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Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.

Today is episode 170 with the title Turning Rejections Into Opportunities, and I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome C Guz. C is a female entrepreneur and job seeker who has turned her own experiences with rejection into a mission to humanise recruitment and make the hiring process more inclusive for all. And when I asked C to describe her superpower, she said it is transforming setbacks into empowerment by advocating for inclusive recruitment practises that allow everyone to thrive. Hello, Si. Welcome to the show.

Hello, Joanne. It's so nice to be here and so, so nice to be doing this with you.

I'm. I'm glad I actually pushed record on this episode because we were chatting away, we were wasting all this fabulous material, so. Brilliant. So, yeah, we've got loads of stuff for our guests to listen to today, so, you see, you said when we were chatting away, you're in Turkey, is that right? Whereabouts in Turkey? Whereabouts in. I don't know it that well. I know Bodrum probably is probably about it.

Currently in Istanbul, commonly known as, you know, the Constantinople, the city with two coasts. So that's where I was born and raised then.

Wow. Because Turkey is a interesting country because it's a bit Mediterranean, it's almost a bit African, it's almost a bit Asian, almost a bit European. It's kind of on that really sort of strange gateway zone, isn't it?

I'd say so, but I personally never found my belonging here. And that's also, you know, what eventually led me to, you know, seeking these global doors and opportunities.

So, you know, like me, actually, you know, you faced rejections in your job search and so how did you turn those kind of rejections and channel those into kind of a An entrepreneurial spirit. How do you humanise recruitment?

Absolutely. That's a great question. Thank you so much. Accidentally, I think I've been studying the whole space for the last eight years and I initially didn't really mean to. I was a very young person, young professional, looking to get opportunities, get the right mentorship. And then the last five years for me has been really difficult because I got more than 13,000 rejections. And that meant like slap on the wrist, a kick on the face. But that eventually made me navigate a 10 month of unemployment period where the financial insecurity was at an all time low, at an all time high.

And essentially I looked at everything that I was navigating and how degraded, you know, unqualified I felt. And it felt like as if I am totally useless, as if I cannot achieve nothing. Um, and the job market was really like, you know, transforming when I was an undergraduate. And then when I graduated, it just became a whole chaos with the layoffs and, and the economy, inflations and everything. So in that 10 months, what I realised is, you know what? See, I said to myself, millions of people are going through the same thing today and you see a solution. If you do not act on this solution, then you're not responsible, you're not fulfilling your responsibility and you're, you know, you are not doing what it needs to be done. And if you don't do it, then no one will do it. And can you really live with yourself? You know, after five, 10 years, the solution does not exist and these people are going through the same chaos just because you were ignorant.