Hiring People, the Optima Way.
Recruiting people is easy. Recruiting the right people is far more difficult.
We recruit at all levels, but generally we focus on finding, training and retaining some of the best STEM graduates from leading UK universities. At Optima, we have deliberately high standards, and our recruitment process is pretty exacting. We know that for our people to thrive, they need to be more than just technically outstanding. They need to be articulate, comfortable speaking to clients and able to think ‘outside the box’. And so we’ve designed our recruitment process to find technical all-stars that are also team players, great communicators and, most important of all, problem solvers.
That’s where our hour-long (some say, fiendishly difficult) numerical test comes in, which is designed to test your thinking style. No preparation is required (for the test, that is). It’s not intended to trip anyone up, rather it’s designed to be an accurate measure of how well suited you are to the type of work that we do. And it’s served us very well - even candidates with exceptional technical skills and flawless academic records don’t always make the grade.
It’s so important for us to test for these skills because in our work with clients no two projects are ever the same. We often work with imperfect data and imperfect systems, and so finding innovative solutions is a constant requirement. And we always need to communicate simply and clearly with the client team, knowing which are the key details, and being able to explain things in a way that takes account of differing levels of technical knowledge.
Cultural fit is also important. And so beyond the test, you’ll meet different members of our team. We’ll ask you questions, of course, and we expect (and encourage!) you to do the same to us. Recruiting the right people is a two-way street.
The result of all this? A team of all-stars that can solve real business problems at pace. Unfalteringly high standards are part of life for us at Optima. Our clients demand it, and we take pride in delivering it. If that’s how you operate as well, then you’ll fit right in.
