Pleased to say that I worked with the great people at LinkedIn on another post for the LinkedIn Talent Blog.
I’ve worked with some rather interesting hiring managers in the past, this article provides my top ten quotes and how to respond (with lots of GIF’s of course). Enjoy!
“When one door closes, another one opens”
Today is my last day at Hudl and I am full of mixed emotions. On the one hand, I’m leaving behind some of the best people I’ve ever worked with and the best company I’ve ever worked for. And on the other I’m so incredibly excited about joining EA. Being a part of the video games industry has always been a dream of mine, and I will be joining the biggest and best in the business!
WHY WAS HUDL SO AMAZING?
I will always look back at my time at Hudl as a major milestone in my career and such a unique opportunity. When I started Hudl in May 2015, there were 221 employees across the USA and UK. Hudl had recently acquired Replay Analysis in London, Ubersense in Boston and only a few weeks after I started Sportstec was acquired. Hudl is now over 1,000 employees across 14 countries and what a learning curve that has been for me as a Recruiter.
That learning curve included adapting from a recruitment agency to an internal talent function, building teams in departments I’d never worked with before (marketing, business development, support, sales, finance, advertising to name a few) and in countries I had never recruited in before (e.g. USA, Canada, Brazil, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Australia).
Hudl has a strong culture and a high bar when it comes to hiring which means I’ve rarely come across someone where I’ve thought, “why did we hire them?” The London and UK team are a great bunch of people and so much success still lies ahead. They have quite a few open roles right now which I have listed at the bottom of this blog post.
Thanks Hudl, my time here was truly awesome.
NEXT STOP, ELECTRONIC ARTS!
I will be starting at EA’s Guildford office on Monday September 11th and I’m so freaking excited! If you know me well then you’ll know how passionate I am about video games and the industry, I can’t wait to get started.
Initially, I will be helping to build 3 studios across the UK and Sweden: DICE, Criterionand Ghost. These studios have created some incredible games and IP’s over the years, including Star Wars Battlefront, Battlefield, Need For Speed, Burnout and Mirror’s Edge. DICE also created the Frostbite game engine which powers other games such as FIFA, Mass Effect and Plants vs Zombies. I’ll also be on the hunt for a Senior Director for FIFA Global Brand Management for EA’s Vancouver office.
There’s a ton of new challenges ahead. Building teams in a new industry, new roles, new locations and all in the biggest company I’ve ever been a part of.
Thanks EA, I can’t wait to be a part of it all.
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Hudl London Jobs
Timing is crucial for every interview and luckily it’s typically a part of the interview process you can control. According to multiple sources (cited below), Tuesday is the most productive day of the week. Research can even pinpoint it to 10.30am on Tuesday.
The line of thought here is that when your interviewer is at their best they are more receptive to your ideas and answers. Tip for interviews – if you feel that you’re perhaps not in the best mood, always try and switch to a positive mindset before an interview by either having a coffee break, go for a walk or play a quick game of ping pong (if you’re lucky enough to have one nearby). You always want to give candidate’s a fair chance.
But this is the general rule and not advice written in stone. When thinking about booking your interview, also consider:
Sources
Also posted to (ah go on, give it a click)
Reid Hoffman – “Your network is the people who want to help you, and you want to help them, and that’s really powerful”
Recently I surprised a friend with a piece of career advice, “you should try and strengthen your recruiter network”. They said they had never heard that before. Recruiters are just those annoying people, right? Many don’t realise the influence a recruiter has, whether agency or internal, when it comes to a hiring process. If I believe I’ve discovered someone great I will make sure my team and hiring manager are aware of them immediately. I will present their profile and state why I think they should be hired. Recruiters are the gatekeepers of talent for businesses, if you can get them on your side you stand a better chance of getting that dream job.
Here are a few reasons to network with the right recruiters, and not just because I want more friends (cue the violins)…
FOUND A DREAM COMPANY? FIND THE RIGHT RECRUITER
Many people have a few companies in their mind that they think, “it would be amazing to work there”. If you’re one of those people, what are you doing about it? Sure, keep an eye on their jobs page but it’s better to be proactive. If the company is small there may only be one person in HR or recruiting that you need to make an introduction to, or if it’s a large company there may be a team of people dedicated to recruiting for all parts of the business. For example, Hudl is a medium sized business and we have 6 people on our Talent Team, I typically focus on hiring for Europe and engineering.
WHY A RECRUITER AND NOT A HIRING MANAGER?
Building a relationship with a hiring manager is a smart way to help your next career move, but there are advantages to befriending a recruiter. Very often a hiring manager is only aware of their hiring needs or of the teams they work closely with (especially in large companies). Also, hiring managers aren’t hiring all the time. You introduce yourself, they tell you they’re not hiring and you assume the company isn’t hiring. However, a recruiter can give you an holistic view of the company’s hiring needs and are often the first to know when hiring requirements are on the horizon.
NETWORK WITH AGENCY RECRUITERS IN YOUR INDUSTRY
Find 1 or 2 great recruiters in your industry, or for the industry you want to move into, to help keep an ear to the ground for opportunities. The best agency recruiters are constantly gathering information on their specialist area. Use agency recruiters for industry updates and allow them to get to know you so they send you relevant updates. If an agency recruiter believes you’re worth their time, they will introduce you first when it comes to job opportunities hence increasing your chances for a great career move.
I hope you found this article useful, if you ever want to get in touch my email is joe.burridge@hudl.com. I also published this article to www.joeburridge.com
2017 is set to be the best year of my life. This month marks 2 years at Hudl for me, I was employee 221 and now we’re 600+ employees across 15 countries. I also got married in March (a few snaps here) and am currently buying my first house. Dreams are literally coming true.
Humblebrags aside, what’s the point of this post? A few weeks ago I said something like this to my wife (Bonnie), “I can’t wait to get a house, we can fix it up over time and move into a better one! Let’s start thinking about how we can buy 2!! And I know Hudl is 600 employees now, but imagine when it’s over 1,000!!! How many kids do you think we’ll have in the future?!?!?!”. Bonnie said, “Woah! Slow down. Let’s just stop for a moment and be grateful for the present”.
She’s right, I needed a reminder to think about where we are now and celebrate what we’ve achieved. If someone told me 2 years ago that 2 years from now you will have achieved [insert list of stuff], I’d be very happy to hear it. It’s so easy to keep thinking ahead. So, I started reading articles about being in the present and discovered the short story below written by Robin Sharma (from his book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari). This story summarises the importance of valuing the present moment and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Peter was a young boy who could never live in the moment. When he was in school, he dreamed of being outside playing. When he was outside playing, he dreamed of his summer vacation. Peter constantly daydreamed, never taking the time to savour the special moments that filled his days.
One morning, Peter was out walking in a forest near his home. Feeling tired, he decided to rest on a patch of grass and eventually dozed off. After only a few minutes of deep sleep, he heard someone calling his name. “Peter! Peter!” came the shrill voice from above. As he slowly opened his eyes, he was startled to see a striking woman standing above him. She must have been over a hundred years old and her snow-white hair dangled well below her shoulders like a matted blanket of wool.
In this woman’s wrinkled hand was a magical little ball with a hole in the centre and out of the hole dangled a long, golden thread. “Peter,” she said, “this is the thread of your life. If you pull the thread just a bit, an hour will pass in seconds. If you pull harder, whole days will pass in minutes. And if you pull with all your might, months – even years – will pass by in days.” Peter was very excited by this new discovery.
“I’d like to have it if I may?” he asked. The elderly woman quickly reached down and gave the ball with the magic thread to the young boy.
The next day, Peter was sitting in the classroom feeling restless and bored. Suddenly, he remembered his new toy. As he pulled a little bit of the golden thread, he quickly found himself playing in his garden. Realising the power of the magic thread, Peter soon grew tired of being a schoolboy and longed to be a teenager, with all the excitement that phase of life would bring. So again he held the ball and pulled hard on the golden thread.
Suddenly, he was a teenager with a very pretty girlfriend named Elise. But Peter still wasn’t content. He had never learned to enjoy the moment and to explore the simple wonders of every stage of his life. Instead, he dreamed of being an adult, so again he pulled hard on the thread and many years flew by in an instant. Now he found that he was transformed into a middle-aged adult. Elise was now his wife and Peter was surrounded by a houseful of kids.
But Peter noticed something else. His once jet-black hair had started to turn grey and his once youthful mother, whom he loved so dearly had grown old and frail. Yet Peter still could not live in the moment. He had never learned to live in the now, so once again, he pulled on the magic thread and waited for the changes to appear.
Peter now found that he was a ninety-year-old man. His thick dark hair had turned white as snow and his beautiful young wife, Elise, had also grown old and had passed away a few years earlier. His wonderful children had grown up and left home to lead lives of their own. For the first time in his entire life, Peter realised that he had not taken the time to embrace the wonders of living. He had never gone fishing with his kids or taken a moonlight stroll with Elise. He had never planted a garden or read those wonderful books his mother had loved to read. Instead, he had hurried through life, never resting to see all that was good along the way.
Peter became very sad at this discovery. He decided to go out to the forest where he used to walk as a boy to clear his head and warm his spirit. As he entered the forest, he noticed that the little saplings of his childhood had grown into mighty oaks. The forest itself had matured into a paradise of nature. He laid down on a small patch of grass and fell into a deep slumber.
After only a minute, he heard someone calling out to him. “Peter! Peter!” cried the voice. He looked up in astonishment to see that it was none other than the old woman who had given him the ball with the magic golden thread many years earlier. “How have you enjoyed my special gift?” she asked.
“At first it was fun, but now I hate it.” he responded bluntly, “My whole life has passed before my eyes without giving me the chance to enjoy it. Sure, there would have been sad times as well as great times, but I haven’t had the chance to experience either. I feel empty inside. I have missed the gift of living.”
“You are very ungrateful,” said the old woman. “Still, I will give you one last wish.”
“I’d like to go back to being a schoolboy and live my life over again,” Peter quickly responded. He then returned to his deep sleep.
Again, he heard someone calling his name and opened his eyes. “Who could it be this time?” he wondered. When he opened his eyes, he was absolutely delighted to see his mother standing over his bedside. She looked young, healthy and radiant. Peter realised that the strange woman from the forest had indeed granted his wish and he had returned to his former life.
“Hurry up, Peter. You sleep too much. Your dreams will make you late for school if you don’t get up right this minute,” his mother admonished. Needless to say, Peter dashed out of bed and began to live the way he had hoped. He went on to live a full life, one rich with many delights, joys and triumphs, but it all started when he stopped sacrificing the present for the future and began to live in the moment.
I have a new post on the LinkedIn Talent Blog! It’s a 3 minute read packed with GIF’s (and lots of useful information), just let me know what you think.
And while you’re on the article if you could click the ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons I’d appreciate it as it helps me out. Thanks!
Salvador Dali - “Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it”
I’m a Recruiter and I’ve made a ton of mistakes throughout my career. One thing I learnt right at the start of my career is that most people dislike Recruiters. In fact, most people really think negatively of Recruiters and will quite happily expose Recruiters when they have made errors of judgement (thankfully this person below didn’t do that).
Another point I’ve learned is that mistakes in life and work can be tolerated, but only if you learn from them quickly and use that newfound knowledge to your advantage.
I was recently asked, “what was the biggest mistake you’ve made while being a Recruiter?”. I started thinking. I had a ton of examples, but one in particular sticks out in my mind like a sore thumb and one that I have reflected on time and again.
EXAMPLE
This was a conversation over a LinkedIn message a few years back with the co-founder of a software startup. Below are the key points from our conversation which I will reflect on.
REFLECTION
They were right! What kind of introduction was that?! Especially when I completely overlooked that this was a co-founder of the business and what must have been a particularly difficult time in their career at that moment. I can just imagine the thought that was going through my head at the time, “THE COMPANY IS GOING DOWN! QUICKLY MESSAGE EVERYONE AS I’M SURE THEY’LL ALL WANT TO LEAVE”.
That thought isn’t necessarily a bad one though, being able to act quickly with a valuable piece of insight is often fruitful when recruiting. Perhaps even that exact same message may have received a positive response from someone else in the business who had perhaps been recently let go and felt resentment. But upon your introduction you don’t always know the full situation and you certainly don’t know the person well enough to assume how they feel.
My key takeaways:
So, how would I approach the scenario now? I would start off with condolences for their situation, as for a founder a startup can be their life’s work and one of their proudest achievements and when it doesn’t work out it can be heart breaking. It wouldn’t have been hard to find some of the achievements of that startup and specifics about why their profile would make them a potential fit for the new opportunity; introductions should always be personalised. And ending the message, I’d acknowledge that it may be a difficult time and that a new opportunity may not be right for them for some time, but when that time comes I’d be glad to help in any way I could.
As I said before, “mistakes in life and work can be tolerated, but only if you learn from them quickly and use that newfound knowledge to your advantage”. This was embarrassing at the time but I’ve learnt from it and become a better Recruiter because of it.
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I hope this article was helpful and don’t hesitate to get in touch, I’m always looking to learn from others (joe.burridge@hudl.com or jdjburridge@gmail.com).
Mark Twain – “Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest”
I’m a Recruiter which means I read a lot of job applications. And as the “New Year, New [Career/You/Life]” spam comes our way you may be thinking of sending out multiple applications (but before you even think of quitting your job though, you may want to read this). I see a lot of articles with advice on how to make your application stand out but I don’t see much advice about what to avoid.
Below are some examples of applications that just straight up annoy me, some even lead me to rejecting the application before I’ve seen the résumé/CV. This article may seem like a cathartic rant but my intentions are good, I just want to help Recruiters and candidates the world over.
Ultimately, the point of this article is to highlight that I have one surprisingly simple piece of application advice and it’s this…
a well-written, personalised, fully completed and thoughtful application will (most of the time) make you stand out from the rest.
Now let’s rant.
CAPITAL LETTERS EVERYWHERE
“I am THE PERFECT CANDIDATE for this job”. Whenever I see this I always think, would the perfect candidate actually write a sentence like that? A couple of weeks back I even saw an application written entirely in capital letters. Literally, the whole thing. The point here is, focus on you and your experience to help sell yourself, not the use of UPPERCASE LETTERS.
EFFORTLESS COVER LETTERS
A cover letter isn’t a requirement when applying at Hudl, so when I see one I think, “awesome, they’ve taken the time to write a cover letter”. Then when I see it’s a generic cover letter that the candidate has probably used time and again with no edits at all for each application…I just facepalm. This adds no value to your application. The cover letter is an opportunity to highlight areas of your experience, personality and passions that make you a great fit for this specific role at this particular company. I would go as far as to say that generic cover letters harm your application.
AVOIDING APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Above is an example from a recent application for our Software Developer vacancy. On it we really only ask that you spend a moment to think about these questions: What language have you learned most recently? What did you like most about it? Application forms may seem tedious but remember, most of the time it’s the very first interaction between you and a potential new employer. Take the time and make it count. Links are important too, for example we want to see Developers who are proactive on GitHub and Sales Reps with an engaging LinkedIn profile.
MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS
I’m often asked, “should I submit multiple applications?” I guess the thinking is that the employer will notice you, and they will, but not for the right reasons. Most good TMS’ (talent management systems) will show if a candidate has applied to multiple roles. But what are the chances that a) you genuinely want either role equally b) you are qualified equally for both roles. The chances are slim, so focus on one role. If you’re not quite sure whether to apply for say a Lead Software Engineer or Technical Product Manager, then pick one and mention it on your application. Or better yet get in touch with a Recruiter, Engineer or Product Manager within the company who will be able to help. Multiple applications just look like spam and that you aren’t focused on a particular career path.
LAZY CV/RÉSUMÉ
“I don’t have time to write a CV/résumé, so I’ll just download a PDF of my LinkedIn profile”. What!? No. Don’t do that. Indeed also offers a similar option. Please avoid doing anything like this. This is your career, this could be a life changing dream job, so take the time to craft a CV/résumé that highlights your best self. Laziness rarely pays off when job hunting.
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I hope this article was useful, if you want to get in touch use joe.burridge@hudl.com.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of working with LinkedIn’s content team to produce a short article with some of my top lunch interview tips.
Check it out here and let me know what you think!
Thanks Leo, much appreciated.
So, I’m often asked about how best to approach interviews (whether phone, video or in-person) and how to interview with Hudl. My general advice for interview preparation, on the whole, can be found online by sifting through interview advice articles, so I’d like to give some specific tips for interviews I conduct.
Some of you may be thinking, “hang on a minute buddy, you can’t be giving inside tips on how to pass your interview!”. Well, why not? Research is key for any interview, and if you’re a candidate I’m about to interview and have found this post then well done, you are doing your research. Also, I want candidates to perform at their best during the interview. 30 – 45 minutes is a short amount of time to assess someone, I want to see you at your best in this time.
THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
Hudl’s interview process differs by position, but one aspect that doesn’t change is the first interview with a Recruiter. Whether you’re interviewing for an Engineering, Sales, Support or Marketing role, you will always speak to one of the Talent Squad (cool name, right?). This will either be a phone call, a meeting in-person (most likely a coffee fuelled meeting) or a video call.
CORE VALUES
We’re assessing whether you match the skills set for the role, but more importantly, we’re figuring out if you’re a culture fit. Culture fit? We have a diverse workforce (genders, nationalities, introverts, extroverts, sexual preferences etc.) but what remains constant is the practice and belief of our core values.
Tip #1: Look at our values. Do they match yours and can you relate to them? Come up with multiple examples of times you have exemplified these values (inside and outside of work) and be ready to answer follow up questions.
STARTING THE INTERVIEW
I start every interview the same way. First I will ask “Why do you want to work at Hudl?” and second, I will ask for you to give me a brief account of your experience. These two questions, on some occasions, have given me enough insight as to whether the candidate is not a fit for the role and/or for Hudl.
In the first question I want to hear that you’ve done your research and are really excited at the idea of joining us! Perhaps tell me about an article you read, our use of open source tools and cloud computing, our impact on the sports industry etc. and get a strong idea of what our software actually does. Don’t tell me that you just saw the position, applied and don’t really know what we do.
Tip #2: Do your research and come up with a genuine answer for why you’re excited to join us. There are many different reasons why people enjoy working at Hudl, pick the reasons that relate to you. Also, really get an idea for what our software does (bonus points for downloading either Hudl or Hudl Technique).
When I ask for a brief account of your experience, don’t just read off your resumé/CV as I will have it right there in front of me. This is a chance for you to sell yourself, showcase projects and explain decisions related to your career path.
Tip #3: Even if you’re not in sales, being able to talk about yourself in a professional and attractive way is always a useful skill. Practice talking through your career, your aspirations, your achievements and the decisions you made to help you get to where you are.
THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW
The rest of the interview will then consist of questions specific to the role you’re applying for, but I’ll still be looking for key competencies that reflect our values, for example, are you positive, productive, a self-learner, ambitious, a good communicator, versatile and conscious of how your work impacts the bottom line.
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I hope this article was helpful. And if you’re interviewing at Hudl or anywhere else right now then good luck! If you’d like get in touch, my email is joe.burridge@hudl.com. Thanks for reading!
“What’s the difference between a good joke and a bad joke timing”
In short, aim to interview at 10.30am on a Tuesday. Timing is key.
I interview a lot of people. And like any interviewer, there are times when I’m on top, productive and positive and times when I’m, well, just not. Why? Because I’m human.