About the Author

After university (and 4 year stint in the Canadian Forces) I moved to Toronto and was quickly put to work at IBM in Toronto.  During my time there I built the Scotiabank Helpdesk from scratch including process/technology definition and hiring of all staff. 

I rose through the ranks and landed at Pervasive Software (HQ’d in Austin, TX) as a Sales Engineer traveling throughout North America helping customers with software development challenges and leading client presentations to very high profile customers such as the US Government, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratories  and the National Institute of Health to name a few.

I did the same thing with a hot tech startup in 1999-2001 called TrueSpectra (now owned by Adobe) focusing in the imaging industry during the tech boom.  TrueSpectra landed $21 Million in venture capital which allowed us to secure high profile clients such as Nordstrom’s, eHow, Macy’s, Sears Canada, etc.  I worked along side several Academy Award Winning technical experts who developed special effects software used by movie studios for films like Spiderman, The Perfect Storm, etc.

In late 2001 I wanted to apply what I learned in sales to the ‘people’ aspect of IT and found recruitment as a logical option. I joined Sapphire/CNC Global  and gained acceptance as a legitimate recruitment professional during the the most challenging market for IT (post 9/11).  I functioned as both an account manager and a resource manager with increasing responsibilities in advising/mentoring junior staff.  I won several “RM of the Month” awards and also made the President’s Club list several times during my stay.

In 2008, I was presented an exceptional opportunity to take part in acquiring other recruitment firms, start and build a recruitment branch office and build/lead a team of recruitment professionals with David Aplin Recruiting (HQ’d in Edmonton, AB). 

Of course with the market challenges we are living through today I parted ways and have now taken the first steps as an Independent Recruitment Strategist for hire.  As part of my branding strategy I started this Blog to share with you what I have gained – what started as a side project is now blossoming into a vibrant readership with over 1000 unique readers per week as of Feb 21/2009.

I bring to the table:

• Over 7 1/2 years of IT Staffing experience, representing ‘large’ active clients and top candidates in their respective IT fields including building/leading/acquiring recruitment teams.
• 4+ years of prior experience in various technical & tech sales roles with employers/clients such as IBM, CIBC, ScotiaBank, Sears Canada, NIH and JPL to name a few.
• 4 years of Canadian Forces service (Communications Specialist).  I was posted to bases in Halifax, Kingston, Gagetown (the largest military training area in the Commonwealth)
• Previous Top Secret Level III security clearance with the Department of National Defense. Current active clearance is Enhanced Reliability.

I can be contacted at jzaidi1@hotmail.com should you have any inquiries, questions or are interested in engaging my services as a Recruitment Strategist.