The statement “I work as a recruiter!” is quite the conversation starter, whether with friends, family or strangers!
Many people are curious about job hunt tips and whether we have open jobs fitting their interests. And lately, more and more people are asking what it’s like to be a recruiter.
After a team lunch last week we realized that we haven’t yet talked enough about one crucial thing:
Being a recruiter at edge gives you a MILLION opportunities to create IMPACT in the world around you!
1) Your clients’ impact is your impact!
If we’re able to find a successful grant writer for a youth career development program, we’re helping hundreds of vulnerable youth stay in school and become breadwinners in their communities. If we’re successful in attracting top marketing talent to a business bringing solar to Kenya’s transport sector, then the tons of CO2 that will be saved make us feel really proud. Making dozens of phone calls to find empathetic social workers may feel tedious but once the client’s counselling hotline is able to double the number of teenagers in distress reached, it’s all worth it!
At edge we work with some of the most exciting social innovators in East Africa developing solutions to take society forward and we’re part of their success.
2) You connect candidates with their dream jobs
The most obvious way of creating impact is that at the end of a recruitment project a candidate gets an awesome job, one they’ve been dreaming of for some time. To finally move back to Western Kenya, closer to home and the family. To finally take the next step and oversee an entire finance department. To finally leave a toxic work environment and get a leadership role where they can use empowering management styles with their team.
3) You help job seekers learn and develop
At edge we challenge ourselves to consciously design all aspects of the candidate interaction in an empowering way. Usually, only one in 50 or even 300 applicants will get the job, so the process can feel frustrating to candidates. We get creative: How do you give someone who was really hopeful the sad news in a time-efficient manner while sharing relevant career tips with them? How do you run interviews that help you learn the applicant’s true strengths while enabling them present their best selves? Many candidates tell us that through our unique assessment tools they learned more about themselves, and feel more confident and prepared for their future job search.
Amazing initiatives led by our recruitment team such as the Candidate Guide and Career Happiness Center have tens of thousands of readers. Regularly our recruiters add new tips, engaging stories and educative content based on trends they see in the jobseeker market. And in the end you sign up promising candidates to the CV database, even if this time the job wasn’t for them and build a growing community of passionate professionals who are building meaningful careers.
4) They say that to change the world you have to change yourself first
As a recruiter at edge, you constantly raise the bar and challenge your own worldview: By the time you have a candidate shortlist, you’ve interacted with hundreds of professionals committed to building solutions to the most pressing issues of our times. When you screen applications, you read through past achievements and watch video applications of key learnings top professionals have made in their career. You network with senior talent across industries to tap their networks in finding great candidates for your roles. Honestly: Understanding what industry leaders work on and how they think makes you raise your own bar to what an impactful life and career looks like! Aiming for excellence is a winning mindset to shape your life and impact those around you.
Does this sound like the kind of meaning and impact you’re looking for in your career?
Check out the open roles at the bottom of the Join Us page. And tweet us your questions!
The path to success in our recruitment team is not the course you studied, but your critical thinking, your ability to motivate yourself and the energy you put into developing a new range of skills and mindsets!
We’re not going to tell you that it’ll be easy! But as you’ve seen in this article, it’s totally worth it 🙂
At edge we are passionate about organizations that will create the future of East Africa, be it growth-oriented businesses with innovative products or services or grassroots organizations serving their communities in transformative ways. We are committed to supporting these organizations in achieving their ambitious goals by helping them build highly-effective teams and being attractive, vibrant workplaces.
We’ve helped fill nearly 100 roles in the last five years and interacted with thousands of job seekers in the process. We think recruitment might be your dream career, too! If you’re curious, check out this article about daily life in our recruitment team!
Enough talk – Here are the top reasons why we love working in recruitment!
1. You bring together people who share a passion!
Best moment: Seeing your client and the new hire having a heated debate on the best approach to business growth and expansion!
2. You meet inspiring professionals with amazing experiences!
Best moment: When you realize you’ve stopped taking minutes while interviewing because you’re fascinated by the candidate’s skills, achievements and passion!
3. You help people get fulfilling jobs & the right work environment for them!
Best moment: When you remember an excellent candidate from last year who would just be the perfect fit for this organization! And when you call them, they still remember you as well!
4. Every day is an adventure!
Best moment: When the client calls you to discuss the launch of a new business unit and wants to hire a manager in under a month. You stretch your brain,
5. Your hard work totally pays out!
Best moment: After dozens of phone calls and weeks of crazy busy promotions and going through CVs, the hiring manager makes offers to not just one but two people on your final shortlist!
Are you curious and passionate about a career that helps businesses build highly effective teams? We’re hiring for our recruitment team! If interested, have a look at the different Job Descriptions and APPLY today! Check out this link: www.edgeperformance.co.ke/join-us
One of our team members shares some tips and tricks about applying below.
edge is growing! To help more businesses grow and impact more workplaces, we’re going to double our team in 2019!
Have you ever thought about working in talent acquisition, do you get excited about finding the best talent to help an organization achieve its goals and are passionate about understanding someone’s skills, mindset and potential? If your answer to these questions is yes, we are looking for you!
Moving into a new job is a big step, and we know you’ve got some questions. This article should answer most of them, but in case you’ve got any extra ones leftover, feel free to tweet us @edge_kenya and we’ll be happy to respond!
What does a typical day look like for our recruitment team?
Any day as a recruiter involves a wide variety of activities including digging yourself into a new industry, conducting interviews, LinkedIn headhunting, writing candidate reports, and meeting with clients to discuss project progress.
The team handles nearly a dozen projects at a time, and the office can get pretty (well…) chaotic! One person could be having a phone interview with a candidate in Uganda, while someone else is assessing CVs that came in via email, and another is researching new networks we can tap to identify high-potential professionals who may not be aware of the job opportunities in fast-growing businesses.
Teamwork is key in recruitment! We constantly collaborate on different aspects of the talent acquisition process such as joint brainstorming sessions to think of creative ways to find great candidates, or giving each other feedback on the tools and processes we have developed to screen applicants.
Over lunch, we usually swap stories and catch up on what everyone has been up to, both with regards to their projects, and their personal lives. It’s an opportunity for us to get know each better, provide support where needed, and even, on occasion, rate each others cooking skills.
Recruiting the right talent to solve key business challenges is all about making connections and learning about new trends and markets, and so, an explorative and inquisitive mindset is key: We constantly network with experts across industries to understand trends and realities fast, draw insights, and finally get connected to potential candidates.
At times we attend networking events to build connections with industry leaders, managers and innovators, in order to better understand the human capital challenges facing growing businesses.
And how is edge’s work environment like?
Actually, you have to come and experience it! But since you asked, here is a quick, three-word summary: Fast-paced, constant learning and flexible. Read more on this article here.
Are you the kind of person who thrives in such an environment? Please take a look at the open jobs on our Join Us page!
The most obvious way of creating impact is that at the end of a recruitment project a candidate gets an awesome job, one they’ve been dreaming of for some time. To finally move back to Western Kenya, closer to home and the family. To finally take the next step and oversee an entire finance department. To finally leave a toxic work environment and get a leadership role where they can use empowering management styles with their team.
