Ep. 5 Building Dream Teams: recruitment secrets for career advancement

Hello, and welcome to the Revolute Insider podcast, where we explore Revolute's rocket ship from the Inside Out one episode at a time. I'm your host, Alex Carill, and joining us today is Yasin Bostanci. Did I say that right? Well, we still have to work on pronunciation, but let's settle with it. Okay, alright. Yasin Bostanci. Yeah, almost great. Better? Yeah, almost great. Okay, alright. Well, I'm working on it. You're an operating partner at the CEO's office and head of recruitment. That's correct. Sounds important. Well, if you say so, let's put it that way. And we actually have some history together, Yasin. I think so. You think so? Well, you actually led the problem-solving portion of the interview when I was hired. Do you remember? Well, should I be honest about this? Yes, please be honest. I don't necessarily. There is a being like, I'm an interviewer in Tiziast in the company, I would say. So I think it has been so far more than 300 interviews I have run just for problem-solving. So I really don't remember exactly every single candidate I have seen, but yeah, from time to time, people just seem in the corridor or through our internal communication system. They just say, Yasin, do you remember? You interviewed me. Actually, I'm like, okay, that's great. Congratulations. Well, you're here. Yeah. Then I made the right decision. If people are reaching out to me, it means that we are in some important discussion. So it is just a moment where I see, okay, yeah, I made the right decision. That's true. Well, thank you for the vote of confidence. I appreciate it. I love to pick your brain about coming into this position as head of recruitment and what it takes to reshape and motivate a large team, a team responsible for growing for a fluke's team. Okay. So shall we get into it? Let's go. All right. You recently stepped into this role as head of recruitment. Can you tell me about the journey up until this point? Well, I think it has been almost like three months since I stepped into this role. And it has been like, it had a lot of ups and downs so far. Like it has been hell of a journey. Let's put it that way because of our expansion in a lot of geographies and number of brilliant individuals we need to introduce into the organization. And I would consider myself a dinosaur at Everloot. I joined slightly more than two years ago. Initially, I started working for overall capacity, like a planning and workforce in customer support department. And then starting from that point onwards, every eight to nine months, time on like average, I just basically stepped into my next role and then another role and so on and so forth. I believe like, I'm an exception in that case in terms of my overall role changes and what I have been trying to achieve in the organization. And yeah, basically, it was lots of projects, lots of people, great memories on the way. But yeah, it was an interesting how to say like a roller coaster of getting things done and just meeting great people. And coming into this role, what was your approach to quickly reshape and motivate the recruitment team? It's a still work in progress, I would say. Like the recruitment department at Everloot is like one of the actually quite like big, big teams that we have. My approach was overall not different than the regular problem solving approach we have. Just break down the problem into smaller pieces and then just choose the one that really drives the big portion of the issues for you and then come up with really creative solutions to that. And of course, a bit people support. So how we support the business, how we support the individuals in our department. So our goal is to basically make sure that our department is the best place to work within Everloot as well. I love that. And as a leader, what would you say are the most important aspects for managing a large team that any manager in any industry can take advantage of? It's super, I think, important in general to make sure that you have a very good understanding as to what you want to deliver first yourself as a leader and your department to deliver for the business. And then of course, it's just about formulating groups of people who are getting together around that common sense of doing those things. Purpose obviously is super important. And I think a good leader is the type of person who is able to pass on this vision, mission and the purpose of the business operations to the people. So it's just a matter of passing on this sense of ownership, where we would like to go, what we would like to achieve as a simple, let's say, group of people and making sure that it's super transparent, super clear. And of course, as I say in recruitment, we don't necessarily have an open door policy. We have no doors policy. What does that mean? People just can come in and just talk about everything and anything they would like to just raise. We always have time because we work with our people, for our people, and of course, for our company and business to try. So having this type of mentality is already fixing a lot of issues that we may already observe in, let's say, really crowded organizations. Definitely. And obviously, as the head of recruitment, the purpose is to find, attract and hire the right people to build this dream team. How does the company value of dream team align with your vision for the department? Well, dream team value that we have is all about being super transparent in terms of our feedback sharing, discussing about our development points, the areas we really need to fix as a priority. With this being done properly, we are really able to, how to say, rely on the team and their performance to deliver things that we then ask them to deliver. Yeah. And how can our listeners apply principles of building a dream team in their own companies or maybe even in their personal lives? So essentially, becoming a dream team or managing a dream team goes through a couple of items. One is making sure that people are aware of the fact that they work, but also they work as part of a bigger team. So they are successful as long as the team is successful. And of course, while we are doing things, sometimes things may not go right. We are people. We can make mistakes. In order to fix these mistakes, what's important is we really share the feedback we need to share with people. We just need to be super honest about it. We shouldn't necessarily sugarcoat things. It's all about just telling people in a super respectful, super transparent and open way what is working and what is not working so that we can fix it. That's essentially what matters at the end of the day. Of course, one thing that's super matters, especially this is a particular criteria I have for the people managers in my department, you need to lead. In order to lead, people should see that you are leading by doing things. Why not just saying things? If certain number of things are needed, a team leader should be always sitting with them. It then becomes, when you're facing really big challenges, the support that is visible, the support that you feel like you're able to get is the factor that motivates my people. These overall principles or approach can be applied to any group that is really trying to be successful and pertain their place or space in a very big organization like ours. And also to retain employees, because I feel like when you feel supported by your managers, by your leads, you feel supported to think outside the box, to take risks. If you make a mistake, you know that it's not going to come down on you, but you are led through that. Exactly. I mean, there are lots of challenges, lots of mistakes can happen, but amount of support you have and believing in that purpose all together is ultimately what motivates people to stay within that. As you said, retention, following these principles, for example, resulted in us having zero attrition and recruitment department in the last full quarter. Wow. Well, congratulations on that. That speaks to the team and really building that dream team to work together and recruit more people to join us. Yeah. Speaking of dream team, let's talk about the recruitment process. We had our recruitment matchmaker, as I like to call her, Nadia Pavlovich on an earlier episode, who outlined her steps, but can you refresh our memory? Actually, that's a very tricky question because Revolve is a quite big organization and for different types of talent needs we have, we are following quite tailored processes and assessments to find the right and the best fit. In general, our process will follow a couple of widely known interviews on our side. So first of all, you will probably start with a screen call just to get to know your recruiters, the process, how it will work, and so on and so forth. Then one particular skill or skill set, let's put it that way, we look for in Revolve candidates is that their ability to problem solve. So problem-solving interview, which is a very unique type of interview. And obviously, we usually check out the cultural fitness like many other organizations will do. And that specific interview for us will be called as Bar Razor. Depending on the type of role and responsibility you will be taking over in our organization, additional interviews may also be the case, but month-frequently observed one will be called people management and hiring, essentially to see what type of a people manager you are and you will turn out in a company like ours. But yeah, on top of that, of course, depending on the role, skills, interviews, online assessments or home tasks may be the case, but in general, these will be the major types of interviews we have. So let's just go back to that problem-solving interview just for a moment because that's kind of the glue, I think, or that connection between us. But I have to say, I was a little nervous going into it. I think because I had never done an interview like that before. So could you explain the significance of this step and why it's important when hiring a new employee? Well, first of all, Alex, take a deep breath, you're hired, you nailed that interview. Problem-solving is it's actually trying to understand what will have happened if you are to face a problem that is completely unknown to you with maybe a lot of unknowns, or let's say a lot of changing variables, actually resembling the real life, let's say, problems a lot. So what we do in these interviews usually, we rely on a lot of different hypothetical business cases and choose one and just basically test the candidates overall aptitude to deal with this type of problem by just asking why questions, understanding data, interpreting data and so on, because at Trevolute, we really deal with different problems every day. And as a result, this type of interview allows us to see who will be able to really help us with those problems and your overall understanding of it and the ability to basically deliver the ultimate thing. So personally, I enjoy problem-solving interviews a lot because you literally see how creative a person can be when they face the same problems throughout time, but you tend to hear different responses, different ways of approaching it and so on and so forth. So even from my experience as an interviewer, I could classify problem-solving into interviews themselves as learning and development experience for myself because it really gives the way to see how human brain works, how they can just come up with really these interesting ideas and all things together. I have to ask if you have any tips for job seekers on how to navigate and perform well during one of these problem-solving interviews? Well, the good thing is, this is a very frequently asked question and as a result, what we have done, we have prepared really nice guidelines for our candidates who can really understand the expectations and what's essentially going to happen in these interviews. So I will highly recommend anybody who's applying to Revolute and going through our problem-solving interview to pay attention to what we have in these guidelines. Look at it and of course any questions our recruiters and our coordination team are always at our candidate service to respond to any questions, but my overall recommendation as an interviewer myself would be, in order to fix a problem, you need to really understand the root cause or cause of the problem. What makes this a problem in the first place? So once you have that clear understanding why we have this problem in the first place and once you have that, it will just give you the perfect idea as to how to solve it. That's great advice and I remember also being encouraged to ask questions during my interview. Yeah, that is what is needed for understanding why we have this problem, right? Like for you to simply just understand where we are, what we are trying to achieve, what drives this problem or what causes this problem. So asking those questions and everything will ensure that you have a better picture of everything. Great. So you are a remote first company. All of our interviews are done via online video conferencing. Do you have any things to keep in mind when having an interview online? I mean, not necessarily, but I would recommend of course being in a super comfortable place where you will be able to build proper eye contact with the interviewer as potentially a silent room. That doesn't, how to say, echo or of course sometimes it's maybe vice to keep our cats and puppies away from the room. Although I personally appreciate seeing a cat, let's say, just in the back, it's a good and nice background after all. But yeah, just you have to be very comfortable when you're, let's say, getting in an interview. Essentially think of it as a theater stage. You are supposed to perform really nice, right? So you have to have every single opportunity, let's say maybe a glass of water, maybe a pen or notebook for you to write things down if you have to, just to make sure that you do not find yourself in a weird position when you notice that, oh, I need to drink something, but I cannot leave this chair because I have to finish this interview. Your mouth is getting really dry in here, what do you do? You just have to take these constraints in the account and of course, I mean, you can be nervous, but what matters here is whether you have that comfort, let's say, already. And if you have that probably after a couple of minutes into the interview, you then feel how to say way better. And let's not forget, I mean, interviews are just interviews at the end of the day. Like, sometimes they're important, of course, because we all have our ambitions into getting into certain roles, companies and so on, but sometimes taking it also easy and just to see it as a mechanism where you show yourself, but at the same time for you to get to know the company as well, because it's a two-way street, thinking about this probably will really some of the concerns candidates may have. I love that. Well, thank you. And thanks for conducting these interviews because I feel like I was part of my journey as well. Well, yeah, I think so. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back with more inside reviews. All right. This podcast is brought to you by Revolute10. It's smooth, it's easy. It's your new favorite way to do all things money. Rev10 is here. And we're back here with Yasin Bostanzi. Did I say that a little bit better? Definitely getting better. Okay. All right. Good. Who's talking to us about recruitment and what goes into building a dream team? What do you think having several positions within Revolute says about career opportunities here? At Revolute, there are like vertical, horizontal, and even a new mechanism that we recently established. It's a spiral way of growing as well. So we have potentially three ways of growing. You are always able to grow into your role in terms of seniority, in terms of level, in terms of increasing your level of authority, role and responsibility. But at the same time, some people may feel like, hey, I joined in this, let's say shuttle, but I feel like I need to do something else in my life. That's exactly what happened to me. And when I finished my first year at Revolute, I was super happy being an operations manager and then I was like, I like solving problems, but I would like to focus on more company level problems. And then that mentality of, okay, I need to get into the C office, started developing. Essentially, I just decided, okay, I'm not going to stay as an operations manager, but I will do. I will just basically do a completely different change, internal move, a role change. So these types of changes are also possible at Revolute. For example, an ops manager becoming an engineer, that's the way Revolute spires program work. Let's say you're a successful employee, you're already doing a great job, but you have your heart somewhere else. So this program allows people to join in through Revolute sponsored learning and development planning program and mentorship. Once they finish the program successful events, once they feel like, yes, I'm ready to get into that next stage of my career and professional life, then they are going through accelerated hiring process with reduced number of interviews and so on. The one example I remember is our colleague Ryan, basically Ryan, who's an ops manager, recently successfully completed the program and also had gone through the hiring stages successfully and is now considering a backhand engineering role. It's essentially a completely different role, but apparently this is where his heart lies. So this was just like a success case, for example. So at Revolute, you define your career. As long as you know how to get things done, you are working well with people and you know that we are working for our company and for our organization because this is our company, then the opportunities are just there. It's like a shopping cart. You just add them and then just go to the checkout. Interesting analogy there. What can a new Revoluter expect when joining the dream team? Quite a lot of trainings to finish. The most important part at Revolute is when you start because there will be a lot of things you will be absorbing from your team, from your department, from the company. So that period is really requiring dedication in terms of you understanding things, like understanding data problems and everything that surrounds you. Essentially, my recommendation overall to all our new joiners and new colleagues is to take it really straightforward, take it slow, understand question, get help and basically just set yourself along with your team for success. And in terms of the, of course, new joiners that haven't joined us yet, what they can expect in general. If I'm to describe or summarize my experience at Revolute in the last three years, I will just say continuous learning from people, from the problems we have, from the projects we have. And they can expect amazing colleagues, really interesting and super challenging projects and problems that will really also push them towards growth. And of course, ultimately, the great and never ending sense of fulfillment because we are doing great things and they are really great to join us, then they shall join us and they will find nothing but just an unlimited list of things, unlimited opportunities to get them to do how to say the best place they can be in their careers. I love that and you mentioned fulfillment. So can you tell us about some achievements that you've witnessed during your time at Revolute that may have contributed to your personal fulfillment? I think one of the projects that I would like to share at this point is the great place to work certification. And I think that really resembles with my current role as well. In quite a few countries, after several stages of planning and hard work, the very dedicated core team, we managed to get great place to work certification by passing the audit stages. This just basically strengthens our place, obviously, as a company. And just seeing people sharing this on LinkedIn and just raising all those feedback and comments, I just want to comment like, "Oh, we did that. We did that." But I mean, yeah, so I think this has been one of the, let's say, achievements I would like to list. And since you've moved around quite a bit in your career, what advice do you have for those looking to advance in their careers? Given your motivation, your career is a two-way street. Like, you give things, you get things. Just think of what makes you happy as an individual, as a professional, what you learn, what you develop. And of course, whether these are the things you will leave as your mark in your professional work history. Once you have this understanding, then just go for it. Take the bet. If things work out, like in my case, it's just great. If things don't work out, then that will be a great learning and development for you as well. And that will be still part of your overall professional experience. Yeah. I mean, we're talking professionally, but I mean, these same principles can be applied to your personal life as well. Exactly. I mean, in general, just understand your variables. Try to make, how to say, a rationale, but at the same time, add a sprinkle of emotions and other things that you want to do as well, because we are not machines, right? Yeah. We need to take a lot of things into account and make a decision, make an informed decision. And once you make this decision, I don't think you will regret the outcome, even though it may not just turn out right at that time. It will be just a great learning for you. I love that. And are there any ways to, let's say, develop professionally besides seeking a promotion? Well, sometimes, like, it's all about, again, what you want to do, where you want to go, what you want to do, and what you think you will be getting out of that. Sometimes you will want, not necessarily a promotion, but rather excelling in what you do, even further. That's also part of our Never Settle culture, right? Like in our case, for example, if you are just delivering something, we always try to rethink about it once we deliver. So that work is never ending in a way. So promotions is just one way to go. But at the same time, I think everybody can also further develop themselves with additional skill sets, additional thinking. That's a great point about developing yourself and your own skills on your own, even. And I know that you're a standout example of that because you speak several languages. How many languages do you speak? Sometimes I have to check out my LinkedIn profile to remind myself of that. Yeah, just being super humble about it. Of course, I really like speaking with people. But what I like about talking to people in general is talking to them in their own language, because it just gives you the ability to capture more expressions, a better ways of thinking from their standpoint. So currently, I have around six and a couple of them are in progress. That's incredible. How do you find time in your busy schedule to do this? I have dedicated three hours every week just to dedicate to my hobby, which is basically the languages and other readings that I have to do. And yeah, I utilize that time for this. And how do you stay motivated? I mean, if you're really planning things at this scale, it's tiring. I won't deny that. But at the same time, if you're already doing this planning to do great things and you see the results, you forget about every type of pain, how to say, you may have gone through. That's true. Well, we're almost out of time, but one final question before I let you go. What advice would you give to yourself when you were just starting out in your career? Take more risks. Take more risks. And I think I do take more risks based on my philosophy of do mistakes and own them and see them as learning and development opportunity for you. Just go for it, do rational, but at the same time, well-informed decisions. It's like all other factors that you can take into account. And see, enjoy, and learn the consequences. I love that. Well, thank you so much again, Yasin, for coming in and speaking with us today. I really appreciate you taking the time. Well, thank you very much for the invitation. And yeah, thank you. Of course, no problem. Well, this has been the Revolute Insider podcast. We hope you join us next time. You can hit subscribe, follow us on LinkedIn, and on Instagram @RevoluteInsider. Thanks for tuning in. This has been the Revolute Insider podcast where we explore Revolute's rocket ship from the inside out. Until next time, remember, the sky is not the limit, it's just the beginning. Revolute changed the way you money.