clients and geographies has enabled them to bring a lot of high potential talent to the table for their long-standing clients.

Anjali Samuel, a leading Talent Acquisition expert has been responsible for the establishment of this boutique firm. A passionate, strong, and inspirational woman, Anjali has 20+ years of experience and has successfully made her mark in the talent acquisition industry.

Women Entrepreneur recently engaged in one on one interaction with Anjali, here are some highlights from our interaction with her.

Tell us a little bit about Mindfield Resources. Also, tell us about the facets of your expertise.

A labor of love, Mindfield Resources was founded in 2004 with a focus on our primary passion - the consumer goods industry. Starting with the GCC, we took our passion deep and wide to constantly engage with clients from different geographies. As we moved forward, we added certain other industry segments to our portfolios, such as Automotive, Retail, Real Estate, Engineering, and Financial Services. This constant pushing of the envelope helped us develop skills/ knowledge and networks which benefitted our client base. Mindfield works on the mantra 'ownership through partnership', and with our network and headhunting ability honed to bring in talent from outside to enrich the talent pool for niche mandates, we are partnering with our clients to provide the current market insights along with relevant profiles. We tend to focus a lot on the quality of our output and measure the stick rate i.e. the years our candidates spend in a client organization. At present, we stand at 86 percent, and 62 percent were promoted in the first three years of being in the client organization. This certainly demonstrates a good job done for both our stakeholders, the clients, and the candidates.

Tell us about your formative years and also about your prior industry experience.

Growing up in an army household did wonders for the career that I eventually followed. As we changed cities and states every couple of years, I got to experience different cultures, food habits, and ways of thinking. Apart from helping me develop an agile and non-judgmental mindset, which every recruiter needs in his/her arsenal; these factors instill resilience, curiosity, and a sense of adventure within me, which every recruiter needs.

When I got my first role in Abu Dhabi with Century Financial Brokerage as a Marketing Executive, I was surprised that I got the role without having any background in financial services of any kind. Soon I found myself inclined toward the recruitment industry and I owe my recruitment career to a friend of mine Benita who got me into it. According to me, recruitment as a career always happens by accident. And then either it becomes a passion or you chose another path. For me, it became a passion and now, no two days are the same. How exciting is that!!

As the primary leader in the organization, what are your different roles and responsibilities?

Although I am a designated Managing Partner, in my mind I am just a headhunter. My first and foremost aim is to grow and nurture the people I work with. Work on different senior mandates that keeps the recruiter in me alive, happy and engaged with our stakeholders. One very interesting part of my journey is partnering with clients who are either new or growing through transformation, as that calls for not just resumes but the right people and apt market insights for better decision-making. Hiring future leaders is another interesting aspect of my life and I enjoy it. Apart from that, when we expand our industry portfolio, the learning journey that we go through is amazing.

“While we all aim for the pinnacle it is the journey itself which makes all the effort worth it”

What have been some of the most pressing business challenges and how do you mitigate them?

Simply put, there has been a shortage of talent, as cross-border migration of talent has slowed down a bit. People want to be closer to ailing or senior parents and prefer hybrid or remote working. Client organizations have to rapidly transform their way of working and keep pace with the aggressive advent of AI and digitalization. The change has been so rapid that a lot of us are playing catch with it. We need to manage expectations for all parties and get people on the same page.

What have been some of the most significant milestones that you've achieved? What has been the driving force, which has helped you create such a successful career?

Every placement where we have made a difference to the candidate and the client is a milestone. Every time a team member has achieved their personal objectives whether it was acquiring a new house or extensive world travel it has been a milestone moment.Established Mindfield in the summer of 2004, recently divorced with two young children and a very supportive family. I had a choice to make to either go client side or follow the entrepreneurial path. I followed my passion for recruitment as on the agency side you work with a myriad of brands and the learnings never stop. It is the harder road in all honesty but there is not a thing I would change about it. While we all aim for the pinnacle, it is the journey itself which makes all the effort worth it.

Anjali Samuel,Founder,Mindfield Resources

Hailing from an army background, Anjali has grown up in various parts of India. She fondly recounts her memories of growing up with nostalgia and credits them for her success. Growing up in multiple states, she developed an innate sense of how things happen in different parts, learned to interact with people coming from different walks of life, and developed a keen sense of community, which has all helped shape the person and business leader she is.