Why Seat exists.
Hiring became a conversation between algorithms. We wanted to put people back in it.
The application problem
Job seekers use AI to write CVs. Employers use AI to write job descriptions. ATS systems use AI to compare one against the other.
“I post my role on LinkedIn and within 48 hours I have over a thousand applicants. But none of them are a good fit. Everyone looks like the perfect candidate on paper, but when we speak to them in person, they’re not remotely qualified.”
We felt there was a better way. Rather than asking people to optimise every application around the job in front of them, Seat simply interviews them about who they are — their experience, skills, values and preferred way of working. We interview employers about the role and the people they want in their organisation. Then our matching system considers the full picture and presents the three strongest fits for the employer to invite to interview.
The people behind the table
Zain Shaikh
Co-founder · Product, brand and the conversation
Zain has spent his career working out why people choose what they choose. At Dyson, Red Bull, Waitrose and Chalhoub Group, he built brands around culture rather than campaigns, then ran marketing as CMO of an EV startup and led strategy at Tactical in Dubai. Along the way, he sat on both sides of hiring more times than he can count and kept noticing the same thing: the best people rarely looked best on paper. Seat At The Table is his answer — a conversation instead of a CV, and a seat for people who might otherwise be overlooked.
Yasmin Izzard
Co-founder · People, employers and everything HR
Yas has spent her career on the other side of the table. She has led HR and recruitment at Emirates, Strategy&, Meta, Chalhoub Group and, most recently, as Head of HR at Tactical, where she and Zain first worked together. She has read thousands of CVs and sat in on more interviews than she would like to admit. She knows exactly where good people slip through the cracks, and why companies pay agencies to find people who were already in the building. At Seat At The Table, she makes sure what we build works for the people who actually hire.
One honest conversation. Then go and live your life.
No reading hundreds of CVs. No tailoring an application for every role. No waiting days for a response. Seat listens once, understands both sides and makes the introduction when there is something worth discussing.