A day in the life of…An International Recruitment Consultant

What does your typical day consist of? 

My day starts with a nice breakfast. I cannot do anything without food in the morning. And a good cup of coffee ? I can say that a typical day is pretty much talking with people from everywhere in the world, all day. 

I start by reaching out to new candidates for the most urgent roles I work on and then follow up with the ones that are already in ongoing interview processes. My days also include catching up with my clients for any updates and checking if they has new roles they need filled. 

I also like to keep up to date with the latest Tech trends as it’s a very fast-paced sector and new coding languages, programs and devices launch every month.

How has the pandemic affected your way of working?

Apart from not commuting to the office, it hasn’t affected my activity that much. As I am part of the International Division, it is not possible for me to have a face to face interview with candidates as they all live in other countries. 

So I am actually very used to and comfortable talking to candidates and clients in an online environment.

What is the most rewarding part of the job? 

Placing the candidate. It’s an amazing feeling. A new job can change a person’s life. It is always satisfying to see both candidates and clients happy with each other.

I always wanted to work in a job that was important and meaningful, helping people, and being a recruitment consultant is exactly what that is.

What are some of the challenges faced on the job?  

The core of the job itself is a challenge. Being able to fill a position is like a puzzle. You have to use your time wisely to go through all the LinkedIn profiles and CVs you receive for a role, analysing which candidate has the right requirements, do they have the right visa to work in this country or do they speak the language of the country the role is in, for example. When all these parameters align, I can shortlist the successful candidates.

This is also a kind of job where a lot of unexpected things can happen in different countries and you have to be aware of the local situation and be able to adapt and remotely help your clients and candidates find a solution.

What are some personal qualities someone who wants to work in international recruitment should have?  

Empathy is the number one. You deal with people all the time and you need to be able to put yourself on their shoes. Multiple languages are a definite plus or at least having a good awareness of how job search and recruitment works in on the international level. You have to be resilient as well, since many unexpected things can happen. And also great communication skills.

As a woman in Tech, what’s your advice for other women who want to enter the field? How do you find the industry is doing when it comes to Diversity & Inclusion?

Unfortunately, there is still a good bit of work and influencing to be done for women to be equally represented in  the international STEM area so as a society, there is so much we still need to achieve. However, I am very proud to see the evolution of women in the Tech Industry and their constant contribution to it. I’m happy to see events, like the Women in Tech Conference, take place and bring acknowledgement to the industry with the best practices for inclusion and development.

And if I have to give an advice, it would be to always trust your potential. Don’t be afraid to do what you want to do, things are moving in the right direction!

Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a role on [email protected] or browse our live jobs here