Our current recruitment team is six people with different approaches but similar values We are in the process of searching for new colleagues due to the significantly higher demand for our services than our current capacity :) To give you a glimpse behind the scenes and to compare your values with ours, we will share how we live, collaborate, unwind, communicate, learn and teach, fill vacancies, find the right fit for ourselves and clients, support each other, and seek inspiration.
What defines you as a team? What personal qualities do you value the most?
We are a team driven by empathy, quality, mature communication, continuous learning, and mutual assistance. In our team, there are not only experienced recruiters but also newcomers: we are always eager to invest in their education. Regardless of one's career path length prior to joining EvoTalents, we value the same qualities in our colleagues: honesty and openness, genuine curiosity and an insatiable desire to learn, strong communication skills, adequacy and initiative, responsibility, and analytical skills.
What won't I find in your team?
Micro-management, hidden information, opaque financial dealings, or unspoken expectations: we are a small team, so we have all the opportunities to be transparent, open, maintain constant communication and feedback, which we enthusiastically utilize.
Who are your clients and how do you find and choose them?
We truly select our clients: it's similar to the recruitment process, where both the company chooses the candidate and the candidate chooses a like-minded team. It's important for us that our clients share our values: we won't take on a company that, for example, views people solely as "resources" or exhibits unprofessional communication right from the start of discussing collaboration, just for the sake of new projects. We value warm relationships with candidates, our reputation, and not just filling a position, but also finding "the right person" for the company, someone who resonates with us sincerely.
How do you cooperate and communicate within your team and with clients?
Firstly, about clients. Each of our recruiters communicates directly with the company through a dedicated channel, where our client manager Anya is also present. Every Friday, we send clients a weekly work report, but in reality, we communicate with them daily: we ask them to review our emails, inquire about product details, ask for an extended version of a rejection to adjust our search strategy, share insights after interviews with candidates, and inform them about a brief pause in the search due to the weekend.
Within the team, we communicate just as actively. Our main communication tool is Slack, we hold meetings on Zoom, actively use calendars, as well as Google Drive for documentation and information storage, and Trello for project management. Every Wednesday and Friday, we meet for status meetings, and every Monday, we have a learning call: usually, Marina shares work-related tips or updates about changes in the process, Lena might discuss strategic plans or share a quarterly report, Ira might address a "pain point" for the team and help understand its nuances (like personalization in emails), Lyuda might introduce a new sourcing tool, and anyone from the team might share an interesting candidate case, explain how it was resolved, and brainstorm with everyone else on how to approach it better next time. We have a plan for such meetings with topics for the next month that we fill collaboratively: topics aren't chosen solely by managers :) Once a quarter, we sum up our results, once a year, we all attend a strategic meeting, occasionally we meet for live team-building activities, and on top of that, we have bi-weekly one-on-one meetings with the team leader (Ira).
What recruiting approach do you use?
Even simple things are done with the unique EvoTalents approach: for us, quality, personalization, global sourcing, honest interviews, immersion in the client's product or project are crucial. We have a caring operations manager (Marina) who ensures standards and processes are adhered to, case discussions in calls, and the EvoQuality project, which ensures we don't compromise our standards. But even with rules in place, we don't restrict recruiters' adequate creativity, use of extensions, or certain sourcing strategy structures: what matters to us most is the result and quality.
What kind of colleagues are you looking for?
We don't focus solely on years of experience, although we generally seek individuals with some practice in technical recruiting, a grasp of the IT market and its specifics, familiarity with the abbreviations most commonly mentioned in job descriptions. The most important must-have skills include proactivity, independence, the ability to switch and immerse oneself in something new at an incredible speed, excellent communication skills, prioritization of quality, critical thinking and engagement, as well as the ability to accept feedback.
What's the CEO's vision and values?
Lena looks ahead and shares her vision and company goals with us. She's the founder, manager, and a person dedicated to people, which is why her work and communication within the team are about mutual support and care even in the smallest matters: she'll always congratulate someone on accepting a job offer, suggest taking a break as soon as she notices someone's tired, offer interest-free credit for significant, yet highly desired, purchases like a MacBook.
She cares about who our clients are: she does everything to ensure our recruiters assist innovative product companies or small outsourcing teams with valuable projects. By doing so, we contribute to the industry, and that's why we meticulously select clients as a whole team. Lena always supports the team's ideas and truly knows how to delegate: she provides opportunities to express and implement oneself in various projects within the company without greediness, which is why our colleagues grow and develop rapidly.
How do you rest, learn, and develop?
We work exclusively in the digital space, and sometimes our working hours extend beyond 8 hours, going beyond the "standard workday." So, relaxation for us, first and foremost, means turning off notifications, setting up an automated email response, updating our status on Slack, and not constantly checking our phones for new messages, knowing that the team will handle things.
We have many colleagues from Dnipro, and they occasionally gather not only to work together but also to grab a coffee. Sometimes we watch shows together; for instance, we couldn't travel to Norway as a team, but we watched the Northern Lights online. In person, we celebrate colleagues' birthdays, and if we live in the same city, we participate in Secret Santa every year. Before the pandemic, we held strategic meetings combined with visits to new countries. Additionally, we attend offline events in various cities, even if we're not presenting, to support colleagues and embrace each other.
We learn in various ways and a lot. Within the team, we have full access to EvoTalents School's video lessons and webinars, our corporate library, and the option to purchase professional books and attend training courses. The company supports this financially (50/50). We have a team channel called #knowledge_base on Slack, where we daily share articles, videos, and research that we find valuable. We hold weekly Monday team calls aimed at learning something new. We offer comprehensive onboarding plans for newcomers in the first three months, an internal EvoQuality project to understand all process nuances, and a library of information about our clients. And if that's not enough, anyone can approach us with a question like "Hey, what should I read or watch to understand X?" and we'll share our favorite resources that will keep you engaged for weeks :)
Which positions do you mostly work with?
We work with a wide variety of positions. We don't have technological limitations – we're ready to dive into any new technology or domain, and we consider fast adaptation to new information our superpower! This year, we've encountered Front-end, PHP, AQA, and DevOps vacancies most often, but we've also worked on requests with star positions like Linux Engineer, Lead Security Engineer, and Engineering Manager. Actually, one of the significant advantages of working in an agency is that you not only deal with different technologies but also encounter a wide range of subject areas you can dive into – each of our recruiters communicates directly with the client company daily, so they have the opportunity to learn the product and its value inside out.
What recruiting tools do you use?
We assist with LinkedIn Premium. We use CleverStaff as our ATS. Trello is used for project management and managing warm candidates. Our communication is primarily on Slack, and we actively utilize Google Drive and Google Calendar. For email correspondence, we've chosen MixMax, we store sourcing strategies in Google Sheets, and we also have TurboHiring.
What bonuses can I expect working with you?
We don't impose restrictions on days off or the duration of vacation days. We pay for books in the corporate library, attendance at courses and training, and coworking (50/50), if you're tired of working from home. We take care of accounting entirely, and we don't restrict your choice of bank. Moreover, we don't have a fixed schedule. For example, Ira goes for Pilates twice a week during her lunch break, and Lena doesn't schedule calls on Thursdays because she spends time with her daughter. What matters most to us is the result and quality achieved, not the number of working hours or your schedule's specifics. We're a small team, allowing us to be people-oriented and we use this flexibility with pleasure.
Why do your colleagues work with you and choose you over other options? What do they value the most?
The most common answers to this question are people and the atmosphere. We support each other, always ready to help a colleague with whatever they need, whether it's reviewing a sourcing strategy with a fresh perspective during a quick call or offering advice on how to send a Secret Santa gift to a lucky recipient in another country. We're diverse but share similar values, and being a small team, collaboration and recruitment with a soul are part of our DNA.
