The story of Nurai Sadykova
“I thought that, as an HR professional, I’d find a job quickly. Then I ended up in that same silence after sending applications”: the story of Nurai Sadykova
Job searching is rarely as smooth as career advice makes it sound. You open job listings, send your CV, pass the interview, receive an offer — neat and simple. But in reality, between the first application and a new job, there are often weeks of doubt, silence, CV edits, strange vacancies, and conversations that leave you unsure what to do next.
Nurai Sadykova spent many years working in HR. She conducted interviews herself, recruited specialists for IT companies, helped candidates prepare for online job searches, and explained how to deal with the challenges of looking for work. So when she needed to find a new job herself, Nurai was sure she knew the rules of the game.
It turned out that knowing the rules and going through the process yourself are two very different things.
We spoke with Nurai about why the job search turned out to be harder than she expected, how she got through the period of uncertainty, and how she eventually found a job at CorePilot through our website.
Nurai, tell us a little about yourself. How did you come into HR?
I grew up in a small town not far from Almaty. We had an ordinary, calm family: my mother was a teacher, and my father was an engineer. My mother always knew how to talk to people in a way that made them open up, while my father valued order, precision, and clear solutions. I probably took something from both of them.
As a child, I often stayed with my grandmother. You grow up quickly there: you help around the house, find things to do on your own, and learn not to make a fuss over small things. My grandmother had old magazines, and I could spend hours looking through them. I liked not only reading them, but also observing: how people looked, how they carried themselves, what was in their eyes. I started noticing the mood in a room very early. Who was tired, who was irritated, who was pretending everything was fine.
That later became very useful in HR. Because working with people is not just about asking questions from a list. Sometimes a candidate says one thing, but between the lines you hear something completely different.
After university, I moved to Almaty. At first, I worked as an administrator at an educational center. That was my first real school of communication: parents, students, teachers, schedules, urgent issues, unhappy phone calls. Then I gradually moved into HR, started working in recruitment, worked with IT companies, and filled different roles. Later, I became a career consultant.
I have always liked helping people find their place. Not some beautifully worded “life purpose,” but a normal job where a person understands what they are doing, why they are needed, and how they can grow.
When you started looking for a job yourself, did you feel, “I’m in HR, I’ll handle this quickly”?
Yes, of course. And now it even makes me laugh to remember it.
I thought, “How hard can it be? I’m the one who explained to candidates how to look for work, how to adapt a CV, how to answer questions.” It felt like I would simply apply my own advice and quickly find the right place.
Then I opened the job listings — and it began.
One vacancy looked interesting, but the description was so vague that it was impossible to understand who they were looking for. Another said “HR Generalist,” but the responsibilities were basically an entire HR department in one person. A third seemed fine, but after I applied, there was silence. A fourth replied, but during the very first call you realized the role had almost nothing to do with the description.
And there you are, sitting in the evening with your laptop open, tabs everywhere — vacancies, CV, notes — thinking, “Okay, wait. I know how to do this. So why is it so hard?”
The most unpleasant part was admitting that professional experience does not protect you from ordinary human emotions. You still worry when nobody replies. You still doubt yourself when you rewrite your CV. You still get tired of uncertainty.
Why did you decide to look for a new job?
For a while, I worked as a career consultant and took on HR projects. It gave me freedom, but I started missing a team. I wanted to be not an external person who came in, helped, and left, but part of a company.
I wanted to see the result more deeply: how recruitment is built, how people adapt, how managers set tasks, how HR can influence processes instead of simply closing vacancies.
I also realized that I was tired of constantly switching between different projects. I wanted one strong story. A company I could immerse myself in, understand its culture, people, and goals.
I was not looking for an “ideal place.” I have been in HR for a long time, and I understand that ideal places do not exist. But I was looking for a company with common sense, respect for people, and a desire to build processes, not just put out fires.
How did your online job search begin?
At first, I had a lot of energy. I updated my CV, looked through vacancies, opened job sites, Telegram channels, LinkedIn, and company career pages. I made a list of roles: HR Business Partner, Talent Acquisition, People Partner, HR Generalist, in-house career consultant.
And this is where I made things harder for myself. I started searching too broadly.
My experience fit different roles, but each one required a different emphasis. Somewhere recruitment mattered more, somewhere working with managers, somewhere onboarding, somewhere consulting, somewhere process development. At first, I tried to show everything at once.
As a result, the CV was strong, but too general. It had many of the right words, but it did not clearly answer the question: “Nurai is the right person for this specific task.”
That is one of the main difficulties of job searching. You want to show all your experience because it feels painful to leave something out. But an employer does not read a CV like a biography. They look at it and ask, “Can this person solve my problem or not?”
Which job search challenges did you feel most strongly?
The first was the silence after applications. I worked in HR for many years, and I understand why that happens. High volume, urgent tasks, the vacancy may have closed, priorities may have changed. But when you are the candidate, it still feels unpleasant.
You send an application and wait for a day, two days, a week. Then you start thinking, “Maybe my CV is bad? Maybe I’m applying to the wrong places? Maybe the market has moved on and I didn’t notice?” Silence very quickly starts to sound like judgment, although in reality it is not always about you.
The second challenge was strange vacancies. Sometimes you read them and cannot understand whether this is a real role or someone’s New Year’s wish list. “We need an independent HR specialist who will build processes from scratch, handle recruitment, onboarding, internal communications, analytics, training, and employer branding.” And all of that, of course, “in a dynamic team.”
I looked at those vacancies and thought, “Colleagues, you do not need a specialist. You need a department.”
The third challenge was fatigue. Online job searching seems convenient because everything is right there: vacancies, applications, emails, interviews. But because of that, you are constantly inside the process. Even when you close the laptop, your mind keeps searching: did I send it there? did they reply? maybe I need to rewrite the experience section?
The fourth was the need to sell myself. I can easily help another person formulate their strengths. But when it comes to myself, the inner critic appears. You write an achievement and think, “Is this too loud?” You remove it, and now it is too modest. It was funny and unpleasant at the same time.
Was there a moment when you realized you needed to change your approach?
Yes. After a series of applications that led almost nowhere.
I sat down and looked at my job search as an HR process. If the funnel is not working, you need to see where the drop-off is happening. I wrote down where I had applied, which versions of my CV I had sent, where they responded, where they did not, and which vacancies led to calls.
And it became clear: I was applying actively, but not always precisely. Some roles were not even that interesting to me; they just “kind of fit.” In some cases, I was sending a CV that was too universal. In others, I was not explaining why my experience was relevant to that specific company.
After that, I stopped chasing quantity. Three good applications are better than twenty automatic ones. I started adapting my CV for each strong vacancy: changing the top section, rearranging skills, choosing the right examples.
And I also created a spreadsheet. Yes, it sounds boring. But a spreadsheet saves your nerves. When an online job search goes on for several weeks, everything blends together. With a spreadsheet, you can see: here is the company, here is the application date, here is the status, here is the comment. It brings back a sense of control.
How did you find our website?
I was looking not only for vacancies, but also for proper career advice. Not the “just believe in yourself” kind, but practical advice: how to read job descriptions, how to prepare an application, how to deal with rejections, how not to burn out during the search.
I found your website through an article about online job searching. I liked that it did not promise quick miracles. It felt like the text had been written by someone who understands the real market: where there is a lot of noise, where candidates get tired, where a CV needs to be adapted instead of simply sent everywhere.
Then I started looking at vacancies on the website. I found it convenient that useful materials were placed alongside the job search. It was not just “here is a list, figure it out yourself,” but a calmer way to navigate the process.
That is how I saw the CorePilot vacancy.
At first, I opened it out of curiosity. The name caught my attention. Then I read the description more carefully and thought, “Okay, this is actually interesting.”
What attracted you to CorePilot?
CorePilot works with AI automation for business, and I liked that the company sounded modern, but without a cold corporate mask. The description gave the feeling that the company was growing and had ambitions, but that people and processes mattered to it as well.
I was interested in joining an environment where HR is needed not just to “close vacancies,” but to properly set up a system. In growing IT companies, everything often moves very fast. If processes are not built, people start getting tired, managers start rushing, candidates get lost, and HR turns into the person running around with a bucket, putting out small fires.
At CorePilot, I saw tasks where my experience could be useful: recruitment, communication with managers, onboarding, expectation management, and developing an HR approach within the team.
I also liked that the vacancy was written fairly honestly. It did not feel like someone was trying to sell me a perfect world. It was clear that there was a lot of work, but it was meaningful work.
How did you prepare your application?
I did not send my CV right away. Even though I really wanted to press the button and think, “Let it happen.”
First, I analyzed the vacancy. I wrote down which tasks were key, what experience needed to be shown, and what wording the company used. Then I opened my CV and honestly asked myself, “If someone from CorePilot looks at this for 30 seconds, will they understand why I am a fit?”
The answer was: not fully.
I rewrote the top section. I emphasized IT recruitment, working with managers, career consulting, and building processes. I removed some details that I personally liked, but that were unnecessary for this role.
I wrote a short cover letter. No long life story. Who I am, why CorePilot interests me, which parts of my experience match their tasks, and how I can be useful.
I wanted the application to sound calm. Not “I am your perfect fit,” but “here is my experience, here is your task, and there is a match here.”
How did the first interview go?
It was very lively. And a little strange, because an HR person being interviewed by HR is a separate genre.
You answer as a candidate, but inside you there is a professional part noticing how the question is structured, how they hold a pause, how they explain the role. I even smiled to myself a couple of times.
The first conversation was calm. They asked me about my experience, IT recruitment, working with managers, and why I wanted to return to a team. I honestly said that I was not looking for a role where HR simply closes requests. It is important to me to influence the quality of the process.
There were difficult questions too. For example, what should you do if a manager urgently wants to hire someone, but cannot clearly explain who exactly they need? I said that the first step is not to rush into posting a vacancy, but to run a calibration session. Otherwise, everyone ends up unhappy: HR brings the wrong candidates, the manager wastes time, and candidates have a strange experience.
I liked that the conversation was to the point. No artificial stress, no game of “guess the right answer.” That says a lot about a company.
And what about the final stages?
Then there was a conversation with the manager. At that stage, we discussed not only my experience, but also CorePilot’s real tasks. I liked that he did not try to pretend everything was perfect.
He spoke directly: this area needs to be strengthened, this area is growing, this area needs structure, and here it is important not to lose human communication.
That was very valuable to me. I do not like empty promises. When a company says, “Everything is wonderful here, there are no difficulties,” I become cautious. Because if a company is growing, there will be difficulties. The question is not whether they exist. The question is how the company deals with them.
After that conversation, for the first time in a long while, I felt not anxiety, but interest. I was going home and thinking not “will they hire me or not,” but “I understand what I would be doing there.”
That is a good sign.
How did you react to the offer?
Honestly? At first, I just exhaled.
There was no movie-like moment where I jumped around the room. It was a different feeling: “Finally, the process has come together.” Job searching takes a lot of energy, even if you are an experienced specialist. So an offer is not only joy, but also relief.
They gave me feedback quickly, the conditions were clear, and the role was transparent. I asked questions, we discussed the details, and I accepted the offer.
When I received the offer from CorePilot, I felt that all the previous weeks had not been for nothing. Even the applications that did not work out helped me understand more clearly what I wanted and how to present myself.
What helped you most in getting through the challenges of the job search?
Structure. Without it, job searching turns into an emotional roller coaster.
It helped a lot to stop applying chaotically. I started choosing vacancies more carefully and adapting my CV. The application spreadsheet helped. The materials on your website helped too, because they brought me back to a normal, practical view: do not dramatize, analyze the process.
And it also helped to accept one simple thought: rejection or silence is not always an assessment of my professionalism. Sometimes it is just the market. Sometimes the vacancy is no longer relevant. Sometimes the company itself does not understand who it is looking for. Sometimes another candidate simply matched better.
That does not mean you should not improve your CV or prepare for interviews. You should. But you should not turn every rejection into a personal verdict.
What would you advise people who are looking for a job online right now?
Do not turn your job search into a chaotic mass mailing of your CV. It is exhausting and rarely produces a good result.
First, figure out which roles truly suit you. Then create a proper CV, but not one “for every possible situation.” Adapt it for strong vacancies. You do not need to rewrite it completely every time, but you should change the emphasis.
Read job descriptions carefully. If there are too many general phrases, ask questions. If they promise fast growth, a high salary, and a “friendly family,” but cannot explain the actual tasks, that is a reason to be cautious.
Do not look for work on only one platform. Online job searching works better when you use different channels: job sites, company career pages, professional communities, referrals, LinkedIn, Telegram channels. But the important thing is not the number of channels. It is order in your actions.
And make sure you take care of yourself. A job search is not a test of your worth as a person. It is a process of finding a match between you and a company. Sometimes that match appears quickly, and sometimes it takes time.
Have you started looking at candidates differently after going through this experience yourself?
Yes. Although I always tried to be attentive before, now I understand even more sharply how important normal communication is.
When you yourself are waiting for a reply after an interview, you start seeing the phrase “we’ll get back to you with feedback” differently. If you promised to respond, it is better to respond. Even briefly. Even with a rejection.
Candidates do not expect everyone to praise them and hire them. More often, they expect clarity. Where are we in the process? What comes next? When should I expect an answer? Is my experience a fit?
I think it is useful for HR professionals to remember sometimes that behind every application there is a person. Not a “unit in the funnel,” but a person who may have spent an evening carefully rewriting their CV specifically for your vacancy.
How is your work at CorePilot going now?
Intensely, but interestingly. I am getting to know the teams, looking at processes, speaking with managers, and analyzing recruitment and onboarding. There are many tasks where you need not simply to “make it look nice,” but to understand how it will work in reality.
That is exactly what I like about CorePilot: there is movement, there are real questions, and there is room for meaningful HR influence. Of course, not everything is perfect all the time. But I do not need perfection. I need an honest working environment where problems can be discussed and solved.
Right now, I feel that I am in the right place. Not because everything is easy, but because the tasks are real.
What is the main conclusion you took from this story?
Everyone faces difficulties when looking for work. Even HR professionals. Even career consultants. Even someone who has spent years explaining to others how to search for a job.
Online job searching is not just sending a CV through a website. It is strategy, attention to detail, the ability to choose, adapt, and not fall apart emotionally after every silence.
My path to CorePilot was not instant, but it was important. With the help of your website, I not only found the vacancy, but also looked at the process itself more calmly. I stopped rushing around, built an approach, presented my experience more clearly — and eventually got a job that I am genuinely interested in.
The main conclusion is probably simple: a good job is not found when you send a hundred identical applications, but when you finally understand clearly who you are, what you can do, and which company truly needs it.
