Balancing the Grind with Jasmine Wiklander, Talent Consultant at Fulcrum

Jasmine Wiklander is a Talent Consultant at Fulcrum, where she specialises in recruiting for the digital media and digital marketing industry.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I moved to Australia from Sweden 6 years ago and started my career in the events and entertainment industry whilst I was completing a bachelor of business management degree.

I have always been very business-minded as well as wanting to work closely with people. I think that is why, after 4 years in the event industry, I decided to move into the recruitment industry.

I currently work for Fulcrum, which is a tech and digital focused talent acquisition agency with a very different approach to recruitment.

As a talent consultant, I focus mainly on the digital media and marketing space. My role is to work closely with candidates and companies and find a perfect match between the two. As well as create new business opportunities for Fulcrum.

2) What does a day in life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

I am neither a morning person or an evening person. I am both. I have a lot of energy. So my day starts at around 5:30 in the morning where I go to the gym.

I like to listen to music in the morning to keep my energy up while I read industry news to get my head in the right mindset whilst I head to work.

When I get to the office I would sit down and start prioritizing my day. I like to plan everything in advance as recruitment can be quite overwhelming and stressful.

It helps me to stay organized and calm. Once I am organised, we normally have a team meeting on the balcony with a coffee each (I will have a double espresso).

We have a very flexible working-style at Fulcrum. I manage my own work, my own clients, my own candidates and kind of my own business within the business.

Which means that my day can vary from day to day but normally I will start by getting my new business calls/meetings done, move along to manage my current clients needs and the afternoon normally consists of video interviews with candidates.

We actually have our own 2-way video interview platform called FulcrumVision whereby we video interview all our candidates on behalf of our clients.

As we do everything digitally, I normally leave the office around 5-5.30pm to head home before the traffic and then I’ll do the last calls and video meetings from home.

In between all this I like to create content for my LinkedIn and company blog. So, my day also consists of shooting content and planning future content.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

I have the luxury of having both flexible and remote working opportunities.

I remember when my partner was working away and had been working away for several months (pre-COVID of course) and I was super busy with a lot of going on at work.

I was encouraged by my manager to pack up, take my laptop, get on a flight to Airlie Beach and work from the hotel. Despite working with poor Wi-Fi, I managed to successfully conduct video interviews with candidates, I placed a candidate in a role in Melbourne and communicated well with my clients throughout the time.

If you work for a company that is forward-thinking but also advanced when it comes to digital transformation, it’s really simple to do your job wherever you may be.

When COVID-19 started, I picked up my phone, my laptop, packed up my desk and worked from home for 6 months, without any issues regarding our work process. Our internal process is very digitally forward-thinking and allows for a modern work life which I find very valuable for my lifestyle.

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

To have work-life balance means to me that I can live a successful, productive and high-achieving professional life without having to give up my personal life.

Recruiters traditionally start work very early but I know if I go to the gym in the morning and start at 8:30am it will give me the ability to be more productive during the day because I feel better, my energy levels are better and I am more healthy in the long term.

Work-life balance to me means that you can have the opportunity to be successful both in your work life and your personal life at the same time without having to feel that one or the other has to take a hit.

At the moment. I feel like I am working to achieve that goal as I am working within a business that aligns well with my values and work ethics. I think Fulcrum is definitely the type of business that gives you trust to do your work and give the opportunity to do your best without limitations.

5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

I started exercising more. I always enjoyed exercise but this year I really invested in staying healthy. I joined a new gym, which has improved my health significantly as it’s a mix of group exercise and PT 1-1 training.

I train 5-6 times a week and it makes such a difference to my day if I have trained in the morning or not. We are just finishing an 8-week diet challenge, which I am keen to see the final results from this week!

6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

A book which I recommend everyone to read is Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson. The book is for anyone who ever felt like you don’t get understood or you don’t get along with certain types of people.

The author describes it as “have you ever felt like you stood in a room and felt like you’ve been surrounded by idiots?.’ This book is brilliant in the sense of allowing you to develop your people skills which you can use in your private life and work life.

I love podcasts. One podcast which I love to listen to is On Purpose with Jay Shetty. His story telling completely absorbs you and his quests are fascinating. It got recommended to me during the lockdown and It helped me keep a positive attitude and grateful mindset.

On the weekend I like to catch up on my favourite Swedish podcasts, I would share them but unfortunately they don’t come with English translations.

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

We use video in the heart of everything we do at work therefore using video recording tools like Loom, Vidyard and our own video platform, FulcrumVision, are absolute necessities to make my day successful.

Bit.ly is an extension tool that I always have open in one of my tabs. It is minor but makes a big difference in keeping my notes and messages clean.

Can I say Google Calendar? I put everything in there, every call, every video interview, every client meeting. Everything. I would not survive my day without it.

In addition, I changed my phone from an iPhone to a Google Pixel and let me tell you it was the best decision of my life. (I am a Google girl now.)

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

Queen Elisabeth, she is a living legend.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

I truly enjoy coming to work on a Monday and I think it reflects in my work and in my personal life that I do. What works for me is to stay organised. If I stay organised and manage my time well then it’s pretty easy for me to find balance.

I used to balance working three jobs whilst at university and still manage to graduate. All whilst exploring a new country. That was a challenge but I spent a lot of time organising to make it work. For me, it doesn’t matter how much I work or how many jobs/projects I have going on – I always follow the same rule of prioritizing and organizing to help find balance.

If I spend too much time at work and not enough on my health or loved ones, then I won’t be effective at work as I am too overworked. Overworked is something that used to be praised but now I feel as you get more out of our work if you work effectively rather than putting loads of extra hours in.

Achieving a good work-life balance means different things to different people. Find out what helps you find balance and work for a business that aligns with your view.

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