I’m Madis, I have been a partner and project manager at LKM for 2 years and during that time I have found talents for very different companies and sectors. I am a lucky person because every project I do expands my horizons, and my skillset is constantly developing as a result. I have managed to find talents starting from Tallinn to Siberian forests. It is incredibly cool what kind of companies and positions there are in our own small Estonia. People do extraordinary things!
Our process is always unique and created from scratch – it is a tailor-made suit! Even when I do a direct search with a long-term business partner, there is always “something” that makes a position or search different and ignites an inner light in me that makes me excited and makes my eyes shine. One such long-term partner is NPM Silmet OÜ – Europe’s largest rare metals and rare earth metals producer. I can probably say that Silmet is “my client.” Although here at LKM we always do everything with the team, in the case of Silmet, I have been the project manager for most searches over the past year. In total, during this time, I have found six different talents for Silmet, from financiers to metallurgists. As we are just starting to look for new Silmet talents, my thoughts in recent days have turned more than usual around the recruitments that have already taken place. One of the last talents we recruited for Silmet was their financial controller Olesja Druzjakina. The story of meeting her and signing with Silmet was a nice mix of thorough work and good luck.
Silmet is located in Sillamäe, Ida-Viru County. In an area that adds a degree of complexity to searches – it is not easy to find a top specialist in a company outside the “classic centers” and in a position where you have to be on-site from Monday to Friday. When LKM started looking for a financial controller for Silmet, Olesja was not active in the labor market and did her daily work with pleasure. Through a thorough preliminary work and several weeks of searching, various tips, and suggestions, I managed to get Olesja’s contacts. She was sincerely surprised to get my call and, as she said afterward, extremely flattered that she had been noticed. I briefly introduced Silmet to her and the position of financial controller. To my delight, she was interested in the idea of working in such a reputable company and she was eager to learn more about the details. I personally think that in many cases this is the important key to WHY I find the right people for the right positions – in longer conversations I recognize whether or not this person is a good fit for this company and that position. If the feeling of my stomach is right, I manage to raise the light in the candidate – create an inner recognition in the person that this is exactly the position she or he has dreamed of.
In Olesja’s case, the same thing happened during our phone call – although she was not looking for new job, she started to feel the impulse towards Silmet and was ready to participate in the process. Another interesting thing in target search – super talented candidates without a guaranteed trophy! When I first contact potential candidate, I do not give any guarantees of being the winner of the competition. My job is to find out, whether there is interest to make the next step in their career and if that opening is the dream job for the person or not. Even though there are no promises, it is very interesting to see that once the internal awakening has taken place, a person is ready to apply and enter the competition with confidence. That’s how we managed to arrange the first meeting with Olesja – through that internal awakening. We met in Jõhvi. Yes – Jõhvi! This is actually another important factor for me why I like my job – I can get acquainted with many different companies and places in Estonia! I have visited many beautiful, different, sometimes even strange places thanks to my job. So Yes, I can’t say that I would otherwise be in Jõhvi very often. Thank’s to Silmet I see myself there from time to time and that’s great!
But back to the business. What happened with Olesja? Our first face-to-face meeting was very successful. In addition to her skill set and knowledge, her personality also fit perfectly with Silmet and her new team. We always look for the right attitude that meets the needs of a specific company and position. In her case – it was a perfect match. So one thing lead to the other and she became the new finance controller of Silmet.
What does Olesja think about her experience in our recruitment process?
I called Olesja last week and asked her if she would give us some honest feedback. And she did! In retrospect, Olesja said that she was very impressed by the active communication, especially honesty both during the application process and after the conclusion of the employment contract. She always knew at what stage the recruitment process was and what would the next steps be. She loves detailed answers. Thinking about her experience she confirmed that the weekly feedback on the state of recruitment helped to form a positive image of the new employer.
Olesja also admitted that deep down she had hoped to become the next Finance Controller of Silmet at a fairly early stage of the project. This happened even before the actual meeting with Silmet because, with each call and meeting, every piece of information she got, the employer became more attractive. Transparency of the process had a great part in building trust towards Silmet and the position. After meeting with the CEO, who is a very open communicator, her desire increased even more. Of course, she was delighted when she received the long-awaited announcement that she was the lucky person that will become Silmet’s new Financial Controller!
Olesja started at Silmet just a little over a month ago. It is a bit early to summarize her experience at Silmet so far, but we agreed that she would be ready to share her thoughts about her new job and team with me in about six months. I look forward to hearing from her!
Madis Roodla, recruter and partner