Her Story
About Nicole
Nicole Perzigian serves as Head of Emerging Talent at Zoox, an Amazon company, where she oversees university strategy and programs designed to bring early career talent into the organization. With more than 20 years of experience in the tech space within HR and talent acquisition, the last 15 of which have been dedicated exclusively to running early talent and emerging talent programs, she previously helped scale Zoom from a couple thousand employees to over 6,000 in just a year and a half by building a world-class early talent program from scratch. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a marketing minor and has completed HR certifications, a Woman in Leadership course, and various leadership development programs. She is a member of NACE and Varus Insights, and serves on the boards of directors for The CRAM Initiative and Kids Country. Over the past five years, she has received annual awards for innovating programs from Ripple Match and Abode, including leader awards and nominations. Nicole attributes her success to her network, strong mentors, and a commitment to continuous learning and building unique programs rather than cookie-cutter approaches. She values doing what she says she will do, building trust, and practicing ethical leadership.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nicole
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the people along the way, my mentors and network. Key people I've met who would call me when they have a job. I lean on strong mentors to keep upskilling myself. I always want to learn and hone my craft in leadership, building unique programs rather than cookie-cutter approaches. I never want to know it all.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice was to balance family and career without compromising either. A leader told me he was impressed by how I balanced my family and job. The advice was that your kids are only young so long, so find that balance. You can do it all, but sometimes as a woman we feel like we shouldn't, and I'm glad I didn't give in to that.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You can do it all with equal balance and focus on both personal and professional. Don't let the stigma of women in leadership that you can't have it all fall on you. Figure out the balance that works for you. Don't have regrets because you can't go back.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenge is companies tearing down early talent programs during tech layoffs and changes. This is the wrong move because early talent is the future leaders and innovators. It's heartbreaking to see programs eliminated first as it takes years to catch back up. Early talent is an affordable way to bring talent in. Companies need to realize the benefit of investing in early talent.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Do what you say you're going to do, building trust, bringing people together as connectors in HR. Being ethical, standing behind what you preach, practicing what you preach. That's number one for me.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.