Experiential Recruitment
The art of selling a product or a service has developed a lot over the years, and each industry has tailored it differently to meet the trend and habits of their target group. Some companies turned their selling process into an experience, rather than keeping it a purely transactional one, and they have done a great job at it. Heineken experience in Amsterdam, Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, and Sytac In the Netherlands — plot twist?
At Sytac the recruitment department is the gatekeeper in the business. The recruiters play a crucial role in building proper teams, a culture, and a company in which people feel their needs and feelings are heard. For Sytac the recruitment process does not end after joining the company. It does not end. Sounds scary, but hear me out for a couple more paragraphs.
I personally have been through a lot of interviews and one of the reasons why I became a recruiter is because I saw far too many flaws in how candidates (myself) were being treated. Recruiters sometimes forget that we are not the only ones assessing. Candidates assess recruiters and the companies we represent to see if we are a good fit for them.
When I was being interviewed I:
- Rarely got constructive feedback (Only the generic “we proceeded with a candidat better suited for the position)
- I waited 45 minutes at the reception for the recruiter as she forgot my interview and no one could get a hold of her. Once the interview started there was zero enthusiasm in her voice and close to zero interest in me
- The worst; I was once in a process with a company that I almost begged and pushed for feedback over 2 months only to then be — ghosted.
At Sytac we do things a little differently. Every single candidate entering in our interview process will receive constructive and personalized feedback regardless of negative or positive. It has happened to us numerous times when a candidate was great, but only needed to improve on minor things such as communication, specific technology, or seniority in general. We then work on those points and several months later they were hired after a quick chat to see if they’ve caught up!
Our interview is 3 steps long and our average time to hire is 8 days, we don’t find it necessary to let the candidate wait unnecessarily, and our hiring managers are committed to giving feedback within 24 hours. Lastly, we are as flexible as over cooked pasta. We understand that not everyone can take a total of 3–4 hours off of work for an interview process, so we make it work between the recruiters and the candidate. We take interviews on weekends, by phone, online, and even drive to come and treat you for lunch: just tell us your favorite spot near your office, we’ll have a chat there!
Now back to my point about Sytac keeping in contact with employees after they have left the company. To keep it simple we don’t burn our bridges and we don’t end relationships on bad terms. We always have your best interest at heart, we will go the extra mile to make sure you are happy at Sytac, but we also know how to accept that some things are out of our hands, and that not being right for each other doesn’t mean being wrong altogether.
We are very aware that you as a candidate will assess us. We put so much focus on providing candidates with a great interview process and keeping in touch with those who moved on in their career path. Research shows that referrals provide the best quality recruitment leads. People do come back, and the grass is not always greener on the other side!
