In talent acquisition, his focus is very much on what potential employees have to offer as an individual.
“For me finding the right candidate for the role, apart from the specific job knowledge and experience, is about focusing on behavioral traits, the ability to adapt, the interpersonal skills as well as cognitive ability that someone has - who is this person, what are they about…”.
In Merlijn’s opinion, for organizations to grow as inclusive employers where all employees are valued equally, it is vital to make sure you get people into your organization that embrace this concept and have the right mindset to work collaboratively across the board.
From his experience recruiting at the executive level, he is very aware of the equation of finding the right candidate in terms of profile and balancing this with the political dimension that often plays a role when hiring at these levels for international organizations.
Music plays a central role in his life. “For me, the music reflects the essence of life. In composing and performing, I try to get to the core of the musical notes; with what intention are you expressing, and where does it lead? I am fascinated with exploring timbres and the intentions you can find expressing those, as well as the world and intention behind the different musical keys. The relation of and between the movement of voices creates moments that can reflect and express a world that I find hard to capture in words. Music is about making connections and the ability to communicate at a deeper, spiritual level.“
Besides this, Merlijn is also expanding his career coaching practice. In coaching, you first want to explore what someone's essential values are; what it is that ‘you’ actually really want to do. For that, he uses the Be First method created by Bas Smeets. “it is very powerful, and helps you to discover what it is you essentially value in life, before focusing on what job you want; be it as an employee or self-employed”. To his coaching sessions, Merlijn adds musical minutes to reflect on what has been done and said in a session. “it adds another dimension to the coaching, and it is fun to do!”.
Joining Impactpool as a Senior Executive Search Specialist is a natural next step. “I have known Impactpool for quite some time now. I first met them at the Career Development Round Table event in Helsinki in 2016. We had a good connection, and I have used their services to assist with finding specific candidates for the OPCW ever since.” Merlijn and Impactpool started to discuss how they could collaborate, resulting in the executive hire service.
“There is an overlap in how I approach music and sourcing and recruiting people. I believe it is about the connection you make with people. It is about finding the essence of what you are looking for. In finding the right person for a role, I feel it is getting to the essence of what is required together with your client - beyond the obvious, and extrapolating this to the right candidate profile.”
Are you looking for support with your next recruitment?
Please don't hesitate to contact Merlijn at merlijn(at)impactpool.org.