7 July 2022 (updated: 29 August 2022)
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Recruitments can be stressful, but they don't have to be. See everything you wanted to know about our recruitment process, but were afraid to ask.
A job interview is just like a first date - you’re feeling stressed, the adrenaline is kicking in, and you hope there’s something exciting waiting ahead. You strive to make an excellent first impression and show your best side. At the same time, you have a firm belief in your interviewer and hope the expectations they present will match the reality. With this article, I hope to shed some light on the recruitment process at EL Passion - all the way from applying to the onboarding process. Hopefully, this will reduce your anxiety and tension before the so-called “first date”.
Please, don’t treat this as a promotional article; this is a true story of my experience. If you are a potential candidate, don’t hesitate to dive in. And if you think you are not a candidate..., you might become one!
You probably constantly refresh your inbox after sending out your resume, don't you? No worries, many people do that. Naturally, we all would like to know about the outcome of our application, preferably as soon as possible. Yet, sometimes, it takes so long to get a response that you forget why and where you applied or don't remember which position it was (that happened to me once or twice!).
Fortunately, EL Passion didn't put me in any "HR purgatory". The first contact was almost immediate. I was able to schedule the first meeting quickly and had the chance to speak with the HR representative to find out more about EL Passion, the opportunities of the position, and my future team. In short, I got all the information I needed to decide whether it was a good fit.
It's essential to know what you are signing up for: what the position means exactly, how big the company is, what’s the culture, and what projects and clients you can expect. The interview is also the right time to ask questions and gather all the information you need to make your decision. It's the same when you see "It's a match" on Tinder and investigate if your match is worth meeting or not. Once you feel the spark and your conversation is flowing naturally - it's time to progress to the next stage! That was my case with EL Passion.
Now we get to the crucial part - having a face to face call with your future boss. This meeting usually takes approximately 2 hours, and it was a bit weird at first, because there were two people instead of just one (HR specialist and Head of Delivery) on the other side of the camera.
My meeting was split into 2 parts with a Q&A round at the end. At first, we talked about my experience - some of the problems I had to solve, obstacles I faced, projects I managed in the previous jobs. The second part was more skills-oriented, focused on agile project management, scrum methodology, and my English language proficiency.
The meeting was rather what you’d expect from a recruitment meeting, but one thing was very surprising. I felt like talking with my good buddies who I have just met at some meetup or a party. And as if we were just chatting about what I do for a living. This atmosphere calmed me down and allowed me to focus on answers, rather than on fighting with my sweaty hands. There were no tricky questions that could confuse me or make me feel like a student on an exam. The interview was structured, transparent, and predictable when it comes to the topics I had to deal with. I didn't feel any pressure.
I found out about the result of my interview very quickly and I was offered the role of an Agile Project Manager. The whole process took about a week in my case. It was an extreme tempo of decision making, but I never felt rushed and the whole operation was managed amazingly. Transparency, responsiveness, and kindness - this is how I would describe my recruitment experience with EL Passion.
Speeding through the recruitment process was not the result of being in a hurry. It was more like a well-oiled machine that works in the highest gear. Actually, I discovered later that it was one of the EL Passion's OKR (Objective Key Results), and if I had anything to say I would give them a 100% score!
Before the first day, I was expecting a delivery with the contract to sign and my future laptop. Imagine my surprise when I saw the courier standing at my front door with a huge box. I thought it might be a mistake but no - it was the Welcome Pack from EL Passion. In the box, I found (apart from the Macbook and the contract of course) the EL Passion branded hoodie and a backpack, work materials like notebooks, and many little trinkets like stickers, and a sweet yellow duck (which made my dog very happy).
The first days in a new environment are always exciting and tough at the same time. New people, new processes to learn, leaving your comfort zone a little bit, and adapting to some new circumstances.
If you’d ask me about one essential thing to adapt in a new workplace, I’d say it’s to learn that there are no stupid questions. And to help with that, at EL Passion, every new joiner gets their own "Buddy" - someone who takes care of the new employee acclimatization. They support the new joiner in knowing what is what, who is who, connecting to tools, and tips on how to find useful information or where to post the jokes on the Slack channel.
Also, the onboarding at EL Passion process has a well prepared To-Do list which you can always refer to when you are uncertain about what to do next.
Remember, there will be a ton of new knowledge for sure, but nobody is going to throw curveballs at you (unless you are into baseball - then it can be arranged) so if you have any doubts let me assure you - don't worry and submit your application!
Do you want to know more? Don't hesitate to write to our fantastic HR team at careers@elpassion.com and they will answer all your questions.
21 November 2024 • Mariusz Heyda