Kamal De Campos is a Recruiter with the Human Services Department’s Human Resources unit. In our latest Employee Spotlight, Kamal writes about HSD’s newly streamlined recruiting and hiring processes, and the joy of welcoming new hires to the best department in the City.
What is your role at Seattle Human Services?
Although I’ve worked in HSD since November 2023, I’ve been in this role as Recruiter for about a year now. I am proud to be one of the first people new hires interact with once they submit an application to work with us. In this role, I serve two sets of customers: HSD hiring managers and job seekers external to the department — and often from outside of Seattle. I have the pleasure of developing job postings, helping identify top candidates for positions, setting up interviews, and best of all, sending out offers to candidates!
How has the job changed recently?
Our recruitment processes have become more streamlined. We’ve gone from lots of manual processes to more automations in our pre-hire steps. Also, our hiring managers are much more informed and knowledgeable about what it takes to start recruiting for a position. I’ve been able to simplify the process for them by assuming more recruiting duties, such as scheduling interviews, completing professional references for top candidates, and more.
How do you contribute to HSD’s overarching goals related to racial equity?
I contribute to these goals by prioritizing diversity and including community in hiring panels. I ensure that every interview panel includes people from different walks of life, whether that’s race, sexual orientation, gender, abilities, etc. Most recently, I included partnering community members as interview panelists for an open position in our Safe and Thriving Communities division.
What do you love about your job?
There’s so much to love, I couldn’t just settle for one answer, so I’ll share two!
I love how much this role allows me to interact with HSD staff. I’ve met so many new faces across our five divisions and have become well-acquainted with their team dynamics and hiring needs.
I also love getting to welcome new hires to our department. Nothing feels better than sending out an offer letter to a new employee and welcoming them to the best department in the City. (I make sure they know this!)