The company
The candidate
The hiring process

The company
StepStone is one of the world’s largest providers of talent management solutions, offering a portfolio of online technology, software and services that enable organisations to attract, recruit, develop, retain and manage the best available talent.  Our customers include many world-leading brands such as Vodafone, Orange, BBC, RBS, PwC, British Airways, Xerox, Statoil and Fiat.

Why is talent management so important? With labour markets across the world becoming more competitive, and the demand for skilled workers exceeding supply, many organisations are realising that it is getting harder and harder to find and recruit the best people
This means that managers must work more intelligently to develop the talent that already exists within their organisation, whilst also developing a strong, differentiated employer brand to draw talent to it.

The Internet provides an incredibly powerful platform to effectively reach out and enable this fundamental shift in a core business process   
In order to help organisations achieve what we call “total talent management”, we have two key propositions.

The first - Solutions - comprises a broad suite of software tools delivered on-demand to support key HR processes including recruitment and talent management.
The second - Online - comprises a network of powerful job boards and portals which connect employers with candidates whether they are local, regional or from around the world. These sites are increasingly seen as the most effective way for companies to advertise to the various talent communities that exist, rather than the old fashioned means of publishing jobs in newspapers, or walking into a local agency.

I joined StepStone in 2001 as CEO, following several years as European Vice President for Red Hat and previously Sybase.

As you can imagine, my role is very wide; ranging from meeting the demands and expectations of our public share holders to strategic planning and financial management and, of course, leading the 700+ StepStone team itself. We have operated internationally for over a decade, and this outlook drives our recruitment strategy. 

The candidate
We are currently advertising for a range of positions, from application developers to sales executives, customer advisors and administrative support. With subsidiaries in some 15 countries around the globe, we expect candidates to be able to work effectively with colleagues in other countries, and ideally speak another language.  We are a fast moving, challenging company that is experiencing strong growth, both organically and through targeted acquisitions. As a result, we particularly prize people who thrive on change and decisive actions

What sets us apart from many technology businesses is the emphasis we place on “domain expertise” – alongside the technical experts, a significant proportion of our team focus exclusively on HR, recruitment and talent management issues. Their insights help create and shape the solutions we provide to our customers. This means that many applicants have a mix of academic and industry qualifications.  For example, they may have a Master’s degree in a Human Resources discipline or European Business, together with a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) qualification or indeed, CCNA.

Our Online team draws on some very different skill sets and is perhaps the most dynamic part of StepStone. Our staff here has gained experience with cutting edge online brands such as Yell and Amazon, and people join us to build on these skills; for example, developing new media partnerships, launching new online properties and titles and, of course, continuing to attract new customers to StepStone.

The hiring process
Given our broad business scope – and our international capabilities – we demand a very diverse range of capabilities.

For example, we recently hired a Development Manager in Brussels to join an impressive team of Polish and German developers. Aside from his technical knowledge, he also showed at the interview his experience of the IT industry in general, the ability to lead and manage a team, and strong competency in French, Dutch, and English.

The recruitment process for StepStone will begin with an online application through our website.  Candidates can search for vacancies in their chosen field, or if they prefer leave their email address so we can alert them of any relevant vacancies we may post in the future. If after an initial review, our recruitment team decides an interview is in order, we will contact candidates via email to arrange it.

The flexibility of email also means either the candidate can or we easily reschedule interviews if need be. We usually invite candidates to attend two or three interviews, and frequently use skills testing as well as psychometric testing, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits

Whilst the CV traditionally remains the best-used means for candidates to present themselves to employers, e-recruitment provides a much more flexible and intuitive way to present candidates and opportunities alike.

Increasingly the, “one size fits all” philosophy of the CV is being replaced by tailored online applications that enable candidates to best present their profiles to fit the kind of positions they’re looking for, and for companies to present their opportunities more clearly and effectively.. 

By the same token, if you register with a job board or apply for a job online, it is vital that you keep your profile up to date and ensure your ‘pitch’ is linked as closely as possible to your chosen field.  It goes without saying that ‘rambling’ (e.g. using ten words where three will do) and typos are a total no-no. Getting the basics right is crucial.

So whether we hire a graduate or experienced professional, StepStone offers a terrific challenge for people who thrive in an international and fast moving environment. We are at the forefront of a new, emerging market sector that is experiencing real growth as organisations work ever harder to attract and retain the best people.

It is down to organisations like ours to help our customers achieve their objectives: as such, I can promise every existing and future StepStoner an exciting and rewarding career.