At TalentHub, besides her recruitment skills, Teele is known for going the extra mile for others. Within a year, Teele has impacted numerous partners, candidates, and the TalentHub team with her positive, caring, and kind-hearted attitude.
Let’s learn more about Teele’s journey as a recruiter, her hobbies, and her favorite projects at TalentHub!
Who is Teele?
Coming from a small county called Ida-Virumaa in Estonia, Teele describes herself as someone who has worked incredibly hard to make something out of herself. She’s proud of her ability to form connections with people, whether with friends and family, co-workers, partners, or candidates. She knows how to make others feel better and loves spending time with people who appreciate her presence.
When Teele is in the room, there’s always something going on. “It’s difficult to get quiet time with me. I’m always either cracking bad jokes or humming to the music.”
If not recruiting, you can find Teele using her creative flair to help our marketing guru craft social media posts or being the “Office Devil” by keeping our office a welcoming place for the team. She always has a knife to offer you as well in case you might need one.
How did you become a recruiter?
At the start of my career, I did sales and customer support. I had to do a lot of cold calling, which eventually led to burnout. It got me thinking: is there anything similar I could be doing? I knew I loved communicating with people. In particular, I liked selling people something that would genuinely make their lives better. Eventually, I came across recruitment.
To me, recruitment is selling people opportunities to have a better life. Work represents such a big part of our lives. Some people spend more time at work than with their family. That’s why you have to work at a place that makes you happy. I feel recruitment allows me to make an impact and truly change people’s lives.
Now that you have been a recruiter for several years, what do you like the most about being a recruiter? What do you like the least?
Recruitment allows me to form connections with people, both candidates, and partners. I love receiving positive feedback from candidates who have recently started their new roles, telling me it’s the best job they’ve had. It’s even more satisfying to hear that from candidates that had doubts about their decision. For them to trust me with a career-changing decision and then tell me how happy they are is a verbal reward for me.
The same goes for hiring managers. To hear how pleased they are with their newly hired employee makes me truly happy.
What I don’t like, for instance, is when candidates ignore me. It hurts, even more, when I offer ideas or crack a joke in the reach-out message. I just end up having a sad puppy face.
Also worth mentioning is that recruitment is a field where you always have to be switched on. You can never shut down your computer and think it’s enough for the day. You have to be mindful of that and force yourself to take time off because sometimes the work itself won’t allow you to.
At times it’s also challenging to find the right talent, especially if it’s a unique field or role. At the same time, it’s that much sweeter when you manage to overcome that.
How has TalentHub helped you in your journey as a recruiter?
TalentHub has been my first agency experience and my first tech recruitment role. Although I had been a recruiter for several years (I was previously an in-house recruiter at Tallinn prison), I joined TalentHub as a newbie with no technical recruitment experience.
Coming from the public sector, I was excited to dive deep into the world of tech recruitment. I appreciated that TalentHub didn’t have any unrealistic expectations for me. Instead, they surrounded me with the right mentors. The team has helped me a lot in my development. What I love about our culture is that we focus on collaboration. We share our experiences, tips, and tricks and learn together.
Ever since I joined, I’ve had to learn how to use different recruitment tools, which tech stacks developers are using, as well as gain an understanding of various roles in companies, such as product managers, community managers, etc. It’s been a rewarding journey so far.
What has been your favorite project in TalentHub so far?
I hired the first product manager for Cachet. I love the connection I formed with them. Also, what they’re doing is so inspiring to me. It was exciting and nerve-wracking to recruit for such an impactful role. I’ve received great feedback from them, and I’m happy and proud that their team continues to grow fast.
Another favorite project has been hiring a community manager for kood/Jõhvi. The company has significantly influenced the Estonian education system. The community manager at kood/Jõhvi is partly responsible for helping students develop soft skills. Students don’t just have to learn how to code but get the right tools to be more mindful, happy and form connections and friendships. The feedback from kood/Jõhvi has been positive, and I’m delighted to have recruited for such an impactful role.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I love to spend time with my loved ones. If I have the opportunity, I can’t say no to a hike in nature either! Being in nature refills my batteries.
Besides that, my hobbies include being a volunteer cop and volunteering as a private in the Estonian Defense League.
Now you see me, now you don’t! 😉
When traveling to warmer locations, I also go diving. I have even completed the open water course. Oh, and if someone is silly enough to lend me their dirt bike, I will ride it!
What’s on your bucket list?
I want to achieve financial freedom. That means having a passive income that covers all of my household expenses. Achieving financial freedom would allow me to fulfill spontaneous ideas. For example, I’ve always wanted to travel around parts of the world. Just me with my partner and my cat in a camper van.
Besides that, I also have some health-related and physical goals. I want to be a happier and healthier version of myself.
What is your pet peeve?
I hate when people talk with food in their mouths.
Also, when people are vocal about others, but not to their face. Feedback is a gift, and you should always share it with one another. You can’t expect people to change their behavior without talking to them about what bothers you first.
Do you have any funny recruitment stories to tell?
In my reach-out message, I once called a candidate the wrong name. When it happened, the candidate responded to me with a gif. I was confused by the response, but my colleague pointed out my mistake. I ended up replying to the candidate with a Homer Simpson gif. The candidate told me my answer was so good he had no choice but to come to the interview. I guess this shows how humor can help you out of situations.
What are your next steps as a recruiter?
I want to become a better talent sourcer. Sourcing is a world with endless opportunities. It’s something that can help you in both recruitment and personal life. Thankfully, our team has one of the best sourcers, and I’m eager to learn from her.
Thank you for answering the questions. To finish, here are some rapid fire questions:
A full day of sourcing or a full day of interviews?
A full day of interviews.
Work from home or work from the office?
Office.
Coffee or Red Bull?
Red Bull.
Reject candidate via email or reject candidate via call?
Reject candidate via call.
Would you rather be a: great sourcer, terrible interviewer; average sourcer, average interviewer; or great interviewer, terrible sourcer?
Great interviewer, terrible sourcer.
If LinkedIn disappeared off the face of the earth, where would you do the majority of your sourcing?
Google or our Applicant Tracking System.
Favorite position to recruit?
Product managers.
Favorite question to ask at an interview and why?
I like to ask candidates about their expectations regarding a new role and company. I want to find the right match for both sides.
Thank you for reading this article. To read about our other team members, click here!