Meet the team: Melinda Sietsma, NTP’s Engineering Recruiter

What is your specialisation in recruitment?

Engineering 

What drew you to specialise in this particular area of recruitment?

I have quite an analytical mind, I’m a curious learner and like to see how things work and come together to produce an end product. I enjoy the technical nature of the conversations I have with candidates and clients. 

How did you get into recruitment?

I fell into it; I was looking to relocate back to Newcastle to be closer to my partner (now husband) and landed a job with Randstad, predominantly focussing on blue-collar recruitment across trades and civil operators. Over time, as I grew my technical knowledge, I progressed into more senior roles in this space and then moved into Engineering, which I found the most interesting and rewarding. 

What do you find most fulfilling or rewarding about working in recruitment?

There’s a lot of things I enjoy about my role, but the four highlights would have to be:

• When I find the hard-to-find candidates and fill the “unicorn” roles. I don’t quit easily, and delivering on those especially challenging roles is always rewarding.
• Finding a role that fits really well with a candidate.
• Having a client that is happy with the work that I’ve done for them
• Site tours at client sites, seeing how it all comes together and the bigger picture.

Can you share a memorable success story from your experience working with clients or candidates?

Last year, I took a job brief for a role with a client who had used a recruiter for the same role but hadn’t had the best experience, so they were a little hesitant about using a recruiter again. The role had very specific requirements around both the technical nature and the client values fit, which required someone with a good understanding of workplace diversity.

I found a stand-out candidate who the client loved. They were also someone whom I personally grew to admire as they were such a role model in their field. The candidate had some great opportunities for personal development in the role, and the client found the “unicorn” candidate within the local hunter market. 

I hope that, from this experience, the client will be less hesitant to use a recruiter for their next requirements. 

How do you stay updated on the latest trends and developments within Engineering?

I spend many hours reading relevant industry newsletters, particularly for the renewables, energy, clean tech and advanced manufacturing sectors. 

I also love to learn from experts in the space. I’m subscribed to the mailing lists and LinkedIn pages of many key clients and attend as many networking events as possible to constantly learn more and see new trends and technologies. 

What unique challenges do you face when recruiting for engineering roles, and how do you overcome them?

There are 2 key ones that come to mind:

• Finding very specialised and hard-to-find candidates: I spend a lot of time reaching out to candidates on LinkedIn and Seek Talent to constantly build up my personal network and know which candidates are passively looking for work in the market.
• Encouraging professionals to change industries: For renewables and cleantech clients, some candidates are hesitant to move to new technology and question the industry’s stability. Getting them across the line is about having a deep understanding of the client’s social responsibility, being able to sell the bigger picture of what they’re about beyond the product or technology, and selling the breadth of projects and opportunities for personal growth.

Could you describe your approach to building and maintaining strong relationships with both clients and candidates?

I think it is key in the recruitment industry, that it’s not just about making money and placing people, It’s about helping the local community and actually consulting with businesses. 

This might mean helping clients network with other clients, chatting about upcoming projects they could tender for, or generally linking people together to collaborate. In long-term relationships with clients, we are committed to supporting them even in downtimes when they may not need recruitment services. 

For candidates, it’s about taking a genuine interest in them and their success. This can take various forms, including giving tips about finding a new role, advice on how to approach their own network, feedback on LinkedIn profiles, and information sessions with grads and STEM students. 

What do you think sets NewyTechPeople’s approach apart from others in the industry?

Our genuine and very authentic approach to giving back to the community. We’re not just networking to make money out of recruitment but to connect people in the community and sponsor events that benefit lots of people. We aren’t just throwing words out on social media to put something out there or pretend to be an expert in an area we’re not. We’re specialists who stick to our lanes and know our spaces incredibly well. 

How do you see the future of engineering recruitment evolving, and what role do you envision yourself playing in that evolution?

Engineering is growing rapidly with advanced manufacturing and new technologies, both in traditional industries and in the clean tech/renewables space.

Clients are looking at greater efficiencies in manufacturing to help them be more competitive with overseas manufacturers, increasing profit margins and reducing supply chain costs and turnaround times. Professionals that can drive and enable this growth will continue to grow in demand.

The core of my role, connecting like-minded candidates to clients will remain consistent, however the industries and specialisations will shift to a greater focus on advanced manufacturing and clean tech industries. I have a keen passion in these areas, so I enjoy going to the extremes of head-hunting candidates to ensure I find the right fit for clients. I think for new industries, the candidate’s passion needs to be evident, and this is also the same for the recruiter you’re working with; they need to be excited about the new industry or new technology you’re working on to really sell your story.

When you’re not recruiting, what do you do for fun?

I have 2 young children, so a lot of my spare time revolves around them. This includes baking healthy lunchbox treats where I can hide ingredients. Otherwise, I enjoy gardening and, at times, have a jungle of a garden to get back into control.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?  

I love Spain. I learned flamenco guitar as part of my classical guitar studies (not that I mastered it, haha) and love the culture and music of Spain.

They appear to treat their elderly well and have delicious food; much better than the fruit and veg found in the UK. Living in Europe would also be close enough to travel to many other countries without too much cost and time spent flying. 

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

I banned myself from Karaoke in my early twenties, I was way too husky, we’re talking the days of venues that still had smoking indoors, and I’m really sensitive to smoke.

I tried to sing the grease duet with my now-husband, and because I was so husky, he ended up singing Olivia’s part as well. 

Need help to grow your engineering team? Contact Melinda at [email protected] or connect with her on LinkedIn.