10/30/13 Jennifer Stanley on how Arup hires | Arup Connect

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Interviews

Jennifer Stanley on how Arup hiresWe spoke with San Francisco-based recruiter Jennifer Stanley to learn about what Arup looks for

when hiring and how job-seekers can improve their prospects.

* * *

What do you look for when you’re sifting through resumes and interviewing people?

The most important thing is to have the technical foundation for the position. For example, we make

sure that someone has relevant project experience, has worked with similar firms, has experience

working in multidisciplinary teams — or, if you’re a recent grad, being from a good program.

And then we also look at their general motivations and values. We look for people that appreciate

integrated design and helping solve complex problems. People come from all over the world to work

at Arup, and we look for people that are able to communicate and thrive within a diverse group.

And you must be passionate about what you do. This can manifest itself in different ways, but that’s

the ultimate goal — to find those people.

How important is having a graduate degree?

It depends on the discipline. A lot of times a bachelor’s degree is fine. There are certain areas where

we do prefer a master’s — usually in structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, and a few of our

specialist consulting groups, like advanced technology and research and fire engineering.

You must be passionate about what you do.

S e arch...

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« Sep October 2013 Nov »

s m t w t f s

Jennifer Stanley works in human resources in

Arup's San Francisco office. Contact her at

jennifer.stanley@arup.com.

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Are there any common misconceptions about how to look for jobs?

Often we see people apply to ten different jobs at Arup at once, and they’re probably doing the same

thing at other companies as well. I think it’s usually a better strategy to put all of your time and

energy into jobs that are the most relevant to your background and interests. Think about what you

want to do, where you want to work, and put your focus on making connections at that company,

getting to know that team. Make sure you have a targeted job search for only the positions you are

truly interested in and qualified for so you can focus your energy on jobs that will work for you.

Where do you look for candidates? Where do you recommend people be if they’re

looking for jobs?

There are a few websites that act as job aggregators — Simply Hired, Indeed — and those are great

because it makes it easy to apply to jobs. However, it also means companies can get hundreds of

applicants for one position. There are so many candidates on there that it’s easy to get lost.

The best way to get a job is usually though networking of some sort. I think what’s really helpful is for

people to get involved in professional associations and be active within the industry. Not only will

you have the chance to learn from others in the industry, but you will be able to meet people whose

companies are hiring. We always ask our staff for recommendations of people they have met.

The best way to get a job is usually though

networking of some sort.

What about LinkedIn?

A lot of recruiters are on LinkedIn, so if you’re looking for a job you should definitely have a profile

on there and at least some basic information about what you do and your experience. It doesn’t have

to be as comprehensive as a resume, but enough that if someone saw it they would get a good sense of

what you’re doing.

There are also a lot of LinkedIn networking groups that are good to join; the more people y ou connect

with the bigger reach y ou’re going to have. So it’s alway s a good place to be if y ou’re looking for a job.

What about other social networking sites, like Twitter? Is there anything else that

recruiters typically look at?

We do look at Twitter, different blogs. We search through all sorts of avenues online, so it’s always

good to have an online presence, whether that’s being active on social media, blogging, or something

else. If we find a blog that’s very specific to the industry, that’s a huge find, and we’ll probably want to

talk to that person.

The recruiting industry is moving away from the traditional post-a-job-on-a-job-board mode and

more into the social media, interactive space, because it can be a little more targeted.

So it behooves people to be more generalist in their strategy rather than just

answering specific job posts?

Yes. It’s a lot more focused on networking in general, whether that’s going to a conference or

retweeting something. That’s the future of recruiting, versus just going to a website and posting a job.

Which we still do; but that’s the direction things are going in.

The recruiting industry is moving away from the

traditional post-a-job-on-a-job-board mode and

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more into the social media, interactive space.

What recommendations do you have for jobseekers?

A big piece of advice when it comes to finding jobs, and interviewing especially, is that it’s really a

two-way street. We’re looking for a good fit on both sides. We’re not going to respond well to

someone who we think is just trying to answer questions in the, quote unquote, correct way. It’s really

about mutual fit. We don’t want to hire someone if it’s not the right fit for them too. So it’s best to

really make sure you ask questions and really think about if you’ll be happy at a company or working

with that team. The best interviews are the ones where candidates are relaxed, honest, and ask tough

questions.

Are there blogs or books that you would recommend for job search advice?

It’s almost the opposite answer: there’s a lot of information online, and a lot of that advice is terrible.

So make sure that if you’re getting advice from someone that you know who’s giving that advice and if

they’ve had experience actually hiring people. Things have changed a lot in the last ten years, and so

there’s a lot of outdated advice. For example — and this is extreme, but — I’ve seen someone advise

people to show up at a company and ask for an interview unsolicited.

There’s a lot of information online, and a lot of that

advice is terrible.

There’s also bad advice about resumes. You don’t need a flashy layout; just make sure that you have

your experience and accomplishments on there.

Oct 25 2013

Tagged human resources, interviewing, Jennifer Stanley, jobs, San Francisco

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