Team

Enthusiastic – friendly – patient – ambitious – building trust

As recruiter at Selectum, I provide my clients with possible candidates for the technical positions.
I search for and read C.V.’s of candidates that meet all the requirements – and more. To find a candidate that exceeds expectations, it’s important to read a CV correctly, meaning that the profile needs to align with the requirements of the engineering position. For example, what experience and training does a candidate have and what (software) programs is he/she familiar with? Apart from that, I always try to find ‘something extra’ about the candidate. An exceptional skill or specific experience in a specialized field of engineering. Oftentimes you dig deep to find exactly the right candidate for the job.

You need to have good communication skills for this job, it’s important to build up at a relationship of trust with the candidates you want to get aboard. We deal with a lot of South-African candidates. I often speak Afrikaans with them and use a subtle approach to get their confidence in what I can for them.

Before we moved from South-Africa to the Netherlands (my husband found a job here through Selectum), I was in the property business. After that I worked for my father-in-law, who is an electrical engineer. That is how I grew familiar with the field of engineering. The first 1,5 years in the Netherlands I was a stay-at-home-mom, but I got hungry for an intellectual challenge and wanted to expand my professional life. That is when the advertisement for a Sourcer at Selectum came in. I started as sourcer and was promoted to recruiter. I am very pleased with this position because I learn a lot and work closely together with the experienced staff of Selectum. Also, I can use my talent to communicate with people and build strong, long-lasting relationships with candidates and clients.

In my spare time, me and my husband love cooking together. We spend lots of quality time as a family, like taking trips to beautiful places in the Netherlands. And as South-Africans we are crazy about our weekly braai – the meat just tastes so good!

Ambitious – disciplined – social – direct – honest

As a technical sourcer, I’m analyzing our clients’ job vacancies on a daily basis. I familiarize myself with our clients, check the essential job requirements and search for suitable candidates. These may be people who are working on a (short) project, who have been with the same employer for a long time or who serve on a project that is about to end. I take a very structured approach to my search, knowing exactly what I do or don’t want to see in a good candidate. When I contact them, usually I can tell immediately whether someone is interested or not.

How did you get in contact with Selectum?
My whole family works in engineering. When I started a technical training within the army (construction, electrical engineering), I noticed how the down-to-earth, honest mentality of technicians appealed to me. Integrity, straightforwardness, no hidden agendas. All values that are also conveyed by Selectum. After I was not accepted for an officer training at the royal military academy (KMA), I started thinking outside the box and came across the Selectum vacancy for technical recruiter. Since I was already familiar with the engineering domain, I decided to take the plunge.
Although I don’t work in an engineering profession now, I do work in a technical environment and I am very pleased with that.

What is an important skill as a sourcer?
Being able to read people, even in a phonecall. I also check what kind of posts they share on LinkedIn and what they publish themselves. Other important things are honesty: what can you do for someone, what can’t you do for them? Working in a structured way and being able to collaborate also contribute to your success as a sourcer.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
Offering people a chance for a better job or project. Also the versatility and arranging things smoothly, when you have been able to place a candidate. At Selectum, we really support our candidates and represent their interests, which matches my values.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I like to be outside, in nature. Or in my garden, growing my own vegetables. I also really like visiting Ibiza. In the local supermarkets all the cucumbers and other vegetables are grown on the island itself, that inspires me!

reliable – structured – driven – professional – empathetic

As a recruiter I am in daily contact with candidates. I recruit them, speak to them and if I am convinced, I introduce them to our clients after consulting with our Sales department. Everything is based on mutual trust and good agreements. Because if you discuss matters with candidates correctly in advance, it prevents disappointment or discussions later on.

Communication plays an important role in my work. Asking questions, listening, asking more questions and checking. I have a lot of contact not only with our candidates, but also with my Selectum colleagues. We do our work in consultation and coordinate matters. A successful placement is therefore always a team effort.

I like working with people. Especially because of the many contacts. If they are good, you can fall back on them years later. This is how I’ve built up a nice network over the years. Also in countries like India, Pakistan and South Africa. I am still reaping the benefits of that.

I have more than 20 years of experience as a recruiter. The job is essentially still the same. Only the world and the technical resources have changed. Within Selectum we work with a permanent group of experienced professionals and a few acquisitions. This gives a nice dynamic of years of experience.

Loyal – organized – stress resistant – service provider – language lover

As office manager I arrange just about everything that needs to be arranged: for our office and for our people. From orders to sick reports. From developing resumes to sending invitations. I support my colleagues where possible. So they can focus on their main tasks.

My work is different every day. Because of my role, I know what’s going on and I’m involved in a variety of things. That variety, combined with plenty of contacts, is what I enjoy most about my job. I’m only satisfied when my to-do list has been checked off at the end of the day.

I’m very familiar with the sectors in which Selectum is active. That’s an advantage, because I can pick up quickly on what needs to be done. I know what our customers want. For example, how to make a good and customer-oriented CV. As my native language is English, I can easily communicate with our international customers. Both in conversations and on paper.

I’m proud of Selectum because we have a personal approach. We’re reliable and honest. In our appointments and communication. We want to be a partner for our candidates and our clients. Everyone is committed every day to finding the right people for that one specific customer.

My education in Chemical Engineering has taught me a lot about improving processes, techniques and products, but also how to implement this in an organisation and how to inform your clients and the market of these improvements.

During internships I developed an interest in the human side of engineering, and noticed that the quality of the technical specialist could be a crucial factor during the process as well as in the end result.

Because of this experience I decided to pursue a career in job placement and recruitment. I am interested in the techniques, but my focus is on the people. The contacts with both professionals and clients make my work very dynamic. I get a lot of benefit from having a technical education; I know what our specialists are talking about, which makes it much easier to get to the heart of the matter. I can link this information with the wishes of our clients, because, naturally, you also need to take the wishes and requirements of the client into account. After finding a match, the collaboration is then about bringing the project to the desired completion. I have extensive experience in offshore recruitment, but recently have been able to add experience in the (petro-)chemical and pharmaceutical industry, and with power plants to that.

Since 2010 I am using this experience in my work for Selectum, within a team of no-nonsense co-workers that get what this business is all about: working hard trying to find the perfect match between technical professionals and companies.

I started working with Selectum on January 1, 2004. This was six months after its inception, and it was a fun challenge to help build a company up to a fully-fledged player in job placement of technical specialists. Through the years I have, like every other staff member, developed my own field of expertise; because of my previous work experience I ended up in inspection. I worked for SGS, where I have gotten to know many companies and their processes, equipment, and piping very well. After this I managed a technical recruitment agency which placed technical professionals in various positions in all areas; from design to construction and maintenance. Here I was able to expand my expertise and experience beyond the field of inspection.

From 1997 onwards, job placement has been my main focus. It is incredibly rewarding to me to assist people in finding a new job, and help companies in finding new employees. Helping people will most definitely be one of the best experiences of your life, and if you are doing this together with colleagues that share this passion, you will strengthen each other and create lots of energy. Also due to the arrival and efforts of new colleagues we can be very proud of what we have accomplished and of Selectum’s current status in the market. Our reputation is incredibly important to me, and the reason why this enduring collaboration has been so successful. Selectum stands for trustworthiness, integrity, results, and building enduring relationships with our clients and professionals, and so do I.

Since 1990, I’ve had several jobs in the employment industry and I really enjoy it. After finishing my education in Personnel & Organization, I found a job at the HR department of a renowned financial institution. But it was not until I started working at an employment agency that I really felt at home.

The dynamics of supply and demand, the contact with people and the satisfaction of finding the right match made me realize that I had chosen the right direction. Then, after having worked as an intermediary, senior intermediary and branch manager, it was time to spread my wings.

In 1999, I started working in the multi-disciplinary world of technical project contracting, including contracting for the (petro)chemical industry and the onshore and offshore oil and gas industry. In addition to secondment, the services that are offered in these specific industries are recruitment, outplacement and training. Daily contact leads to the deployment of the right people, and this requires tailor-made solutions. We are able to find the right solution by offering the right combination of services and consultancy. The considerable differences between clients are an added challenge and make sure that our work never becomes dull.

Since 2005, I have had commercial responsibility for the activities of the technical branch of the Selectum Group. The switch to Selectum was a logical step for me: firstly, because I can work here with like-minded colleagues, and secondly, because of the professional way we serve the market, always putting people first.

One of the consequences of the development and growth that the Selectum Group is going through is the recruitment of new and very competent colleagues. We all have the opportunity to approach the market using our strengths. We work together as a team, with a lot of energy, enthusiasm, experience and knowledge.

I’ve been part of the Selectum team since November 1st, 2018, working as a financial and administrative assistant. After a series of jobs at a travel agency and in the film business, among others, I found myself at this recruitment agency for highly qualified engineers. At Selectum, I’m responsible for all financial matters: booking invoices, paying our candidates’ salaries on time, processing declarations and overseeing NEN (Dutch standards authority) audits.

I’m very happy to be working in the pragmatic and structured environment at Selectum. Everyone has their own, clear role, but we are all open and helpful toward each other. Working together is very important to us. And although we like to challenge each other, we always do this with the greatest respect.

At my first introduction to Selectum, I immediately felt at home. My husband is an engineer, so I’m familiar with the technical world and it always seemed to me an excellent career field. All in all, I was triggered to apply for a job at Selectum.

Selectum’s most striking quality is the tailormade service offered to both clients and candidates. The contracts are always meticulously attuned to the wishes of both parties. Everything is possible, as long as it is within the law. And all those ‘exceptions’ made in a contract must be translated in financial terms. That’s what I like most about my job. At Selectum, I can dive into all kinds of specialisations to complete the custom-made assignments efficiently and correctly.

In 2019, we started implementing a new IT system, which allows us, at Selectum, to further improve our services, and attract excellent engineers and interesting clients. I’m really looking forward to contributing to that!

Every Monday, Thursday and Friday after work I come home full of energy. There is a positive atmosphere at Selectum and we really believe in what we do. After work, I enjoy looking after our two children and making time for my sporting hobbies: swimming and tennis.

I have worked in recruitment since 1987, and with a background in business administration and marketing, that might not make a whole lot of sense, but I was interested in working with and for people.

The first years I had to learn what job placement, recruitment, contracting, and outplacement were all about. After that period I started working in a management role on various special projects for large clients.

From 1996 onwards I began specialising in job placement for ICT- professionals. It is nearly impossible to do business without ICT, and there are a lot of benefits from having a great ICT system in place. Computers can do a lot, but it is the ICT specialists that keep them up and running.

People have been a running theme throughout my career; they make or break an organisation. A business will be successful if its people function at their highest level

. Supply and demand of qualified candidates is incredibly interesting. What makes a person qualified? What is the difference between adequate and successful? How are these professionals employed in the organisation? These are daily challenges our clients face, and I get to use my experience to assist them in taking them on.

Since 2011 I have been responsible for the ICT branch within Selectum. With this discipline I’d like to bridge the gap between engineering and ICT, because both will stand to gain tremendously from an even better collaboration.

So why Selectum? My co-workers and I share a passion for this speciality, the drive for getting results, and the people-focussed services Selectum provides. I get a lot of energy from connecting companies with ICT professionals, resulting in collaborations on great projects.

After graduation, I worked in a range of different fields before I discovered secondment in 1991. Immediately, my interest was piqued. I find working with people much more interesting than dealing with products.
My first job in secondment was with a company that specialized in technical staff. Although this organization became part of a multinational, I was given enough freedom in my role as a manager to follow my own path. This allowed me to develop both my skills as an entrepreneur and my management skills. After I left this organization, I started several activities as an entrepreneur, but there was something about the recruitment of technical personnel that continued to attract me. Apparently, this was what I really wanted to do.
So in 2003 I decided to start Selectum. It was my wish to build a company based on COOPERATION – the cooperation with technical professionals looking for an interesting job or assignment, as well as the cooperation with clients who need qualified personnel. To achieve this goal, I needed a team of experienced account managers – experienced people who understand the importance of cooperation. Soon, people from my network started showing interest. They not only had extensive experience, they also had the guts to take on this challenge together.
Selectum has been around for over fifteen years now. It is a robust organization with three divisions: Selectum Engineering, for all technical jobs in the processing industry; Selectum Construction & Civil Engineering, focusing on positions in construction and civil engineering; and Selectum Asset Integrity consultancy agency, specializing in inspection management. Every day, we work hard to achieve our goal of cooperation. I believe that our ability to collaborate with our technical specialists over a long period of time really enables us to support their careers. And of course, our success is also determined by the long-term relationships with our clients.
Every day, we try to improve ourselves and become an even more valuable partner for the people who work for us and the companies who trust in us. That’s what keeps us moving forward!