From the Community: Why this Nominee Stands Out

“Karleigh Middlemiss is a Talent Acquisition Consultant for Stantec’s Future Talent team, responsible for hiring interns and co-op’s for the Ontario and Atlantic Canada region across various engineering and architecture disciplines.

Karleigh has a keen understanding of the student recruitment cycle and has taken a leadership role in educating our clients on timelines to meet students where they are at the right times. In her first few months on the team, Karleigh introduced the concept of a business-facing infographic timeline that would chart out the seasonal recruitment trends and led a small project team to develop it. She authored its supporting communication plan which helped to raise awareness of the timelines and encourage workforce planning on a more proactive cadence. By partnering with HR leaders and the Business, she gathered and incorporated diverse perspectives to create a high-quality work product and gain buy-in. We continue to hear positive feedback this is a helpful resource to learn about best practices in Canada and the United States. We have also seen a slight trend of requisitions opening earlier than last year, which had modernized our go-to-market strategy, allowing us to connect with more high potential candidates and deliver better candidate and hiring manager experiences. 

In collaboration with the experienced-hire TA teams, Karleigh co-led an initiative to create Standards of Practice to help bridge the gap between intern hiring and entry-level hiring (managed by different teams); by way of this collaboration framework, we are able to operate with clear roles and stay organized across multiple candidate-facing processes (i.e. posting jobs, managing events, candidate pipelining, intern conversions, etc.)

Karleigh understands the importance of engagement on digital platforms such as Linkedin and RippleMatch, and she regularly leverages these platforms to market on-campus events happening in her territory. For example, she designed and facilitated a panel event with four women leaders in our organization for the Women in Engineering chapter at McMaster University, on of the first events hosted on RippleMatch as we were just getting settled in our instance. She shared a Linkedin blast (featuring custom-designed graphic) to drive awareness through her network and continued the engagement with attendees on RippleMatch. The event was well attended and drove more interest in Stantec’s active early career roles at the close of the recruitment season.

Karleigh has made a significant impact by exercising leadership, project management, and change management skills to enable forward progress. She is an active member of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) in Canada, attained a post-graduate certificate in Human Resources Management, holds a Certificate of Human Resources Professional designation, and brings 5 years of experience in the early talent space. 

Karleigh's expertise in student recruitment and her awareness of market trends have transformed our operations and strengthened Stantec's employer brand. Her leadership in strategic projects has improved our service quality and overall function. These innovations are crucial for program development and help us stay competitive with Gen Z. Karleigh's dedication to guiding students and supporting clients is clear in her daily engagement. She truly deserves this recognition, and I am thankful to have her on the team!”