Influential Woman · IT

Priyanka BHARDWAJ

IT Recruiter, Paradigm

Dallas, TX

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Master's in Business Administration with Human Resource Major and Marketing Minor (2006)

Her Story

About Priyanka

My career journey began in India after completing my post-graduation Master's degree. I started working with Randstad, which was Mofoi at that time - a global consulting firm - where I worked as a recruiter. After that, I moved to another city and joined Thiessen Group Elevators, a global firm that manufactures, sells, maintains, and services elevators, escalators, and moving walls. There, I served as the zonal recruiter for the entire western region. When I moved to the U.S. with my husband for his project, I didn't have my work permit, so I relocated to Canada where I worked with a mass media company called Coors Entertainment. After taking a sabbatical for a family emergency back in India, I transitioned into freelance recruitment. Currently, I work as an IT recruiter for a firm called Paradigm, where I handle all kinds of IT profiles including system administrators and database administrators. I work with many top clients in the industry, manage a team, deal directly with clients, and oversee the entire recruitment process. What drives me in this field is my passion for working with people - I'm not an engineer by qualification, but I've always been inspired to learn about IT terminologies and the profiles people handle. I don't like just sitting behind a laptop doing office work; I genuinely enjoy talking to people, understanding what kind of profiles they're handling, their experiences, and their future plans, so I can provide the best talent to the industry.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Priyanka

01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I can give to any woman is after they have a baby, never give up your career. I'm telling this from my experience - I gave up my career when I had my baby, and while I won't call it a regret, I think I shouldn't have done this in the past. I planned to give 3 years of my time to my kid and then start again, but due to different situations and circumstances, the gap came to 9 years. So just be strong during your postpartum. Don't give up your career for anybody in this world, whether it's your baby, your husband, or your family. Just think about you first. I'm not saying I'm against the homemaker thing, because I was a homemaker for almost 9 to 10 years, but every time I thought about this, I was like I shouldn't have given up my career. So my advice is don't listen to society, don't listen to anyone - just feel your gut, take care of your baby, take support from the family, hire someone to help you, take support from your husband, and focus on your career with your baby too.

02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

The biggest challenges I face are the new rules the government keeps bringing in, especially around visa requirements. For example, H1Bs are not allowed, GCs are not allowed in certain situations. I have some government clients where only citizens are allowed, but previously GCs were also allowed. The problem is you just can't find a niche profile who are actually just citizens, not GCs, because there are many good people in the market who do not have citizenship but they do carry these niche skills. Another challenge is that when you have to close a job, the window is very small - sometimes the window is only open for 2 to 3 days, but if you're not getting the good profile, the window gets closed. So the work authorization issue is really the main challenge we face.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

For me, in my professional life and my personal life, the honest approach is most important. If I get a job, if I get work, I have to be honest about it. I just can't work just for the sake of working - it's not me. I also believe in taking ownership. I have a team under me and I have a kid who is a teen boy, so I understand when it comes with responsibility. Whatever you do, you have to be honest, and you should take the ownership of everything that you do. You should always provide your back to your team, whether it's your family or your work team - you should be there for them. And you have to make the balance between personal life and professional life, because both of them need you.

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