The word “recruitment” is often associated with a world void of emotions, but a Portuguese startup has set out on a journey to add a “human touch” to tech talent hiring while meeting the emerging needs of remote workers.
“People are a big part of our brands and the way we communicate. We use a blend of technology and people,” Pedro Oliveira, co-founder of Landing.jobs, told Via News in an exclusive interview.
Landing.jobs describes itself as a candidate-driven tech career marketplace dedicated to connecting digital professionals with the right companies.
Their matching algorithm suggests the best of available jobs based on the talent’s experience, interests, and interactions on the Landing.jobs platform, ensuring that the candidate finds a position tailored to their goals and background.
“We started this business in 2013 and launched our platform in 2014,” Pedro said, adding that they are currently operating in Portugal, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. “We have placed more than 2,000 people so far.”
Pedro said tech talent is in high demand in today’s market and they felt a need for an initiative to efficiently match the right professionals with the right companies.
Distinctive Features
Asked about their distinctive features, Pedro said, “Compared to traditional players, which are recruitment agencies, our biggest difference is the human touch and the fact that we are talent-centric and use technology. Many agencies are really bad at using technology to hire tech talent. Also, we speak the language of tech talent.”
Compared to more digital players like LinkedIn, there are a couple of things that Landing.jobs does better, he noted.
“First of all, we don’t spam our users. LinkedIn today is no longer a network. It’s a recruitment machine. I’m a tech professional, and I get constantly approached on LinkedIn. I just get random requests. It doesn’t make sense and is not productive. We don’t do that. We just match the right companies with the right talent. The second thing that we do differently is that we have evaluation. We have worked hard throughout these years to develop a nice evaluation process.”
“Our biggest difference is the human touch and the fact that we are talent-centric and use technology.”
Pedro Oliveira, co-founder of Landing.jobs
Pedro says what distinguishes them from some minor players is that their platform is only focused on the tech sector.
According to a blog post by Landing.jobs, they have recently revamped their curation process to streamline it.
They now use four factors to help a talent know where they stand, namely location, language, skills, and experience level. A rating for each factor is calculated based on the input that the applicant provides.
Building Trust
On how they build trust with digital talents who may be skeptical of recruitment platforms, Pedro said there are two ways to build trust: relationship and competence.
“We want to be very competent in placing people and making sure that we find the next right job for them, not only by using technology but also by building relationships with people. We have an extended talent team that helps people improve their CVs, support them throughout the hiring process, give them information, and tell them about new jobs. If we don’t focus on the talent, neither the talents nor the companies will come to us.”
Remote Working
The co-founder of Landing.jobs added that they have branched into different lines of business, are doing a re-branding, and are focusing on remote contract work as well because it is “the future of work”.
“We are talent-centric so we have to listen to what our community is saying,” he said, referring to the rising trend of remote working, which includes digital nomadism.
“One way to be a remote worker is to be a contractor. Contracting is like a megatrend. So we just kind of put these two trends together and launched a new product called Landing.work, which is a sister product of Landing.jobs.”
He explained that Landing.jobs is focused on permanent workers while Landing.work is dedicated to independent professionals who work remotely.
Portugal, an Attractive Destination
Pedro considers being based in Lisbon as an advantage because he believes that it is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for remote workers.
The paycheck is an issue that many people in Portugal complain about but “if you do remote work from Portugal for countries like the U.S. or Norway, you get a better paycheck,” he said.
“We should continue to open doors to international tech talent. We depend on it, especially the Brazilians. But we should also attract professionals from other sectors that are not growing or are falling apart here and incorporate technology in them. Tech is a world of opportunities. We believe in a future that is tech-heavy but in a sustainable manner.”
Pedro added that they plan to expand further within the European Union and also to North America. “We want to operate in countries that are open to international talent and also hire remote workers.”
Landing.jobs is focused on permanent workers while Landing.work is dedicated to independent professionals who work remotely.
Talent-Centric Vision
The co-founder of Landing.jobs noted that talents were used to be controlled by state governments or companies but every professional will have full control of their career in the future. “We believe in this vision and are working toward it.”
What Pedro says is reflected in the fact that talents’ profiles on their platform are anonymized and if a candidate applies for a job or receives a matching request, only the information that they allow to be shared will be sent to the employer. This also applies to referrers.
Landing.jobs will hold Tech Hiring Conference in Lisbon on February 5, which Pedro calls a great opportunity for recruiters, hiring managers, and everyone who has a stake in the tech recruitment industry.