A HUNTER WHO KNOWS HOW TO HUNT…
I was 27 when I left Montreal for Cotonou (Benin), after obtaining a Doctorate in Project Management, a Certificate in Human Resources and acquiring a little professional experience…
To be quite honest, regarding my job search, I had not done much before returning to Benin. I jumped off the plane without a job or parachute. I simply had faith in the future. What’s the saying again? “We were young and crazy…”
Then one day I receive a call. It is the manager of a local firm who gives me an appointment for an interview in his office. That is how it began! I put pressure on myself. I look for information on the firm. The profile of his colleagues. His work and clients. I do not find much…
D-Day. I am 25 minutes early and wound up like a clock. For me, this interview for my first job “in the country” carries a strong symbol. I am a little stressed out. The firm’s manager and I arrive at the same time. We find out, in the staircase, that we have an appointment with each other.
For 30 to 40 minutes, we talk about everything and nothing. A casual conversation that lasts from the stairs to the waiting room where he sits with me.
I become more and more comfortable, I laugh, I relax. The guy seems to be nice. It’s a good start, but I’m still in a hurry to get down to the IN-TER-VIEW. It does not appear to be the case for him. I wonder why he devotes so much time to such trivial chat…
I am lost in thought when he says:
– So, young man, when can you start?
Total silence. Very long seconds go by.
– What do you mean, when do I start? I finally manage to say.
No questions? Not even a kind trick question? Nothing on my skills? Not even a why, how, when, with whom, where, how many, the usual questions asked during “competency-based interviews”? He does not even ask me why I think I can do the job of HR Manager? He did not even make me sweat like in high-stakes interviews that stamp one’s memories. And my references then, huh? What do I do with them? I had prepared a long list…
I finally emerge from my stupor and answer:
– Huh, I do not know. Are we done? Is that all?
And he looks at me mischievously:
– As far as I’m concerned, I’m done.
Technical knockout. I could not believe it.
– Come on, he said while turning on his heels, Monday 9 am, okay?
This man, who was the first person to give me a real professional opportunity to take on a managerial position, explained to me a few months later what had really happened. It was only then that I had enough confidence to tell him what I had thought about his recruitment method.
Making me feel comfortable was his priority. He wanted to see the best and real me. And in about thirty minutes, he had done it by carrying on an informal conversation about everything and nothing, which had appeared rather casual to me.
He then revealed to me that he had already been following me from Montreal, at the time when I planned to return to Cotonou. I had shared this decision with a few people in the Beninese community. He had even called my school and “had checked two or three things” in advance.
I was not the only one who had done some research. He also had an extensive list of references on me, thanks to his very wide network. Our appointment had begun well before the “interview”.
And as for my skills, without wanting to offend me, he told me, I did not really have any “that had been tried and tested”. A competency-based interview would have quickly become boring.
However, he knew that at the early stages of a career, it is more important to take motivation and drive into consideration. It appears that I had a lot more than the other candidates he had seen before me. And that was more than enough for him.
Twenty years later, I still have some doubts about some of his methods. However, this first contact with an old school recruiter also taught me a lot about times when other procedures were used for headhunting.
Twenty years later, here I am, also working as a “Headhunter”. And this is surely not by pure coincidence…
I have been working for almost 15 years in the recruitment and selection of senior executives and leaders for Africa. And my career in this field has been rich, varied and full of lessons.
First, for nearly 10 years I was an entrepreneur based in Senegal. Then, I joined international firms based in Europe where I also covered Africa. As a result, I enjoy a privileged perch from which to view Africa through my work as an Executive Recruiter. Today, I am launching and managing this blog to talk about my passion, my job and Africa. About my Africa, I remain an optimistic African realist.
Critical, and fact-oriented, I am also first and foremost motivated by my strong belief in a beautiful future for the African continent.
The topics that will be discussed in this blog will naturally cover concerns related to the talent and skills that the continent needs, management practices put into context, and certain forms of leadership…
What do you expect? We do not come out unscathed after working 15 years in this profession!
I will also focus, over and beyond recruitment, on certain topics and sectors that will drive the development of the African continent and structure its job market in the coming decades: energy/infrastructure, IT and digital transformation, agriculture/ agribusiness, education…
The aim is to share views on current economic and social events affecting the continent and its skills; to question the development of these key sectors for the Africa of tomorrow and to observe the actors who structure the job market, the game-changers and mirages, because there are some too; and to debate. But always in a critical, positive way, and without using clichés.
Along with Talent Management topics n a broad way, that’s what I am interested in. That’s what you’ll find on YannHazoume.com.
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