From Recruiter to Product Manager: Careers, Money & Investing | Zaid Hassan | Ep. 25

What should you actually focus on in your 20s — your career, personal brand, or your money? In Episode 25 of the Campus2Career Podcast, we sit down with Zaid Hassan, whose unconventional career has taken him from studying ACCA to Customer Experience, Talent Recruitment and eventually Product Management. Zaid shares how deliberately pursuing opportunities and developing a problem-solving mindset helped shape his career — including building an applicant tracking system himself while working in recruitment. We also get the perspective of someone who has actually sat on the recruiter's side of the table. We discuss what recruiters look for, why students shouldn't blindly apply to every job, internships, resumes, using AI/ChatGPT in your CV, researching companies before interviews, and why your online presence increasingly matters when you're looking for opportunities. The conversation then shifts to personal branding and personal finance. Zaid talks about putting himself out there through content, why young professionals should experiment instead of immediately forcing themselves into a niche, and how his own investment journey started with just PKR 5,000 in a mutual fund at 19 before eventually moving into the Pakistan Stock Exchange. We also break down his approach to managing a salary: invest first, then build your lifestyle around what's left — rather than waiting until the end of the month to invest whatever happens to remain. Chapters 00:00 Preview 00:47 Introduction 01:59 Zaid Hassan's journey 03:19 Wanting to work at SadaPay 06:05 Starting in Customer Experience 06:55 Moving into Talent & Recruitment 11:05 Developing a problem-solving mindset 15:36 What recruiters actually look for 16:42 Career advice for students & fresh graduates 17:53 Why you shouldn't apply to every job 18:28 Using ChatGPT for your resume 19:00 Do recruiters check your LinkedIn & socials? 20:53 How to stand out in an interview 23:12 The biggest interview turn-off 25:40 Do you need your life figured out at 22? 30:03 Why personal branding matters 32:48 Can personal branding help you get hired? 34:01 Do you really need to pick a niche? 34:39 Zaid's investing journey 37:44 Getting started with the stock market 39:24 His first stock investment — and losing money 41:08 Building a monthly investing system 45:01 How should young professionals manage money? 46:01 Invest first, spend what's left 51:01 Stocks vs crypto & other investments 53:12 The friction of investing in Pakistan 55:55 Rapid Fire 58:15 Final career advice for students 1:00:21 Zaid's investing advice for young people 1:01:40 Closing Zaid's closing message is simple: start learning about investing early rather than waiting until you have a lot of money, and initially approach it for the learning rather than the returns. 🎙️ Guest: Zaid Hassan 🎧 Episode: 25 🚀 Campus2Career — Community • Guidance • Transition If you're a university student, fresh graduate or young professional trying to figure out your career, personal brand and finances, this conversation is for you. Subscribe to Campus2Career for conversations with professionals sharing the experiences, mistakes and lessons that shaped their careers. #Campus2Career #CareerAdvice #ProductManagement #PersonalFinance #PSX #Investing #FreshGraduates #Pakistan