Every once in a while, life hands you a moment that stays with you — not because it was dramatic, but because it quietly reshapes how you see others. An everyday Uber ride became exactly that for me. It was a reminder that potential doesn't announce itself; sometimes, it sits quietly, waiting for someone to pay attention.
I'm writing this blog to share that moment — and to highlight how powerful it can be when we choose to look beyond assumptions and truly see the people in front of us.
Recruiters talk endlessly about "finding great talent," yet the systems we build often filter out the very people we claim to be looking for. We rely on job titles, linear career paths, clean CVs, and neatly packaged credentials — assuming they reflect capability. But capability doesn't always sit in the places we expect. Sometimes, it sits behind the wheel of an Uber.
The Ride That Changed My Perspective
After a long workday, I requested a ride home. The driver greeted me with a calm, grounded confidence — nothing loud or showy, just a presence that made me feel I was speaking to someone with much more depth than his current job suggested.
During the ride, I learned he was from Upper Egypt, a Sohag University graduate who came to Cairo searching for a better future. Like many young professionals who don't get the right opportunity at the right time, he found himself driving Uber just to survive. But survival doesn't erase potential; it only hides it.
What struck me was not his situation, but the disconnect between his capability and the role he occupied. He spoke intelligently, asked thoughtful questions, and showed a level of curiosity you'd rarely find even in a structured interview. And then, casually, he started discussing web development concepts, app structure, and backend logic — with clarity that caught me completely off guard.
What This Moment Taught Me About Hiring
That ride raised questions I haven't stopped thinking about:
- How many candidates have we dismissed because their CV didn't follow the expected path?
- How many strong performers are currently invisible to our systems?
- How many "unqualified" candidates are actually capable, driven, and teachable — the exact traits that make exceptional employees?
Hiring is not just about evaluating qualifications. It's about recognizing potential before the world does.
Small Actions That Prevent Top Talent from Slipping Away
- Challenge one screening rule you use too strictly. For example: rejecting candidates because of unrelated job titles.
- Look for one signal beyond the CV during screening. Self-learning is the strongest indicator of long-term success.
- Add one interview question that reveals growth mindset. "Tell me something you taught yourself and why."
- Manually review one candidate the ATS filters out. Just one. You might be surprised who you find.
- Ask: "Is this rejection based on skill or paperwork?" The answers can be uncomfortable — but transformative.
Final Thought
Recruitment shapes lives. Automation improves efficiency, but discernment is what builds strong teams. Sometimes, the best candidate isn't the one with the perfect CV. Sometimes, they're the one who never made it past the ATS. Sometimes, they're driving an Uber, carrying a quiet confidence and a talent the system never learned to see. And sometimes, all it takes is a single conversation to change everything — for them, and for us.
Ahmed Mansour is Head of HR at Saudi Airlines. He believes that people do their best when they feel supported, trusted, and understood.
