Bonitasoft has a new "talent searcher" to help build our technical and administrative teams. We're a technical company, what do we know about how she works? Well, we asked her and we're happy to share this interview with Christelle!
Q. What is a “talent searcher”?
Christelle: There is a lot of competition in recruiting for technical profiles among tech companies today. In the past, in the technical industry, companies didn’t necessarily have to go out searching because they had a steady stream of applications from job seekers.
Today, with technology evolving rapidly, the need for technical contributors with a certain set of skills has become a real challenge. There is a whole new generation of companies out there, all offering attractive job opportunities putting the candidates in the ideal position of choosing the opportunity that speaks best to them.
This means that we need to actively go out there looking for these people, who are also being sought after by other companies!
There is also a shift around what people are looking for when they become interested in applying for a position. We see that more and more people are looking for more than just a job - they are really looking for a company where they can have an impact and feel valued, as well as an organization that offers flexibility and a good work-life balance.
A company that is recruiting technical talent needs to understand technology and what appeals to the person(s) with the talent in this space and what benefits they’re after. I have found that this includes things like innovative approaches and technologies, remote working, environmental consciousness (“green”), future-oriented, support for families, and growth opportunities.
Q. How do you find "extraordinary talent?"
Christelle: There are many tech platforms helping companies in recruiting people with technical talents and where we can do a profile search such as Talent on AngelList.
At Bonitasoft, we do everything in house and also use LinkedIn Recruiter for reaching out directly to our future talents. This powerful tool helps us widen our talent pool.
For every search I do, I look at each profile and search for experience that best matches our needs - it’s like detective work.
My messages are always personalized to every person I contact. It’s important that I tell them why I’m interested in their professional background and how I see their skills matching with the company I’m recruiting for.
Q. What is special about the way you find and recruit talent?
Christelle: It’s important to take a personal approach. This is a targeted effort, searching for people whose skills fit the job and whose values fit the company.
A good fit goes beyond technical skills. Personal (soft skills) also need to be a match with the company culture.
So communicating about the company is important. “Selling” the company accurately is as important as what the job entails. That means knowing how to present the beneficial aspects of working with our company to attract the individuals we want.
I see myself as a relationship-builder. When I reach out to potential candidates, my first objective is to build a trusting relationship. The more you share transparently with people, the more likely it is that they'll develop interest in the company you represent.
That relationship means that our communication is usually more than a single exchange - after I cold-contact someone, if they express an interest in knowing more, we may have some back and forth about what they are looking for, what we are looking for, and so on before they even express an interest in knowing about an opening.
Timing matters too. Sometimes someone is not interested right away, but they may be later. People have answered my initial contact months after I first contacted them, because at the time they weren't open to a change. But six months later things have changed and now they are. So patience is key in this approach.
I also am an ambassador for the company. Even when I don’t successfully recruit someone for a specific position, our conversation leads them to learn more about our company and our product. It is important that I leave people with a good impression, a good feeling about our company no matter the outcome. You never know who might be open to coming over to us in the future, for a position that maybe isn’t even open yet!
Q. What advice can you give to recruitment professionals?
Christelle: It’s important to keep a positive experience for any candidate, or potential candidate, all along the recruitment process. Even if you don’t end up extending them an offer, or they end up declining an offer, if they feel that the whole process was a good experience, with transparent, clear, honest communication the whole way along, the company reputation gets a positive boost.
So for a recruiter, putting yourself in the shoes of the recruited person is important. I want to be sure to treat people the way I would want to be treated, with good communication that is personal and relevant and will even help me with a future application if I’m not selected. Why was I contacted by this recruiter? Why are they interested in me? What is happening at each step of the recruitment process? If I applied for the position but was not selected, why was that?
Because I empathize with the position of a candidate, everyone always gets a reply from my company. No one wants to think their application just went into a black hole. And we let candidates know where they stand at every step of the process.
Q. What advice can you give to someone considering becoming a Talent Searcher specialist?
Christelle: It might seem like HR work is administrative or boring and it definitely is not. You have to be proactive, learn about today’s job market, know a lot about the company you work for, be aware of trends among candidates who are in the job market. There is a lot of research to do on all of this, and the more you talk to candidates, the more you learn about the market in general.
It’s important to be a curious person, interested in learning about people. It’s actually very interesting to talk to so many different kinds of people every day as part of your job!
It’s also important to be a good listener - to ask open ended questions and really hear what people have to say.
It helps to be passionate about the industry you are working in. You need to know it well, so it helps if it hits a personal interest.
Also it’s important to be organized, because you need to keep track of all of these various communication tracks happening all at once.
And you need to be patient! It takes time to recruit the right person nowadays!
What I love about my job is that I can reinvent myself every day as a Talent Recruiter. What works to get someone’s attention today may be different from what will work tomorrow!
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If you our someone you know might be interested in learning more about Bonitasoft's job openings, have a look at our open posts. Christelle will be happy to hear from you! You can also follow her on LinkedIn to get up-to-date information on Bonitasoft's team evolution.
