Welcome to Talent Spotlight – where very month, we shine a light on standout talent professionals, and the real stories shaping our industry.
Hey Eóin, tell us a bit about yourself 😀. Who are you, where are you, and what keeps you busy these days?
I’m Eóin (pronounced: “owen”), a French-Irish professional from Paris, soaking up Berlin’s vibe for nearly 11 years now!
These days, I’m working to bridge my fresh Data Science, Machine Learning and AI certification with my 11 years in Talent Acquisition. I’ve built recruiting teams, worked as a 360 recruiter, and filled roles across Europe, the Middle-East and Africa in tech, automotive, and chemical manufacturing sectors.
Your Story
1. Will you share a small moment that taught you a big lesson with us? (could be a mistake, a surprise, or an “aha” moment – from any part of your life):
My “aha” moment came while leading a Tech Recruiting Team! We were confidently preparing for huge hiring projects based on client forecasts when suddenly – the calls started coming in. First one client announced a hiring freeze, then another went quiet. Our forecasts were completely wrong, and instead of hiring juniors, we were facing cost cutting measures.
Sitting back in my chair, I thought about all the incredible Data Science candidates I’d interviewed who specialized in prediction – hospital occupancy rates, financial downturns, pedestrian behavior for self-driving cars.
And it hit me (AHA!): why weren’t we using these skills in Talent Acquisition? Could we have anticipated this downturn?
That realization drove me to learn these skills myself. After leaving my Team Lead role, I taught myself coding and then completed LeWagon’s AI & Data Science bootcamp. Now I’m passionate about helping our Talent Acquisition community embrace AI – from Machine Learning to NLP and Computer Vision – to make our challenging work mentally easier and more efficient. All we need is to get creative!
2. What about something you learned from a completely different field/hobby/experience that unexpectedly helped you in your talent work:
I actually started my career as a consultant in IT Security, spending 4 years improving trading systems to avoid fraud and financial mishaps at financial institutions. While I was TERRIBLE at that job, being embedded in IT teams became a huge advantage when I switched to recruiting! I could genuinely relate to tech candidates and understand why they squirmed under formal HR interviews. And to be fair, this is true of most candidates, not just tech people! It showed me candidate experience must be tailored to get the best out of the talented people we are speaking to.
Talent Talk
1. What’s the most unconventional thing you’ve done in recruiting that actually worked really well?
Back in my Paris days, I sometimes ditched the formal office interview setup for candidates who seemed like they might not shine in that environment. ☕ Instead, I’d invite them to meet at a café nearby for a cappuccino.
Also works with a lunch or even an afterwork beer! Anything that would allow me to catch them out of the office, as remote work was absolutely not a thing then and everything had to happen face-to-face.
2. Would you share a (sourcing, interviewing, etc.) trick or productivity hack that makes your life easier:
My go-to interviewing trick is super simple but effective: I dedicate the first few minutes to genuine small talk! And if the candidate on the phone is being a little distant, I won’t hesitate to just use those few minutes to tell them a few things about myself (how my weekend was, what my morning was like, etc.).
As recruiters, we forget how nerve-wracking interviews are for candidates. By creating a safe space upfront, I give them time to “arrive” into the conversation and also show them they can be open with me.
This approach has saved countless interviews from awkward robot-mode responses – and I’ve also had my share of those!
The only times I’ve hated my job were when high volumes, time pressure, contradicting hiring requirements, or inadequate processes – you name it – have made me lose this human connection. Whenever that happens, I remind myself to ground myself, reset, and put the candidate experience back at the center – it makes the process better for them AND for me!
3. What’s one thing about talent acquisition that you’ve completely changed your mind about over the years?
I used to dismiss candidates with employment gaps or non-traditional backgrounds because that is what we were taught to do – or because my Hiring Managers or HR Partners were reading resumes linearly, and could not fit them into the ideal picture they had in mind for the role.
I came to realise those gaps can be explained, and a solid recruiter should be able to discuss those and help the candidate explain their journey so it can be properly comprehended by – and even sold to – the Hiring Partners. 💥Now those are often the people I’m most excited to talk to!
Community Connection
1. Who in your community inspires you and why? (Should we ask this person to share their story next?)
- Nataliia Reznichenko of Futurepath, hands down! She joined my Futurepath team in 2022 and instantly kicked us into high gear – making those impossible niche hires and turning clients’ heads. What makes her special is this rare combo: she’s incredibly data-driven and always hunting for ways to optimize her approach to recruiting, but also one of the most genuinely empathetic recruiters I’ve ever worked with. Whether we’re chilling at an afterwork, or grinding through tough times, she spreads her warmth to everyone.
- And I’ve got to mention Jonathan Giordano (now at Kao Corporation) – we’ve been trying to jump on a WhatsApp call forever! Back when I was in the chemical industry, he completely transformed my understanding of HR reporting. He showed me the difference between the horrible weekly reports I used to cobble together between meetings and gorgeous Tableau dashboards that actually told a story. Those chats with Jonathan planted the seed that eventually led me to dive into Data Science years later. Total game-changer!
👀 What’s one question you’ve always wanted to ask other talent professionals?
My burning question: How are you actually using predictive analytics in your recruiting strategy and staffing plan?
And are you ensuring your current processes collect the right data to enable these solutions when the time comes?
We live in uncertain times, but nowadays there are accessible solutions and Data Science algorithms that can spot problems traditional methods would miss completely. Ping me if you’d like to have a chat about it!