I remember working with a candidate who was looking to relocate from Algeria to Belgium, having worked as a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) manager in an international pharmaceutical company across several countries in Africa. His wife, originally from France, lived and worked in Belgium already, and he wanted to be closer to her. I found him a FP&A role in the EMEA headquarters of a US cosmetics company, which I knew could be a great match for him.

Our initial interview was via Microsoft Teams, and he had a face-to-face interview with my client in Brussels a few days later. Initially, my client preferred to hire locally, but once they met, my candidate was offered the position. Once he settled in, we had lunch together in Brussels and he said he couldn’t be happier! That’s when I realised the impact I could make as a recruiter.

Meanwhile, he has been promoted to a management role, and we are still in contact to help him build and further develop his own team. Building those strong, long-term relationships with candidates throughout their careers is what motivates me every single day.