Meet the Talent Acquisition team helping Quanta grow

Our Talent Acquisition team have been busy growing our teams and their own team too.  

Joanna has been with Quanta for 15 years and started out her career with us as a Delivery Executive and moved into the Talent Acquisition function back in 2014.

Josi moved into the role of Talent Acquisition Partner from Delivery Team Leader this year and has been with Quanta since 2015.

They both bring a wealth of recruitment experience to the team and with the 3-year roadmap predicting exponential growth across the UK and in the USA they are looking to grow their team further.

Despite their busy schedules we managed to grab some time with them to talk CVs, interviews, the joy of a 3pm finish and more…

Hi ladies, you’ve both worked as Delivery Executives within Quanta, do you think this prepared you for your roles in Talent Acquisition?

Joanna: Definitely, when you’re a Delivery Executive you’re not just sourcing candidates, you’re qualifying them against a role you’re recruiting for. Having that experience helps you conduct searches and gives you a level of preparation.

Josi: I agree, it gives you the fundamentals, it helps you understand Quanta’s processes and how to use Bullhorn. For example, I still use the qualification book from my role as a Delivery Executive. However, the permanent side has been completely new to me.

Joanna: They are very different roles, but it certainly gives you the structure.

Josi: Yes definitely, it’s really helped me get to know the business too and what we do which helps when I am speaking to potential candidates, especially when recruiting Delivery Executives!

Why did you choose to take the move to Talent Acquisition?

Josi: I love meeting people and interviewing and in my last role as a team leader I was missing the candidate side of the job. I wanted to get back into that, making candidate calls and feeling that sense of achievement you get from a good hire.

Joanna: The internal recruitment function was set up in 2014, at that point I had been a DE for 8 years. I didn’t want to go down the sales route so saw it as my next new challenge, for me it was the next step of progression.

What are your tops do and don’ts in a CV?

Joanna: Don’ts I would say are spelling mistakes, when dates don’t add up, poor presentation and work experience is in confusing order; make sure your most recent role is at the top of the list! A good CV is clear, has detail and is relevant to the job that you’re applying for. It’s great to open a CV and within 20 seconds be able to see whether they have the experience we are looking for.

Josi: I don’t like too much text, an essay for each role or work experience. So much better to use bullet points in a CV.

Both: We love bullet points!

Joanna: You must have enough detail for us to be intrigued to ask you questions but as Josi said you don’t need to write an essay. But I do like a bit of personality whether that’s in an intro or a cover letter – I like an unusual hobby, that brightens up my day.

Faye: Like taxidermy for example?

Joanna: I would definitely ask a candidate questions about that! We love to hear interesting facts about potential candidates.

What’s your best interview tips?

Joanna: Be prepared!

Josi: Yes. And know your CV and the job. Also, be personable, most roles we can teach the technical side, but we are all about personality and whether you’ll fit in our team.

Joanna: Interviews can be nerve-wracking, and I do think it’s good to be a bit nervous. It shows that you care but try as hard as you can to relax and let your personality show, that cultural fit is important. Also, don’t google questions to ask, but think about what is important to you. And if there’s anything you feel that you’ve missed or a point you didn’t make clear enough, don’t be afraid to call or email the interviewer after the interview.

Ok, what is your favourite Quanta Benefits?

Joanna: A 3pm finish goes along way! Because of course we finish early on a Friday and can earn 3pm finishes when we hit our monthly objectives. Which is great.

Josi: For me, working on the sales floor, the money you can earn is a big thing! Ooh but you know I do love a bit of HealthShield too.

Joanna: Yes! That helps with optical and dental care. I wouldn’t buy this many pairs of glasses if it wasn’t for HealthShield.

Josi: I bought 3 pairs recently!

Joanna: You can get massages too! One of the sales guys got a hot stone massage on his lunch break recently. Just need to keep your receipt and then you get the money refunded to you. What’s not to love?

Why do you love your job and/or Quanta?

Joanna: I like this question; we get asked this quite often in interviews. I love my job because I genuinely love the people and enjoy coming to work, there’s no one at Quanta that I wouldn’t want to spend time with. The other reason is that as the company grows, it naturally comes with new challenges and opportunities. I can’t say I ever get bored doing my job, always something new or exciting happening. I’ve done my job for 15 years and I’m still challenged, which I love.

Josi: I feel the same with the team and I enjoy coming to work and I think the pandemic has proved this for the rest of the team, you could see how desperate everyone was to get back to the office and to have that interaction. And the commitment from Quanta to you, if you show commitment, they will look out for you and everyone in the company is treated fairly. They invest so much in the team, and with our in-house training, everyone is giving a chance to develop and grow

Tell us more about the future of Quanta’s Talent Acquisition team?

Joanna: The exciting thing is we are growing, as the business grows, and we continue hiring in the UK and the USA, our team will naturally expand. The bigger we get the more we hire. As part of our road map we are looking to vastly grow the team We are looking for permanent Talent Acquisition team members

Quanta is growing not only are we looking for Talent Acquisition team members, but we are looking for Recruitment Consultants and Delivery Executives across all 3 of our life changing industries. For more information check out all of our vacancies or contact Josi.