Insights As Recruiters, we grow by supporting our people’s goals.

1. Tell us a little bit about your professional background?

I’m one of those lucky people to have started my professional career in a field I’m very passionate about. I began my career in recruitment function at a hiring agency where I learnt a lot about recruiting and building strong relationships with clients, hiring managers and candidates. Further, I also had the opportunity to work as an in-house recruiter for some leading multinational corporations where I polished my skills around complex processes and gained great exposure managing different internal stakeholders

2. What inspired you to become a recruiter?

After graduating from university, I got in touch with one of my friends from school who was already working for a recruitment firm and he shared with me how challenging and fun this industry is. That’s how I first got to learn about the function and was curious to try building a career in line with people-oriented processes. There are inevitably a lot of ups and downs being a recruiter and that’s what makes it so challenging and fun—never a dull moment!

3. What do you prefer in your recruiter role? / What is the best thing about your job?

I enjoy interacting with new individuals everyday, hearing about their passion for the job, and recruitment as a function helps me play a small role in helping people achieve their goals. It’s such a wonderful feeling when I see a member I recruit happy in their new role. Sometimes, I also get an opportunity to work with members I recruit as internal stakeholders and it’s truly amazing. Another aspect that drives me is being able to partner with the businesses and help drive results which is very satisfying and rewarding!

4. What’s the moment you prefer in a job interview?

I genuinely enjoy meeting new people, making friends and building relationships. During interviews I get to hear different career stories and learn more about the industry and the businesses which are very interesting!

5. What challenges do you face in your role?

One of the biggest challenges I’m currently facing when recruiting for APAC, especially in the Engineering & Design sector, is that the market has become very competitive with governments starting to invest a lot in Infrastructure projects and creating more jobs trying to give the economy a boost. At the same time, even the private sector is also picking up pace from the recovery of the COVID pandemic. This leaves us facing a serious talent shortage!

6. What qualities are necessary to be a recruiter?

I would say high level of resilience and persistence is the key. Further, it’s very important to have the ability to recover quickly from difficult situations while having tenacity and determination as well. I believe that these are a few of the super important qualities to be a successful recruiter. 

7. What does diversity mean to you?

To me, diversity means having a variety of different people in the workplace, in terms of gender, age, race, etc. I believe that diversity in recruitment means to avoid any bias and unconscious bias during the selection process and ensure that everyone gets a fair chance. Further, it’s our responsibility to ensure everyone is being evaluated by the attributes and capabilities related to work. In my role I have to work with colleagues from all over the world —different countries, cultures, time-zones—it’s all very fascinating to me. I get to meet a lot of different colleagues from different backgrounds which I thoroughly enjoy.

8. Why is AtkinsRéalis a great place to be?

At AtkinsRéalis , there are a lot of career development opportunities across different geographic locations. Further, there are very well-structured trainings and support in place to help employees grow and develop their careers. For example, I started off my role being responsible for the recruitment function in Hong Kong and then it slowly expanded into other regions such as China, Singapore and Malaysia. I also now manage a team of 5 and this really helps in developing my leadership and managerial skills.

9. Tell us about your favorite hobby

Outside of work I love to spend time with my friends and family. I enjoy playing and watching sports! I am a huge football fan and an even bigger fan of Manchester United!