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To attract talents and optimize the organization's resources, Talent Acquisition (or TA) must continuously improve and build themselves huge knowledge. Moreover, if you want to love the “unpredictable and picky” Talent Hunting profession, you yourself will have to be a talent with a special trait, which only successful TA people have. This is also the heartful sharing of Cốc Cốc TA Team Leader - Ms. Giang Trịnh.
Experiencing all ups and downs of the recruiting profession, with 3 years working at the biggest Agencies and almost 3 years growing alongside Cốc Cốc, Ms. Giang still has the burning fire in her heart and achieves much success with her career decision. See Ask a Senior #6 now and note down some useful sharings that Ms. Giang has prepared for all of you, the new generation of “talent hunters”!
An affectionate perspective on the Talent Hunting profession
Q: In your opinion, to "fall in love" with the recruitment profession, what will a TA need? Moreover, to "go far" and "go faster" with this profession, what will they need to prepare?
I can’t think of a formula to quantify the TA "love" at the moment :D Because each of us will have different passions, interests, and personalities. But there is one trait that all successful TAs have, and that is persistence. For TAs, that quality is especially needed. Having to face painful "rejections", taking unpredictable risks, seeing efforts with unsatisfactory results, so having a steady mind and a cold head, a TA will be easier to love his/her job. (A little secret for you: the sweet fruit of this profession is when you can match your candidate with their perfectly fit the job, a job that they can love and develop even more.)
For those of you who are new to the profession, you need to work hard, finding and reading more information about the industry you are hunting for talent. If you are to work in the profession for a long time, you will always need to update your knowledge of the business and industry, making sure you be able to understand and analyze the current market & trends. And to “go fast”, just do more, don't be afraid of anything. Young has strength - if you are still breathing, you can still work :))) Do more and then the sweet fruit will soon come.
Q: “The Recruitment profession belongs to the Back Office classification, and labeled as a “stable” job”. What do you think about this statement?
I think this job belongs to the Frontline, not the Backline. This is a position where you must enter the market, regularly approach & connect with new people, and sometimes you need to be tough, sometimes you need to be flexible. I don’t know which part is “stable” as the statement refers to in this profession, but I'm sure that TA emotions will not be "stable" :)))) There will be times that I'm happy because a candidate accepts an offer, sometimes I'm sad because the candidate fails the test, declines to interview, declines the offer, or "turn away" at the 89th minute. So, "stable" must come in terms of OKR Performance, but surely the income or promotion opportunities will not be "stable".
Secrets when Talent Hunting at Cốc Cốc
Q: What are the opportunities for a TA when working at Cốc Cốc? What are the development potentials of a Cốc Cốc TA?
I feel quite lucky because Cốc Cốc is an Employer with a good & “healthy” Brand on the market, which is known by many candidates. Therefore, working as TA in Cốc Cốc will not take too much time to introduce candidates of what Cốc Cốc does. Instead, a TA can focus on quality, delving into finding the talents who suit us culturally. In addition, you are also free to participate in new team projects, multi-team collaboration projects, or even other team projects if you want & can do that. Thus, you can equip the knowledge to develop to higher positions or become experts with deeper knowledge.
Q: How do you feel when working at Cốc Cốc?
Working here is fun ^^ As I moved from agency to client, there were many things to learn, new pieces of knowledge to gain. The people at Cốc Cốc are extremely friendly and always ready to help, especially those in the HR team. I think this is also a place where I am challenged and allowed to do new things (of course, be allowed in a framework and which can benefit the company). In addition, I see that Cốc Cốc has a unique point - there is no big gap between the superiors and the employees. I feel comfortable talking or debating with my leader, with other team leaders, and even with the CEO. I used to joke that when I finished writing this email or chatting and took leave the next day, it means I’m "out of the game". Luckily, I’m still here, so I guess I did the right thing.
But of course, there is no perfect working environment. However, I always believe that even in an imperfect environment, it can help us learn a lot if we keep the "can do" spirit.
Q: What are your and the TAs’ contributions to the development of Cốc Cốc?
I am very grateful to be working with current or former TAs in Cốc Cốc. Overall, the team's biggest contribution is finding the right pieces for the company. Currently, the TA team is building & optimizing a new recruitment process that is both simple and effective and promises to bring the best experience for candidates. In addition, my team has also rebuilt the career website to "upgrade" the employer brand image for Cốc Cốc.
Moreover, the TA team also aims at the image of a consultant for internal Hiring Managers, focusing on HR knowledge as well as supplementing interviewing & candidate evaluation skills, refreshing personal brand image to attract applicants, consulting on the market, and making the most of available data to make recruitment decisions.
Look ahead to a bright future
Q: As the digital trend is already having an impact on the HR field, do you think TA will need to develop new skills to adapt to the 4.0 technology era?
Recently, people have a trend: Making dancing clips on Tiktok to recruit. I sometimes think I have to learn to use Tiktok or I will get left behind :)))) Besides using Tiktok to make recruiting process fun, there are a few skills that a recruiter needs to practice and I think they are also essential for you to become a true TA:
- Employer Branding (EB): one of the new sides of HR and especially, closely related to TA. I always talk to my team that the EB duties are not only for the EB team, but each TA also needs to build an EB mindset and bring out the company's image most positively and authentically to the outside.
- Consulting skills: to become a companion who grows side by side with the company, you need to have enough professional knowledge, general industry knowledge, and trend shifting knowledge. After that, you need to be able to analyze objectively to advise Managers/Hiring Managers, of which is the most appropriate recruitment strategy/solution.
- Currently, HR Analytics is being popularized and applied everywhere. The use of existing data in the working process will help you a lot in making decisions and assessing any problem. So, keep practicing your skills in using Excel, Google Sheet, and other analytical tools because one day you'll have to use them a lot even if you're doing HR or TA ;)
Q: Do you have any sharing or advice for young TA today?
I see that LinkedIn has grown bigger in Vietnam than the moment I had graduated from university, and people using LinkedIn are younger and younger. This is a place where you can build a network and accumulate knowledge from the forerunners in the profession. In addition, there are many Mentorship programs, Career Webinars organized to help you get better advice and orientation for your future.
I don't have any sublime advice, just wish the new generations to always be confident and persistent with their choices, try their best, and maximize their abilities on this path. Here's a little quote for you guys ^^
“Jack of all trades and master of none”
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Ask a Senior - The series Cốc Cốc “Seniors” share their expertise and direction of career development for youngsters, helping them to have more inspiration to build the career path up ahead.