Inside Illumio: Rosy Bhullar

Inside Illumio is a monthly series that highlights the exceptional individuals behind Illumio’s world-class products. Each post will take a peek behind the scenes to spotlight a member of our team. Come get to know us a little better and learn more about what makes Illumio’s culture so unique.

This month, meet Rosy Bhullar, Illumio’s Senior Technical Recruiter, who’s based in California. Hear about Rosy’s approach to recruiting and the new hobbies she’s picked up this year.

Tell us about yourself. What do you do at Illumio?

I’m passionate about people and I love challenges, that’s what drew me to Illumio. I’ve been in the customer service and the recruiting business for a while – recruiting is in my blood. I started at Illumio as a “floater” recruiter where I got to recruit for a variety of different of roles. I’m really thankful that I was a floater recruiter because it gave me an opportunity to meet every team at Illumio, from sales, to customer success, to engineering. Getting to know all these different teams helped me see how much I love the people here. It feels like a big family and I never expected to have that in a work culture.

Now, as a Senior Technical Recruiter, I primarily work closely with our engineering and finance departments to build the team and culture at Illumio.

What made you interested in working at Illumio?

My background is in engineering and I’m a naturally techy person, so this led me to cybersecurity. I was familiar with the bigger companies in the industry, but I’m a curious person and wanted to better understand the scrappy startups too. That’s when I found Illumio. What stood out about the company initially was the color orange all over the website, but then I started researching the leadership and product – both are exceptional. When a company’s product and culture are remarkable not only is my experience as an employee better, but my job as a recruiter is easier.

What does a day in the life of Rosy look like? What are you working on that excites you?

Every day is different and that’s what I like. There’s always something new – new challenges to solve, new people I talk with, and new concepts to learn. That said, I start every day by setting up goals and reflecting on what I accomplished the day before.

My main goal is to build trust, which is one of Illumio’s core values. I build trust with my hiring managers, so they know I’m bringing them the best candidates for their teams. I build trust with my candidates, so they know what I’m telling them about the company and the role is the truth, rather than a sales pitch. I also spend time learning more about Illumio and our industry to better educate and help my candidates.

Tactically, I work closely with my hiring managers to understand what they need, why they need it, and set up strategies to help them accomplish their goals. I speak with candidates to help them better understand Illumio and potentially find roles that really suit them.

Tell us about your approach to recruiting.

With new recruiting technologies and AI, it’s easy to lose the human element of hiring, but I believe that’s the most important part. Recruiting is very personal and it’s my responsibility to build trust with my team and candidates – I take that responsibility very seriously. First, I’m transparent and honest with candidates about the company, the role, and how the process is going. I take the time to listen and understand their goals and concerns, as well as what they could bring to Illumio. Then, I focus on being a resource for them. I want to make my candidates successful and make the process simple.

How do you stay illuminated during the workday?

I try to be kind to myself so I can do my best work. Every morning before I start the day, I take a hike at 6:00am and I practice yoga frequently. Watching the sunrise gives me a lot of energy and helps me get through the day. Connecting with people energizes me too, so I like to send gifs or funny videos to my team on Slack. I also keep a book next to my desk and when I’m really tired, I’ll turn away from my laptop and read a few paragraphs before going back to work.

Have you picked up any new hobbies this year?

I started painting rocks. On a Zoom call I noticed a beautiful piece of artwork behind one of my teammates and it turned out to be a rock she painted. That’s when I started to explore painting rocks myself. It’s such a calming process and I really enjoy it.

I’m also teaching yoga (outside) to my neighbors every day after work. Since the pandemic, I traded in my hour commute for an hour of teaching yoga. We’ve been practicing as a group for more than 150 days now.

I love dancing! Last year for Diwali, I choreographed a dance for seniors through a local non-profit group. It was an Indian-fusion dance. It was so cool to see their performance, they were incredible.

Finally, I’m a wine person. Recently I’ve been exploring more red wines – I really love them. Cheers!

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned at Illumio so far?

Ask questions. Initially, I was hesitant about asking questions at Illumio, but you can learn so much from being curious at work. The whole company is very open with each other. It’s not unusual for a junior employee to go directly to their VP with questions, our leadership welcomes it. You’re never in the dark at Illumio, you just need to ask questions.

What career advice do you have for your younger self?

Don’t be afraid. When I was younger, I was often scared to speak up and that took my confidence away. I found my confidence again when Illumio’s leaders would listen to and be engaged with what I was saying. I think a lot of us are afraid of hearing “no,” but hearing “no” can help you get one step closer to a “yes.” It’s okay to not always be right, that’s how we grow.

What are you passionate about outside of your career?

I’m passionate about building up women’s confidence. There’s an organization in India that I support that promotes girls’ education and helps acid attack survivors. I also work with local organizations to help educate women and develop female leaders.

I’m also passionate about meditation and practice mindfulness throughout my daily routine.

Which Illumio core value resonates with you most and why?

There are two:

1. Build trust. We talked about how important this is in my role as a recruiter. I’ve also seen first-hand how important trust can be in developing someone’s career.
2. Run to challenges. Without challenges, work is boring. We need to face challenges to grow.

What do you want people to know about working at Illumio?

If you are a person who loves to make a meaningful impact, this environment is for you. Illumineers love to learn from others and they welcome the people who can come build the team, the culture, and the product alongside them. At Illumio, it’s all about teamwork.

Interested in joining the team? Check out our career openings here: https://www.illumio.com/career-openings