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HR Recruitment Strategy Manager

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Explore Being a HR Recruitment Strategy Manager with Chris Colbert

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cz: Briefly describe your job.

I am the Head of Global Recruitment Programs for Nokia Siemens Networks. In this role I am responsible for the development of the overall strategy to support our talent acquisition efforts as well as the coordination of various programs, policies and applications that support the recruitment function.

cz: How long have you been working in this field?

I have worked across two major fields (Human Resources and Marketing) for the past 20 years. In my past I have worked in a variety of positions for major advertising agencies as well as for major Global 500 corporations.

cz: When and how did you decide to choose this career?

I can’t say I chose my current career. It mostly found me. My background, education and passion are in the area of marketing. Interestingly, the area of recruitment for a corporation involves quite a bit of marketing to attract top talent in a highly competitive market. My marketing background led to positions where I was involved in recruitment strategy and overall recruitment branding.

cz: What education and training did you receive before entering your field?

I have a Bachelors in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Miami. I have also gone back and completed some work toward my PhD in the field of marketing. While the academic background is needed to achieve high level positions within larger global companies, I have to also credit some unpaid internships and other activities I undertook during my college experience in helping me get a foot in the door.

cz: How did you begin OR what was your first job in the field?

I went to college as a finance major. In my second year in college at Miami, I decided I would look for an off-campus job to earn a little spending money and also get additional work experience. I landed a job as a front desk receptionist for a film production company. This company produced commercials for major advertising agencies that wanted to shoot in South Florida during the winter time. That reception job gave me exposure to an entire world of advertising and marketing that I would not have had exposure to. I changed my major to marketing and worked my way into a job as a broadcast producer for one of the hottest advertising agencies in South Florida, producing award-winning commercials for major clients like the Miami Herald, Florida Marlins, AvMed, and Interim Personnel.

cz: Describe a typical day on the job?

Because I have a global job, my day tends to be very busy in the early morning hours when the majority of Europe is still working. I can be on conference calls from 6 AM – 1 PM on most days. After 1:00 PM only the Americas (North and South) are still in their workday so I tend to have this time to work on projects, answer emails, and have calls with vendors and other teams supporting our projects.

I work in a virtual team, with a boss sitting in Sweden, and teammates working in Istanbul, Turkey, the UK, Germany and Finland. As such we rely on the use of Skype and special web conferencing tools to share and work together on projects throughout the day.

cz: What do you like most about what you do?

I enjoy the rare opportunities to be creative in my job. With a marketing background, I tend to enjoy developing and supporting communication activities such as creating PowerPoint presentations and working on our employer brand. Our employer brand is the marketing framework we utilize when we advertise our jobs and career opportunities around the globe.

cz: What has been the most rewarding experience so far in your career?

Early in my career I had a chance to work at a very small but up and coming advertising agency called Crispin and Porter. I worked for a very demanding but talented young creative director named Alex Bogusky. At that time, with it being so early in my career, I didn’t realize how great and exciting that job would be for me and how great the experience was to work alongside an individual who is regarded today as one of the great creative minds in modern advertising.

cz: What do you like least about your job?

The telecommunications industry I have worked in for the past decade has been hit with many challenges and in most cases companies who are making the equipment to support the major communications companies have struggled to create profit. When you work for a corporation that is cash poor, you find yourself working in an environment where employees can often be unhappy. When the money is coming in, morale and new talent coming into the organization make for a very rewarding and enriching experience. You never have as many resources as you need…but when your company is doing well, you can find money to support the innovative and creative projects that enables you to do things that keep you at the cutting edge in your field. Our budgets currently keep our hands tied pretty tight.

cz: What is the biggest challenge for you in this job?

Finding outlets for my creativity. At times you can feel like you are simply a PowerPoint factory, turning out dozens of presentations that will sit on a shelf one day. When I am creative, I am also inspiring…and I look everyday for chances to address a situation in a unique way. This keeps me engaged as an employee and also keeps my creative juices flowing.

cz: What would you like to say to someone considering this career?

The ability to climb the corporate ladder is growing harder and harder to do. Even with an outstanding education, there are current global forces at work that are putting more and more entry and middle-management jobs at risk. As a company, we are recruiting more from China, India and other low-cost countries at higher and higher job positions.

Working for a Global 500 company however has provided an amazing experience in traveling and seeing interesting places and working with great people from around the world.

It will be vital to have a very solid educational background, and be willing to be flexible in the job you do and where you do it. Be open to short and long term assignments that may take you to the Asian areas where things are happening.

cz: What are the most important personal and professional skills necessary to succeed in your field?

An ability to work and manage teams. The ability to motivate and inspire others. You also need a strong level of computer proficiency. And lastly, you need to be willing to play the “corporate” political game. Don’t burn bridges…build a strong and healthy network of friends and colleagues.

cz: What would a person interested in entering this field have to do to get a good job in it?

Complete a solid undergraduate education. Look for any opportunity to work in an internship capacity. The majority of entry level positions are often filled with co-op and interns. This eliminates the risk of a bad hire as the company has now had an extensive opportunity to monitor and measure the quality of your work during your internship period.

cz: What could someone who is interested in this field do to learn more about it right now?

Since my job combines aspects of human resources and marketing I’ll address both:

Those interested in a Human Resources position should look at the SHRM (Society of Human Resource Managers) website for articles and information on trends and hot topics. Learn what the current issues are within HR…and start to think about what area you might be interested in (Recruitment, Compensation etc.)

Those interested in a marketing position should start to read and follow industry publications and websites. When you see a great ad on TV, use the web to learn about the ad agency behind it. Begin to learn who and what agencies are doing great work and follow them closely.

cz: Is there any general advice you would like to offer to students on making a career choice or on work life itself?

My biggest struggle has been the battle of making career decisions based on my heart (what my passion is) versus my head (what makes financial or professional sense). I have often found myself at times in a role that I know was a wrong turn. One needs to know when you have made such a wrong turn and be willing to make the sacrifice needed to get the boat back in the right direction.

Develop strong rapport with everyone you work with. As you move up the ranks, you will find that what was once a big global world can be quite small when it comes to people who are doing your job at the biggest companies in the world. Never burn a bridge when leaving one position for the next or one company for the next. You may need to cross it again in the future.

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