Femke’s first 6 months at JAWS International Recruitment

Femke has now been working at JAWS for a year and a half and made the switch to international recruitment in May. It turns out to be a good match, and many aspects of this branch of recruitment align with Femke’s interests. She has now been working for 6 months as an International Account Manager, so it’s a great time to ask her how she found this period!

You switched from ‘regular’ recruitment to international recruitment. How did that come about?

Actually, it’s funny, because when I came to JAWS for my interview, we already talked about it. Mainly because my degree – Management & Tourism – has a lot of overlaps with it. I first started as an account manager with the Terborg team, and after about a year, a position became available with the International team.

And how do you like it?

This role aligns more with my hobbies and who I am as a person. I really enjoy organizing everything and being involved in the entire process. The projects are, of course, quite intensive, as you have a lot of contact with both candidates and clients. It’s great that you can and are allowed to guide the entire project from A to Z. Everything is, of course, in English, which was a bit of a challenge at first. But it actually went really well, and I’m noticing that it’s getting easier over time.

What were your first weeks like? / How was the onboarding process?

It was very intensive, but also very enjoyable. I’m very eager to learn and want to know everything immediately, but that’s not realistic. During the first weeks, I was trained by Jan-Willem, shadowing him a lot. There are so many things we need to track and document, so in the beginning, I had to remember a lot. Jan-Willem invested a lot of time into my onboarding, and I’m very grateful for that. After about a month and a half, I was able to handle tasks on my own. I was already familiar with recruiting itself; it was mostly the processes I had to get to know.

What are the biggest differences from regular recruitment processes?

The contact is definitely different. You interact with candidates in a completely different way. Internationals switch to personal topics very quickly; they are very curious about you and how things work in the Netherlands. The language is also different, which I really enjoy because I’m constantly learning something new.

There’s also a lot of paperwork involved. Before someone even arrives here, we’ve already liaised with several institutions, such as the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service), UWV (Employee Insurance Agency), and the municipality where the person will be living.

You work with Jan-Willem and Rein on a team; how is that collaboration going?

I work with both of them, but mostly with Jan-Willem. Rein works remotely a lot, but when Jan-Willem was on vacation, I coordinated more with Rein. I think we complement each other really well. For certain tasks, one of us has more experience, and for other tasks, it’s the opposite. That’s why the collaboration works so well.

What has been a challenge?

I’m not sure if “challenge” is exactly the right word, but it’s definitely hectic. Like this morning, I’d love to focus on recruitment, but I also need to check on a housing situation. So, I definitely underestimated the chaos and versatility of the role, but it’s something I’ve come to secretly enjoy.

And what has pleasantly surprised you the most?

I always anticipate challenges, so I was wondering, “Can I do this?” I have a lot of experience in logistics, so I was especially unsure if I could get to know the technical profiles, especially since it’s all in English. But in hindsight, it was totally fine. I put a lot of effort into it, and now the first placements are done. When a client calls, I know exactly what the role entails, and that’s a good feeling.

Where do you see International Recruitment in six months?

I expect that in six months, we’ll have grown even further as a department. And looking at where we are now and what we’re working on, I think that’s certainly achievable. Soon, we’ll be able to place even more internationals thanks to the steps we’re taking now.

Are you curious about what JAWS International Recruitment can do for you or your company? Feel free to contact Femke at frutgers@jaw-s.nl or +31 6 22 01 39 83.