Marleen Saat: Positive, hard-working recruiter with a “VAMOS” mentality”
Always positive and hard-working, in TalentHub, Marleen is known as the recruiter with a “VAMOS” or “let’s do it!” mentality.
Despite the fact that Marleen isn’t used to talking about herself, we got answers from her to even the most groundbreaking questions. Let’s find out what are Marleen’s favourite projects at TalentHub and how did she even become a recruiter!
Who is Marleen?
Marleen mentioned that it is a very hard question to answer. “I grew up in Pärnu, where I also live today. As a child, I liked to try different activities, everything from skiing to singing to dancing. During school years, I was the head of my class and I also was a member of the Pärnu City Youth Council. As you can tell, I have always been the active type.”
“At university, I studied public administration. The decision to study this came from the fact that I like to be active and work with people. I have always been a people person.
What are your hobbies?
“I really like to organize events and host guests. If you ever visit me during the summer, I will most likely offer you paella and sangria. I’m a huge Barcelona lover.”
“I’m also into crafts. When I was little, I did a lot of knitting and crocheting. Today, it has been replaced by creating decorations for events. For instance, I once hosted a Halloween party five years in a row and I have also designed decorations for other events.”
“During the summer, I also like to go walking in the nature and pick berries and mushrooms. Besides that, I also enjoy the so-called construction process as I like to assemble puzzles and put together furniture (I even have my own Makita cordless drill!).
“Oh and when I have time, I like to watch Grey’s Anatomy.
Paella and sangria made by Marleen
How did you become a recruiter? Was it something that came naturally to you?
“You can say that recruiting found me. At the time, when I was interning for the Pärnu County Government, I was contacted by a female regarding a recruitment role. I didn’t even know what LinkedIn was, never mind how to conduct interviews. Yet, she liked that I had sold books before in the US and the experience I got from there was a good base to become a recruiter.”
“I basically jumped head first into the water when I became a recruiter. I have never been to an interview training session. The only sales experience I had was from the US where I went via Southwestern to sell books. I started learning everything from scratch. At first, I studied what different roles mean, for example, what does a software engineer do and what does a software development cycle look like.”
“I’d say that conducting interviews came easy to me from the get go. I’ve never had a feeling that I’m scared to talk to someone. Perhaps it comes from the fact that I like to dive deep into each role and therefore my homework is always done.
Did your sales experience in the US help you as a recruiter?
“Yes. I’d say that the experience I got from the US taught me persistence. Today, I do a lot of headhunting and for that you need to find different methods on how to approach candidates. In the US, I had to knock on strangers’ doors and start selling to them. So in some ways you can find similarities between them.
What is your favourite thing about being a recruiter?
“I like to dive deep into each role and company and to do that with different projects is very interesting!”
“Also, I like to do things my own way – I never invite candidates to interviews. Instead, I like to call them conversations that take place in a relaxed environment. To me, these conversations are a two-way street. By that I mean I don’t just assess a candidate’s fit for the company, but I also want to help them find a role that suits their personal needs.
What do you like the most about working at TalentHub?
“I like that I can always learn and develop myself here. This kind of “Work hard, play hard” mentality suits me well. Also that we are very tight and supportive with each other.
Is there something you don’t like about being a recruiter?
“Honestly, I wouldn’t remove anything. I like everything that comes with recruiting – from job role mapping to meeting with the client to headhunting and conversations and feedback – to me it’s one whole thing.
What has been your favourite project at TalentHub so far?
“It’s hard to mention one project, there are so many. For example, I like Brainbase. I truly believe that they will become the next unicorn. We have worked with them since the time they had 7 employees. Now, the number has grown to around 30. What they do is so unique and it makes me proud to see that behind a company like this are people from Estonia.”
“Similarly, I like Ampler Bikes. I have recruited so many interesting roles for them. Their company values are set and thanks to this their employees fit very well with each other.”
“Working with LHV has also been interesting. It is great to see that a big company like that trusts us with their hiring.
What is your pet peeve? (something that bothers your personally)
“I don’t like situations where I see that I’ll make it exactly on time or I’m going to be late. That is why I rather arrive 5-10 minutes early.”
Any content recommendations?
“I recommend listening to TalentHub’s podcast. If you are interested in all things human resources, then that is going to benefit you for sure.”