Oyvind, you recently hired a Senior Software Engineer through PCR and our Exclusive Search Product. You’ve also previously worked with Joe for a similar role so we wanted to get an idea of your experience, what went well and what may be improved for our future engagements. Please have a look at the questions below and be as honest/brutal as you like! (We all need to learn and improve to be the best in what we do).
1. What was your problem?
If I can describe this as a problem it was a problem of the “nice-to-have” variety. Due to the COVID pandemic sending most people home and driving them to shop online KIDLY has seen big and unexpected growth. We have attempted to capitalise on the situation and bring forward elements of our longer term plans, and this requires greater capacity in the KIDLY Tech department. As such, I decided to hire one or two more engineers to the team. The challenge was to find people who would be the right fit in terms of personality and attitude as well as technical ability.
2. How was Joe able to help solve this?
Joe has filled a role for us before and knows my whole tech team (we're not that big!) and therefore has a good understanding of who we are and what kind of person we'd be looking to hire. I think this put Joe in a good position to screen candidates that based on cultural/personality fit. It certainly is the case that none of the people we spoke to were a total mismatch in that respect. Furthermore, Joe invested time in understanding how we work and what matters to us in our professional setup. I had made it quite clear from the start that the person matters more to me than their skills (though the latter is still very important) and I think Joe not only grasped this thoroughly but really took it on board to find candidates who were much more than just good at coding.
3. What was your experience of working with Joe like?
The phrase isn't mine, but I can honestly say it's always been a pleasure and never a chore. Joe's friendly and upbeat, and even when we really weren't having very much luck with getting the candidates through to the end of our process he remained very positive, despite the frustrations he may have felt. We spoke several times about the approach we were taking (with an aim to improve the overall process) and Joe always had good suggestions and things to contribute. I feel that our working relationship has been very productive in that respect.
4. What was your previous opinion of recruitment agencies before working with us?
I'm afraid I've always taken a dim view of the recruitment industry, particularly the part of it that deals with the IT industry. My view is based largely on my own experience as a candidate, rather than as an employer
5. What did Joe do differently?
Joe treats the candidates well and ensures that candidates feel like they've been treated properly and fairly through the recruitment process, regardless of outcome. I've always maintained that although a candidate must commit time and effort in order to be considered for a role there should be some reward for that effort, and the reward should be in proportion to the effort the candidate has put in. Joe makes sure that we do provide feedback at every point so that candidates are kept informed and in the loop. Most candidates are not successful, but we want to make sure that we can help the candidate be successful with the next role they pursue, and I feel that Joe is properly bought into that idea.
6. Would you recommend this service to others?
Yes. Absolutely, and without hesitation.
We asked Kidly 6 questions about their experience:
