Nikhil Kumar

Hands-on Talent Acquisition professional with 10 years of active experience partnering with business and engineering leaders to execute full-cycle hiring and build high-performing teams across Technology, Product, Sales, Operations, and Corporate functions. Proven ability to operate both as a hands-on Individual Contributor (IC) personally sourcing and closing niche technical and corporate roles, and as a recruitment leader managing teams of up to 15 recruiters. Track record of managing 25–30 concurrent requisitions, delivering 40–60 hires per month during peak cycles, reducing technology hiring turnaround time (TAT) by ~20%, and achieving a 70–75% offer-to-join ratio through structured recruitment operations and proactive candidate engagement.

Adept at leveraging LinkedIn Recruiter, Naukri RMS, Boolean/X-Ray Search, ATS platforms, and AI-powered sourcing tools to attract passive and active talent, elevate candidate experience, and build cost-efficient diversity and campus hiring pipelines. Open to opportunities across PAN India and remote roles; available immediately.

Head of Recruitment - End-to-End IT & Non-IT Talent Acquisition at Vedas RapshTech Pvt. Ltd. (IT & Business Solutions) (2024-07 – 2025-04)

• Hands-On Full-Cycle Sourcing: Actively sourced, screened, and closed IT and Non-IT profiles end-to-end using LinkedIn Recruiter, Naukri RMS, Boolean Search, referrals, and WhatsApp/social media broadcast campaigns, maintaining a 200+ active candidate pipeline and a positive candidate experience throughout the hiring lifecycle.
• End-to-End Requisition & SLA Delivery: Managed 25–30 concurrent hiring mandates across IT, Sales, Customer Acquisition, Operations, Customer Support, and Corporate functions (spanning Business Development Executive, Territory Manager, and Sales Manager roles from executive to zonal levels), delivering 40–60 hires per month during peak cycles within strict SLA turnaround times of 40–55 days for tech and 25–35 days for non-tech roles.
• Recruitment Function Build-Out: Set up the organization's recruitment department from the ground up within 60 days where no formal function previously existed, establishing standardized workflows for sourcing, screening, interview coordination, offer management, and onboarding that scaled output to 40–60 monthly hires within the first quarter.
• Stakeholder & Enterprise Client Partnering: Signed MOUs, onboarded, and partnered directly with internal business leaders and corporate client accounts—including Paytm, Just Dial, and TeamLease—managing recruitment mandates end-to-end from requirement calibration and contracting through final delivery.
• Team Leadership & Pipeline Governance: Led and mentored a team of 12–15 recruiters and sourcing specialists across IT and Non-IT hiring verticals, setting weekly targets and auditing pipeline quality to drive closure accountability and a 70–75% offer-to-join ratio.
• Zero-Cost Sourcing & Employer Branding: Built cost-efficient, zero-cost sourcing channels through campus hiring drives, walk-in events, and job fests; spearheaded diversity sourcing initiatives and employer branding (optimizing job descriptions and career pages on LinkedIn and Naukri) to build inclusive, high-visibility talent pipelines.

Product Head - Talent Acquisition & Technology Hiring at Mempage Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (2023-02 – 2024-06)

• Full-Cycle Technology Recruitment: Executed and led end-to-end IT and technology recruitment across Software Engineering, QA, Testing, Mobile Development, and IT Support functions, personally driving requirement gathering, Boolean sourcing, competency-based screening, interview coordination, offer rollout, and onboarding.
• Tech TAT Optimization: Achieved an average turnaround time (TAT) of 40–55 days for niche technology roles, delivering a ~20% improvement from the prior 60–70 day baseline through structured intake calibration and proactive passive talent sourcing.
• Engineering & Business Partnering: Partnered closely with business leaders and engineering heads to define technical role specifications, competency rubrics, and structured sourcing plans aligned with product delivery timelines.
• Team Scaling, Employer Branding & Campus Programs: Guided a team of 7–9 technical recruiters, drove technical employer branding on LinkedIn and Naukri, and managed structured internship hiring programs that achieved a ~60% intern-to-full-time conversion rate.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning Manager at Parsan Agritech & Chemicals (2013-01 – 2020-11)

• End-to-End Recruitment & Evaluation Standardization: Led full-cycle recruitment and workforce planning across Sales, Operations, and Corporate functions covering multiple territories, implementing structured interview processes and standardized evaluation frameworks while managing a team of 8–10 recruiters and HR coordinators.
• Workforce Forecasting & Backfill TAT Reduction: Partnered with business leadership to forecast territory-level headcount needs and built multi-channel talent pipelines via job portals, referrals, local networks, campus recruitment drives, and job fests, reducing attrition-driven backfill TAT to 20–30 days—a 35% improvement over previous 45–50 day cycles.
• Multi-Territory Hiring Scale: Drove high-volume hiring for Sales Officers, Territory & Area Sales Managers, Regional Sales Managers, and Business Development Executives, consistently closing 20–30 positions per month across expansion territories and supporting ~40% growth in field sales headcount over 3 years.

Planned Caregiving & Upskilling Break (2025-05 – Present)

Stepped back to serve as primary caregiver during a family medical emergency and to prioritize family health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilized both periods for structured professional upskilling in AI-powered recruitment tools, SHRM talent acquisition frameworks, candidate engagement strategies, digital sourcing techniques, and workforce planning; available immediately for full-time roles.

Planned Caregiving & Upskilling Break (2020-12 – 2023-01)

Stepped back to serve as primary caregiver during a family medical emergency and to prioritize family health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilized both periods for structured professional upskilling in AI-powered recruitment tools, SHRM talent acquisition frameworks, candidate engagement strategies, digital sourcing techniques, and workforce planning; available immediately for full-time roles.

B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering – Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering, Delhi