HL Tech recruiting in practice

SO YOU WANT TO WORK IN IT?

Having a career in Information Technology is a subject of dreams of many people. However, before it can be fulfilled, every candidate has to go through an important process which is recruitment.

Although it varies depending on the particular organisation, it does have some common elements shared across every company.

In this article, our experienced specialists – Michalina Stępień, HR Manager and Alina Yanchenko, IT Recruiter; will guide you through every step of it, sharing their knowledge and experience so you can be well prepared and confident when it comes to this essential leap.

Together, we will go through the current realities of IT recruitment, changes in the process introduced with the pandemic and some key tips on what recruiters pay special attention to when fishing for new specialists. So grab a cup of coffee, put on your favourite music, fasten your seatbelts and let’s go!

EMPLOYMENT MARKET

As we all know, the past two years imposed rapid changes in many aspects of daily life including the focus on work-life balance. The start of the pandemic triggered a rapid shift towards a remote and hybrid model of work, which entailed companies to test new models of operation.

• At HL Tech, we all benefited from this, because it allowed us to open up even more to various forms and modes of cooperation, thus making us much more flexible. That corresponds with the needs of modern candidates – says Michalina Stępień HR Manager at HL Tech – we offer full flexibility and choice: you can work 100% remotely, you can work from the office or in a hybrid model.

One thing remains the same – the IT job market is still the candidate’s market. Temporary projects’ tie-up and recruitment downtime related to the pandemic are behind us and the demand for IT specialists is on the rise again. HL Tech plans new technological investments and dynamic development of its digital teams, which involves recruiting several dozen new specialists over the next two years.

Due to recent legal and fiskal changes in Poland, some people switch to B2B mode of cooperation and therefore, in order to be competitive, companies open up to different options and follow the candidate.

• At HL Tech, we are flexible. Do you prefer an employment contract? Great – we have copyright exceptions and many other benefits to suit. Is the B2B system more fit for you? No problem, we are of course open to it as well. At HL Tech it is You who decides – says Alina Yanchenko IT Recruiter from HL Tech.

RECRUITER’S SECRETS

Sending a CV is obviously your first contact with the company and a way to present your qualifications and experience. It is of crucial importance that the information it contains is consistent and coherent. It is on this basis that the decision to proceed to the next stage of recruitment is made.

Being invited to an interview seems like a scary and serious stage of landing a new job. It is worth finding out how the whole process works and what recruiters pay special attention to, so you can be less stressed and more confident when you get there.

• Does the recruitment in the IT industry differ in relation to individual positions? From the recruiter’s perspective, there are many common grounds. Some of our main tasks are to check a candidate’s compatibility with the organisation, their soft skills and motivation. – says Alina Yanchenko IT Recruiter from HL Tech – At this stage the scope of questions is similar. However, the technical interview may be different in the case of individual positions and their specificity. Sometimes, to verify the knowledge of candidates, we ask them to perform short tasks, run case studies or take a test.

During the initial interview, you will surely be asked questions about your experience, technologies you work with, knowledge of English, preferred mode of work, what motivates you to change and… your expectations towards the future employer. It is worth considering the last point in particular, because recruitment is a two-sided process – its task is bilateral – to check your suitability to the company as well as the company’s ability to meet your needs. Therefore, before the interview, think about what you care about the most and make a list of things you want to ask. Candidates usually ask about vacation and bonuses, extra benefits, personal growth opportunities or the structure of the team.

And how does the interview process look from the recruiter’s point of view?

• We pay crucial attention to objectivity, we definitely do not rely on first impressions. From the very beginning we involve other employees in the process not to rely only on our personal opinion – says Michalina Stępień HR Manager, and Alina Yanchenko adds – contrary to common belief, education is not the most important factor, we rather focus on specific, required skills. We are also looking for candidates who are hungry for knowledge and open to new solutions.

In addition to your specialisation, a recruiter’s job is to verify whether your character fits relationships already present within the team. It is very important that the recruited person shares common values ​​of the company. Even one mismatched employee can cause a team’s commitment and energy to drop. That’s why presenting your best personality traits is of crucial importance.

The recruitment process also verifies such competences as: communication skills, assertiveness, conflict management (for instance, you could be asked for an example of a difficult situation and solution to it), responsibility, the ability to think out of the box and to present and implement your own ideas.

• Personality and adaptation to the company’s community are important, especially at HL Tech – we are a close-knit team of people who simply like each other, share a common sense of humour, and like to have fun. But we also have a good and strong work ethic – for instance, we attach great importance to the quality of the code – says Michalina Stępień.

Recruitment is an opportunity for both parties to decide whether they match together and want to collaborate.

• Knowing the specificity of HL Tech, I check what motivates a person at work, what tasks she or he likes to perform and what kind of people they would be fit to work with. – Alina Yanchenko adds.

In order to verify your soft skills and compatibility with the company’s profile, many recruiters use the STAR method. It is an acronym which stands for:

S – Situation – The recruiter asks you to mention a specific situation in response to his question

T – Task – Here you are asked to talk about your role in the problem solving process of that situation

A – Action – this element is an answer to the question about specific actions to achieve the intended goal

R – Result – the final section discusses the result of the activity and the degree to which the goal has been achieved

Source: https://poradnikpracownik.pl/-jak-funkcjonuje-metoda-star-w-rekrutacji

HOW TO SHINE LIKE A STAR?

Recruitment is certainly a stressful process. Therefore, to finish we have some “golden tips” that will allow you to stand out among other candidates and feel more confident.

• Show your commitment and interest in the interviewer, do not look away.
• Be transparent and listen actively.
• Answer the questions specifically and concisely avoiding excessive words.
• Prepare your questions and do the research on the company you want to work for.
• Don’t be afraid to talk about your successes – no one else will do it for you.
• Always develop your answers, use specific examples and arguments, avoid one-sentence statements and short “yes” and “no” answers.

Last but not least – be positive and be yourself. Who knows, maybe we will meet at HL Tech soon? Good luck!