People by Farnaz
Farnaz Farahdel, black-and-white portrait
About Farnaz

Welcome.

I am an HR, Talent Acquisition, and Employee Experience professional with more than a decade of experience across established organisations, growing businesses and independent projects.

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Understanding people.
Bringing structure to work.

My work has included building HR practices from the ground up, recruiting for new teams, and supporting people as they enter unfamiliar working environments. Across these settings, I bring a practical approach: understand the situation, ask useful questions, and create processes that people can work with.

Building the foundations

My early experience at Renault introduced me to the discipline and structure of a large international organisation.

Later, I took responsibility for establishing HR practices in a company where people-related activities were largely handled through Finance and Administration. My work covered job analysis, job descriptions, recruitment processes, performance management, and learning and development.

I also led a shift in the company’s culture as younger engineers joined an organisation shaped by a more formal, senior generation. I worked to create a more open and connected environment, strengthening collaboration and knowledge sharing across generations.

That experience shaped how I approach HR: clear processes and strong working relationships need to develop together.

Finding the people behind the requirements

Recruiting for a new digital banking team brought a different challenge: attracting specialist talent in a competitive market.

It required understanding both the business’s needs and what mattered to the people we wanted to reach. Through this work and later freelance recruitment projects, I developed an approach grounded in careful listening, trust and a clear understanding of the role.

Bringing experience into new settings

Moving to Finland added a personal perspective to my work with people and transitions.

At the University of Helsinki, I supported international employees and contributed to programmes helping them settle into a new workplace. I have also contributed to career-guidance and job-discovery projects, exploring how technology can connect people with opportunities that better reflect their skills and interests.

These experiences have broadened the contexts in which I apply my HR background.

Beyond my professional work

My creative practice gives me another way to explore identity, belonging and human experience.

Through Locker Room Talks, visual art and other independent projects, I make space for people’s stories. That interest also informs my professional work: I pay attention to individual experiences while looking for practical ways to improve how work is organised.

Beyond my professional work

Other ways I explore people and stories.

My curiosity about people extends beyond my professional work. Through independent creative projects, I explore identity, connection and the stories we carry.

Black-and-white behind-the-scenes photograph of a Locker Room Talks conversation

Locker Room Talks

Conversations and personal stories exploring identity, belonging and lived experience.

Visit Locker Room Talks
Black-and-white portrait illustrating Farnaz Farahdel’s creative practice

Farnaz Farahdel

My independent creative practice across visual art, photography, moving image and personal reflections.

Visit my creative portfolio
People remember how you made them feel.
Farnaz, approved handwritten signature