Hire18 Speaker Interview, Rumen Mihaylov

To optimize the recruitment platform at one of the world’s most successful, recognizable household brands on a unified, global scale, it’s going to take more than an instruction manual and some Swedish meatballs. It’s going to take, well, this guy.

After seven productive years with the Swedish furniture giant, Rumen Mihaylov is leading the global implementation of SmartRecruiters for the Inter IKEA Group, as project leader of recruitment platforms. With 15 years in consulting, project management and business development under his belt, Rumen will bring his experience at IKEA – as well as his consulting work to firms like Bosch, SwissRe, GE, Ericsson and McKinsey – to our stage at Hiring Success 18, March 12-14 in San Francisco. But before you see him on the Hire18 stage, he had this little primer to share.

What does the concept of Hiring Success mean to you, Rumen?

At IKEA, we recruit down-to-earth, straightforward and curious people who want to develop the business, society and themselves. People who share our values enrich our culture.

Where on your company’s list of priorities is “recruitment”?

It is strategic! Recruitment keeps IKEA alive and strengthens our values. In our franchise system, we are hiring one employee every seven minutes to sustain our business.

What does your organization do differently in recruiting than anyone else?

In a more connected, complex, and constantly changing world, the IKEA values become ever more important to create a more efficient business. Our culture is our most unique asset. It builds trust, inspires, challenges, and empowers people to make a difference. This sets us apart from others. We always recruit on values first.

What is one thing about your job process you’d most like to change?

Time is our biggest challenge, we need to balance both having an involving recruitment process and securing meaningful experience for the candidates.

What is the current balance between technology and human intuition in your hiring process?

We do not polarize intuition and technology, for us, it’s about both. We have a very human-based process, and the technology is an enabler.

What have been some of the biggest changes you’ve seen occur in the industry since you began?

Today, more than ever before, it’s about finding the best candidates and attracting them, rather than expecting them to come to us.

What would be your first bits of advice to a new hire in your department?

Go out and start building your personal network in the organization.

Who was/is your biggest professional influence and why?

My first manager in IKEA, she taught me that often it is perfectly fine not to have the answer.