Nuria is the Recruitment Manager at SpotOn Connections Portugal, and has been instrumental in setting up the office that first opened its doors in January 2017. She recently celebrated her fourth anniversary with the company, starting out as a Trainee Recruiter and working her way up to her current position. I took the time to ask her a few questions about SpotOn Connections, her involvement with the company, and what the future may hold.
Question and Answer Session With Nuria
SpotOn Connections has experienced ongoing growth over recent years, opening the new office in Portugal this year and having everything in place to open a new office in Ireland at the start of next year. What is it that makes SpotOn Connections so successful and has led to its ongoing growth?
The relationships that we build with candidates and clients are the key to our success. We offer high quality, personalised recruitment and career consultation that has been appreciated by everyone that we work with. We take the time to understand every client and candidate that we work with so that we fully appreciate their needs and can act upon them. When we meet with a client, we want to understand the company, their ethics, the company culture, and the work environment that they offer to candidates. When we meet candidates, we get to know their personality and what they are looking for in their career. We don’t just forward CVs based upon experience and it is our highly personal approach that allows us to place the right candidates in the right roles, resulting in ongoing, long term relationships. People are happy with our recruitment solutions so they recommend us to others and that has led to us getting more business, continuing our growth.
You started as a Trainee Recruiter four years ago and worked your way to the position of a Recruitment Manager with SpotOn – What is it that keeps you committed to the company?
I believe in quality, and whilst I have worked with other companies that aim for quality, the philosophies and values of SpotOn are something that I really believe in. I am happy to be part of a company that works in this way, doing their utmost to offer the highest level of recruitment solutions available to the market and I see myself working with SpotOn for many years to come.
In a challenging – and at times stressful – job like this, the fact that the company values and working ethics are in line with my own personal values keeps me going and makes me happy to wake up and work hard in the office each day. From the first day at the Connectors family, they believed in me and encouraged me to grow, giving me the tools to do so. I get to grow, have fun, and spend time with friends whilst undertaking my passion. The open minded, friendly but competitive working environment, the flat structure within the organisation – where everyone at any level is eager to help one another – contributes to that feeling and makes you want to grow further.
You moved from the Malta SpotOn office to start the office in Portugal and have been a huge part in getting everything going. How has the transition been and how are things going so far?
It’s been exceptionally smooth. We have a strong team, many of which we brought over from Malta, and we have hit the ground running. We brought some of our international clients from our offices in Malta and have been able to find further international business as we work all over Europe, and will continue to expand our reach in the future. We’ve been making placements, making people happy, and enjoying the challenge of establishing ourselves in a new part of the world. The hardest things have been adjusting to the new local language and missing all our friends in Malta, but it’s a new country with new experiences and we are excited for what the future holds.
Talking of the future, what do you see for SpotOn Connections in the future?
I see huge potential for further growth within Europe and even beyond it. I have really enjoyed setting up the new office and I wouldn’t mind doing it again in a new location in the future if I needed to, as would many of our committed team members. Either way, we are poised to continue expanding and I see our company going from strength to strength in future.
As you mentioned, our relationships with clients and candidates has been a major part of our growth. When a candidate comes to us, what can they expect of us?
They can expect honesty and communication. They don’t want to be given false expectations or go to an interview and never get a response. We offer career consultancy and provide career advice on an ongoing basis covering everything from improving their CV through to advising them on how they might develop their career in future. We see our interaction with candidates as an ongoing, long term relationship, not simply an individual to place in a job as quickly as possible.
Finally, is there any advice that you would offer to jobseekers?
First of all, come speak to us!! We need you to be honest and tell us what your hopes are and what you are looking for from your career and life. From there, we will help you build a career, find out what can be achieved, and offer career consultancy on an ongoing basis.
Develop Your Career With Us
As Nuria explained, SpotOn is continuing to grow and we continually expand the number of positions that we recruit for across Europe. If you are looking to build your career, please register your CV with us here and see what we can do for you today. Nuria is also looking for trainee recruiters to start in our SpotOn Portugal offices in May, so please get in touch with her directly at nuria@spotonconnections.com if you are interested in working with us.
Thanks to Nuria for her time and insights, and we will bring you more in the future from our offices in Portugal, Malta, and (very soon) Ireland. Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for regular updates.
