Recruiting at Atlassian, and what I learned along the way....

Getting into recruiting wasn’t a chance encounter or some grand serendipitous moment for me, it was very much by design. I loved talking to people and hearing about their jobs – so becoming a recruiter felt like the right path. Shortly after I graduated, I applied for a job at a recruitment agency and the rest, as they say, is history.  

Less than a year later, I was lucky enough to be hired as a Technical Sourcer at Google. That’s where I picked up a whole bunch of tips and tricks I still use today. It also led me to other big technology companies like HubSpot, and now Atlassian, where we make products and services that are used by millions of people in their daily work.

Recruiting gives me the opportunity to change people’s careers, and sometimes their lives. I feel a particular sense of pride when I see somebody that I helped to hire, enjoying their new job, and performing really well.

I put a lot of my hiring success down to a multi-channel approach and an ability to experiment and be creative. Having a strong sourcing strategy is important in the competitive technology space where candidates are so sought after. Companies also need to stand out and offer candidates something unique. At Atlassian we put a lot of thought into making sure we provide an amazing place to work and that employees feel supported and have a sense of community. It’s part of what helped us rank in the Top 3 on the ‘Best Place to Work in Australia’ list in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Over the last year, I have been involved with hiring lots of talented Atlassians from overseas, most of whom I headhunted from LinkedIn. Accepting a role at Atlassian is an emotional process for anyone that’s overseas, and making the decision to move an entire family to Australia is never easy. To help alleviate this stress, Atlassian offers a suite of relocation services to all of our International new hires, which includes visas, lawyers, tax consultants, flights, temporary accommodation, shipping of household goods, a cash bonus to cover miscellaneous expenses, and a few nice surprises along the way!

We also work closely with new hires to ensure they are 100% comfortable, and set up to enjoy their new life in Sydney. In many cases, we put new hires in touch with other Atlassian families who had been through a similar process. Atlassian also provides a relocation consultant to all of our international new hires. The consultant helps families to find a new home, and to find suitable schools for relocating children. One new Atlassian told me when he arrived; “This is a great opportunity for me to be able to bring my son to Australia and send him to Australian schools. I know he’s going to have a great life here” – conversations like that one are what gets me out of bed every morning!

I’m also immensely proud of a recruiting tour Atlassian conducted last year across Europe. Prior to heading to Madrid, Barcelona, Stockholm and London, we reached out to candidates via LinkedIn in each city, inviting them to interview at a local hotel. The experience was fantastic and we ended up hiring three people (one from each country) and even hired the fiancée of our London hire into another team at Atlassian!

In terms of measurable impact, prior to Atlassian, I worked HubSpot in Ireland where I had the chance to positively impact the sales business. The company had just opened their EMEA headquarters, and I helped to hire ~60 people, the majority of whom I had headhunted passively. I remember looking around at a sales floor that had been empty and was now full with a super smart people and thinking, “Wow! We have found some amazing talent!”

There’s a few things I look for in all potential candidates, regardless of the job. It’s always a great sign if a candidate is intellectually curious, asks a lot of questions, and is eager to learn new things. I always love to hear about people’s passions, both inside and outside of work. I believe that someone with a passion in his or her free time will often apply the same energy and drive to a job that they love. I also really appreciate when a candidate puts effort into their application, for example; they ensure that all spellings and grammar are correct in their CV, they pay attention to small details, they are punctual and appropriately dressed for interviews, and they take the interview process seriously - these behaviours create a great impression every time.

The biggest piece of advice I would give a new recruiter is to be disciplined, and to always make time for sourcing new candidates. It is not enough to just source when you have no pipeline – you need to be consistently finding new candidates, and sourcing every day.

It’s an honour to be included in LinkedIn’s Top Social Recruiter 2017.

Take a look at the full video here, and here for the full list of this year’s Top Social Recruiters. #topAPACrecruiters