At Uzinakod, we hire people, not robots. Our recruitment process is thus welcoming, very simple… and fast!
We frequently tell our candidates: don’t worry about our short interviews! What we want is to see your personality, interests and professional goals.
To give you an idea of the hiring process at Uzinakod, here’s a quick overview:
1. Posting Job Offers and Headhunting
To develop new business relationships, start new projects or simply create new functions, we need to make our job offers visible… At least if we want to receive applications, right?
Our jobs are posted, among others, on the Careers pages of our website and LinkedIn, and then the information is relayed on our social networks (LinkedIn and Facebook).
The technology field, from software development to AI and IoT, is highly competitive. Developers, Analysts, Project Managers and Quality Experts, to name a few, are often highly coveted and already employed. Our HR team must therefore use several strategies to attract them to our job offers until they are interested in talking to us.
This process can be very long. True story: some candidates were on our radar for almost two years before accepting our offer! 😮 #determination
2. Pre-Selection, Reception and Sorting of Applications
Based on the applications received and the profiles identified through headhunting, a selection is then made according to the needs and requirements of the positions.
If the application is accepted, this is also typically the stage where we’ll reach out to the candidate to schedule a call in the coming days.
3. Phone Interview
This is more of an informal discussion lasting around 20 minutes. We ask the candidate to describe their current and past professional experiences, and to share with us what has led them to seek out a new challenge. We discuss their expectations, the type of schedule they are looking for (for example: four or five days a week), how they see their next role, and we validate if it matches our needs.
It is also at this stage that we are able to explain in more detail Uzinakod’s history, to help the candidate understand what kind of company we are and why we are looking for new talent, or to describe the types of projects we carry out.
Usually, it is during this interview that a member of our HR team makes this famous statement:
“In 2018, Uzinakod had only three employees. Now we’re over [insert current number]!”😂
Our team also has a special sense of humor and likes to push the gag to the limit. During an interview for an IT technician position, a candidate said that he liked to cover different areas in his role, but that he really didn’t want to work with fax machines anymore, having had bad experiences in the past. This was the perfect opportunity for our HR team to send him an invitation to his virtual interview in a fax-like format!
4. “In-Person” Interview
The interview takes place with a member of the relevant team via videoconference. A Microsoft Teams link is sent to the candidate a few days before the appointment.
When interviewing a developer, we are looking to get a better idea of the candidate’s technological background, without relying on technical exams.
Once again, this is more of a discussion. Sometimes we even stray from the technical side by asking a question like, “What else do you do besides coding?” We once had a long gaming segment that followed, losing Érika, our Human Resources Director, in the process.
“It completely changed the pace of the interview, says Érika. I then moved on to a more HR-related question and the candidate managed to draw a parallel with the hero of one of his favorite video games. That was pretty interesting!”
It’s not impossible to have a few laughs! Some of our interviewers like to ask questions a little out of left field to lighten the mood and get a better insight into the candidate’s personality.
Bonus for the readers of this article:
- Why are manholes round?
- How would you explain your role to a child or family member?
These questions, which are sometimes out of the ordinary, are not at all decisive in the choice of the candidate, but they can help take the pressure off and make the experience as positive as possible. Not to mention that the answers can be very… entertaining!
5. Consideration and Follow-Up
Once we have made our decision, we will contact the candidate to inform them. If the decision is positive, a job offer will be sent by email with all the necessary details, as well as a link to a chatbot to answer any questions they may have.
If it turns out to be negative, we make it our duty to tell the candidate, even if it is not always easy. In life as in business, ghosting is a no-no! 👻
Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing before our paths cross again, so patience is key.
What’s next?
The next step can happen very quickly. Once the offer is accepted, the contract is sent for signature and a start date is agreed between Uzinakod and the future employee.
A member of the HR team will send an email with forms to be filled out to prepare the candidate’s arrival at our company: general information, request for additional material, desired size for the Uzinakod merch, etc.
If the onboarding is done in person at our office, all the basic work material and a gift bag will be given to the new employee. If it is not possible to come to the office, the material will be delivered to the employee’s home. All additional material is always delivered to the employee’s home because it can be complicated to bring it in the metro!
What you need to remember: we work hard at Uzinakod to make our recruitment process simple, fast and enjoyable in order to provide a positive candidate experience.
Does this type of process appeal to you? All you have to do is apply for one of our offers or send us a spontaneous application! To do so, take a look at our Careers page.
Looking forward to talking to you in an interview!
