Luke Shepherd is a Senior Recruiter APAC at HubSpot. Prior to his current role, he’s spent the last decade in recruiting roles across government, non-profit and agency.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
My name’s Luke (my pronouns are he/him/his). Currently I’m a Senior Recruiter at HubSpot and I’ve spent the last decade in recruiting roles across a number of industries: government, not-for-profit, agency and most recently SaaS.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
Most of my day is spent on the phone, either interviewing folks or guiding them through the process. Part of what I think makes a great recruiter is the ability to be a guide as people move through towards the offer; providing a framework of what to expect at each stage of the interview process
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
110%, and all roles do at HubSpot. hubspot.com/hyrbid talks through how we are viewing the future of our work.
I’ve opted to be a fully remote employee even though I only live an hour north of our Sydney office. What that allows is 3 hours back each day that I’d normally spend commuting, and also precious time between calls with my 4 month old daughter.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
It means being able to do your best work whenever and wherever that is required (as appropriate and in line with the business goals of course)
Achieving that means looking at times when I’m most productive and doing my deep work then (for me it’s between 6-9am most days)
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
I’d say in the past 12 months my world has completely shifted for the better – welcoming a daughter into our world has meant my wife and I have pivoted completely!
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
I recently finished Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell for the second time, and I love all of his books. Great insights into the world of how people think and society.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
As a recruiter I’m not sure what I’d do without LinkedIn. Personally I love Audible, having the ability to listen to a book while out on a walk is a great mind/body workout!
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
Former President Barack Obama – it seems he was able to balance running a large country and his family incredibly well, in a role that I’d propose would be one of the most time poor on the planet.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
Balance is exactly that – there will be times where work will demand more time than family and vice versa. Being flexible with that is crucial as an employer.
A great mantra that keeps me ground in the business of life, reminding me to pause before jumping in to any task: “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast”
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