🏆 Talent Spotlight - Tamara Perry (No. 2 - 2025)

Welcome to Talent Spotlight – the latest addition to Talent Crunch Berlin! Every month, we shine a light on standout talent professionals, and the real stories shaping our industry.

Feb 17, 2025

I am Tamara, and I'm a multilingual serial expat with tech recruiting experience in the U.S. and Germany, plus a few years of teaching in Spain.

In January, I completed an intensive B2 Business German course, and I'm now exploring new opportunities in Berlin for my next role.

Your Story

1. Will you share a small moment that taught you a big lesson with us? (could be a mistake, a surprise, or an "aha" moment - from any part of your life):

💛…things always work out. I have the skills and resilience to succeed, I just need to stay consistent, and the universe (a.k.a. God) will handle the rest.

When my government-sponsored teaching program in Spain ended after three years, I faced the uncertainty of what came next. I knew I wanted to stay, and my best option, aside from marriage (haha), was to transition to a freelance visa.

I secured a lucrative client contract, navigated the paperwork, and ultimately earned more as a freelancer than I had in the previous three years combined.

That experience reinforced my belief that things always work out. I have the skills and resilience to succeed, I just need to stay consistent, and the universe (a.k.a. God) will handle the rest.

2. What about something you learned from a completely different field/hobby/experience that unexpectedly helped you in your talent work:

I've always been a strong advocate for leveraging transferable skills when making a career change.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic showed me just how crucial they are in a true “adapt or die” situation; especially when your business is on the line.

In 2020, I went from teaching 100+ in-person classes per month across Madrid and surrounding neighborhoods to shifting my entire business online overnight.

Many of my students were young children used to hands-on engagement through movement like singing, and dancing.

I had to completely rethink my approach, relying on the soft skills I already possessed to create dynamic and engaging content that translated effectively through the screen.

The result? I not only retained my client base, I grew it exponentially.

Now, when I talk about the power of transferable skills, I do so with even more confidence, backed by my own firsthand experience.

Talent Talk

1. What's the most unconventional thing you've done in recruiting that actually worked really well?

When sourcing passive candidates, I craft engaging subject lines to increase the chances of them opening the email.

I usually highlight a unique aspect of the business to spark interest, but sometimes I personalize the subject line by referencing something specific about the candidate from their resume or LinkedIn profile.

One of my most effective subject lines came while sourcing an Ember developer; a quite niche skillset. I found a strong candidate on LinkedIn who wasn’t actively looking and seemed well-established in his current role.

Noticing he was from Porto, Portugal, I recalled my visit there years before and my experience trying the famous Francesinha sandwich, which, ironically, was invented there.

💥 I don’t remember the exact wording, but my subject line was something like, "John, do you enjoy Francesinha sandwiches?" The InMail itself included the job details, but the mention of the sandwich was the bait, and he took it.

He replied back the same day, and as we discussed the job details, we briefly reminisced over our shared love for this delicious delicacy of Portuguese cuisine.

2. Would you share a (sourcing, interviewing, etc.) trick or productivity hack that makes your life easier:

Creating an email folder system based on subject lines and keywords for ATS notifications has been a game changer for me.

For example, in one role, I reduced response time for candidates asking for feedback on tech tests from 1-3 weeks to 2-3 days by organizing all "Test Received" notifications from Greenhouse.

I reviewed these daily each morning, which helped me identify which stakeholders to follow up with for feedback. It was a simple, yet highly effective way to manage my stakeholders without sacrificing candidate experience.

3. What's one thing about talent acquisition that you've completely changed your mind about over the years?

I’ve let go of the idea that the resume is king.

There are many talented and highly qualified people who simply struggle with writing a good resume. I’ve even seen this firsthand when reviewing resumes for family and friends.

At Amazon, I had the opportunity to attend Global Accessibility & Awareness courses that highlighted unconscious bias against neurodivergent candidates. For example, early in my career, I was taught to eliminate resumes with typos, believing they indicated a lack of attention to detail. This was before tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid existed. What I wasn’t taught to consider back then was dyslexia. At that time, few accommodations were made for neurodivergent candidates.

It made me reflect on how many qualified individuals I may have unknowingly disqualified due to that bias.

Now, when reviewing resumes, I focus on core skills. I ask myself: Can the candidate do the job? If the answer is yes, I pass the resume along, typos and all.

<Talent Crunch Insert: We love this 💛>

Community Connection

1. Who in your community inspires you and why? (Should we ask this person to share their story next?)

I'm new to the Berlin Talent Acquisition network so I am still in the process of making connections. However I am super happy to connect with anyone interested in connecting with me :)

<Talent Crunch Insert: We got you covered 🥰>

👀 What's one question you've always wanted to ask other talent professionals?

I just completed an Intensive B2 Business German course, but many of the roles I’m seeing require advanced-level German even to be considered. Sooo…How did you break into your first German speaking TA role?