Stirfry MBA

Ramdas Shenoyy getting insights on the recruitment and job scene from Tulika, SnapHunt in Singapore.

How has the recruitment scene changed over the years?

The way companies hire has changed very little in the past few decades despite the rapid changes in technology. Recruitment agencies have been around for decades, and continue to use a mix  of agencies/RPOs and direct hiring for their recruitment. There have been however a number of tools that have developed over the last 20 years that make it easier to source& screen talent and manage the recruitment process more efficiently. At first it was job boards , that allowed employers to provide more visibility to  their job opening and access a wider talent pools and later it was the growth of applicant tracking systems so that employers could manage the workflow more efficiently. The most significant change in the way companies recruit however has come from the growth of LinkedIn which has grown into an essential sourcing tool for employers. Having said this for most companies, recruitment still remains extremely manual, frustrating and time consuming as each of these tools only solve part of the problem, this is where Snaphunt comes in as it acts as an end to end hiring solution to help companies hire quickly and conveniently. In the past few years, while the rate of adoption of new technology has been accelerating,  companies have still been slow to adopt new solutions when it comes to hiring. I believe the disruption caused by COVID 19, will lead to companies accelerating adoption of new solutions- especially as with Snaphunt companies can also do their hiring remotely, which is especially important in these times.

Your journey from Arthur Andersen to Michael Page to Snaphunt?

My journey from Arthur Andersen and then HSBC to Snaphunt has taken me 21 years and it has been a rich one. I think no matter what the career plan it- life happens. The most important lesson I have learnt as a result is that one should keep learning, and seize opportunities as they  come up. I started my career in consulting and later was in banking and had actually gone to Michael Page Switzerland to look for a new job in banking. I spent 3 hours in interview with the company and walked out with a job offer. I had never thought about “HR” or “recruitment” as a profession, but I liked the people I met and liked the opportunity for growth that I saw and so joined Michael Page in Switzerland as a Consultant. That turned out to be a great call as I grew with the company to head their office in Geneva. Then, in 2008, they asked if I could be interested in moving to Singapore to turn around their business there. I had never been to Singapore, but I immediately said yes- I was single at that time and it was an opportunity to grow my career. I successfully turned around and grew the Singapore business for Michael Page and took it to market leadership by 2010 despite the financial crisis.

Then, the CEO asked if I could set up Michael Page’s India business, so I again- said yes! In 3 years the business had grown to be a profitable one and in this process I also learnt a lot more about myself. I learnt that I was motivated by the ability to make a positive impact in the lives of others and also that I liked to drive innovation.  Hence when Hudson came up with a chance to lead and turn around their entire Asia business in 2013, which was really struggling at that time, I saw it to be my opportunity to make a much larger impact and also innovate in terms of putting in place, strong processes, best practices etc. to successfully turnaround and accelerate growth. This worked and we were a profitable region by 2015. By 2016, I really felt, that there was an opportunity to leverage technology in a much bigger way to help companies hire great talent and hence improve their business outcomes and also to help jobseekers find jobs more quickly and conveniently. It was with this idea that Snaphunt was founded in 2017 and today we are an end to end hiring platform that is  helping employers hire amazing talent across multiple countries.

With many recruitment agencies in the market, how have you positioned Snaphunt — what is your value proposition?

Snaphunt is a smart hiring platform for white collar professionals  that does away for the need for recruitment agencies. Snaphunt’s powerful algorithms provide  end to end hiring support to employers while acting like a ‘pocket headhunter’ for jobseekers.

As a result employers benefit

·         > 50% reduction in sourcing & screening time

·         > 65% reduction in hiring effort

·         >90% reduction in hiring costs

What can employers do on Snaphunt?

·         Get a dynamic company career page that can be added to your site

·         Creating your role easily with automated job description generation

·         Receive targeted applicants complete with their background and assessment results

·         Benefit from automated candidate response management

·         Further screen shortlisted applicants using pre-recorded video interviews

·         Coordinate your hiring process and manage feedback easily across all stakeholders

·         Benefit from automated and insightful reference checks before making an offer

·         Get visibility for your employer brand

·         Use analytics to make better hiring decisions

·         Keep track of your talent pool

For job seekers, once they submit their CV on Snaphunt, they need to complete their profile. This takes around 10 mins and also includes our really popular psychometric assessment ‘Snapsych’ that can help then understand their workstyle and preferences and also advises them on potential roles and company fits. Once a jobseeker has completed their profile, they automatically get screened by our algorithms against every new opening that comes up and get notified as soon as there is a matching role. If they choose to apply to a matching role, they also benefit from real-time updates on their applications. The platform also provides them with lots of job search and career support and advice as well as access to coaches. Given the current difficulty for jobseekers dues to social distancing we are also launching new features for jobseekers on Snaphunt to leverage video summaries on their CV stand out in front of potential employers.

What will be your advice to young aspirants who are looking for a new role right now?

This is a particularly difficult time to search for a new role as the number of opening a much fewer than before and companies may struggle to hire with social distancing. Firstly, keep a positive mindset. This too will pass- a job search may be difficult right now, but its not impossible. Secondly, brush up your video interview skills- you are likely to see much more video interviewing in the coming months. Finally, follow up in an effective manner by referring to any idea you have that could act as a value add to the company at this time or by referring to a recent update by the employer. It shows you are proactive and have researched well and will help you stand out from other applicants.

 Who do you see as your idols in life?

Definitely my father, Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Tripathi. He grew from humble beginnings, worked hard, and went on to become Chief of RAW. Despite all his achievements, he remains an extremely down to earth and an accessible person who is always happy to help people in need.

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