Sofia Broberger is a freelance consultant specializing in IT/Tech recruitment and sourcing. With a background in teaching, she blends her experience in education with her passion for sourcing to offer customized workshops and lectures on sourcing, tech recruitment, and employer branding. She is also available to speak at events on these topics. I’m honored that she would take the time from her busy training schedule to get interviewed for my blog.
Tell us about your work experience in recruiting – how did you get your start, how did you progress, where are you at this point in time?
Like so many others I “fell into it”. Back in 2013 I was looking for a new job, and applied for various roles in sales. One was as a Key Account Manager at a small recruitment agency. At the interview they said not to b a KAM but asked if I would be up for the role of Researcher. “What’s that?” I asked. They explained it and I said “sure, why not!”. I had literally not heard about that role before the interview, but I’m always up for new things and thought it sounded fun. And it was.
After about 3 years at the agency I felt I wasn’t progressing. I was looking at new ways to source, looking at alternative sources to Linkedin but was pretty much told to stick to the old ways. Good old phone calls. But the senior developers had stopped answering. I could literally make 100 calls in an afternoon and not have anyone answer.
I wanted to go inhouse and found a one year maternity leave cover at TV4 (one of the main TV channels here in Sweden). Most in-house recruiter positions required experience working in-house. But as this was only a 1 year position, that wasn’t a requirement and I got it.
At TV4 I was allowed to be the expert, and allowed to experiment and try new ways. I started blogging and started thinking about what I was gonna do when the year contract was up. The idea of starting my own business started forming.
I started going to conferences; Sourecon, Sourcing Summit and so on. I actually won a ticket to Sourcecon in Budapest via Mark Lundgren 🙂
The one year contract got extended but I was allowed to start my training business (Sourcingskolan) on the side. When they wanted to extend my contract once more they instead took me on as a contractor. After 2.5 years at TV4 I felt I needed something new and found an assignment with Toca Boca.
I ended up staying, as a freelancer, for 3 years. That contract just finished at the end of 2022 so now I’m doing a few smaller assignments and running my workshops. I’m currently focusing more on the consultative assignment, giving advice to my clients on how they should structure their recruitment.
What are the unique talents you bring to the field?
I’m not sure it’s unique but I think it’s my curiosity and constantly thinking “there must be a better way”. I always try to find new ways of sourcing, ways to automate and ways to work smarter.
Share your biggest success story in recruiting so far?
Perhaps it’s hiring 117 people at Toca during my 3 years there. But the story I do like to tell, to prove that focusing on quality trumps quantity, was when I was looking for a developer for the web team at TV4.
I reached out to 14 people, 7 replied, 4 came in for an interview and we hired 2. So no need to spam hundreds of people. (Never spam)
What is the best advice you’ve received during your career path, and from whom?
When I was switching jobs and was worried about how my employer at the time would react when I resigned my mum told me to always be selfish when it comes to work. I think that’s good advice. Think about yourself and what you want. Don’t be overly loyal to one company, cause I’m sure they wouldn’t show that same loyalty to you.
What’s your favorite recruiting tech tool?
Any bookmarklet that André Bradshaw’s ever made 🙂
What do you hope to achieve in 2023?
I hope to run plenty of workshops and help my clients achieve their goals.
Any future predictions on talent sourcing?
I’m more of a live in the moment kind of person. I think that being human, writing personalized messages that are truthful (no more “I’m impressed with your background”) will continue to be the way forward.
What’s your favorite Boolean String?
Not sure I have a favorite one. But the last one that was a great success was:
“våra (medarbetare OR anställda)” revisor Jönköping
During one of my workshops one of the participants wanted to find an authorized accountant in Jönköping. I wrote the above string and the first search result led to accountants not on LInkedin.
Anything else you would like to add?
Yes. Stop being randomly impressed by people’s backgrounds! 😀
Here’s how to connect with Sofia Broberger:
Recommended Reading:
Trish Wyderka Interview
How to deal with recruiting burnout
The best recruiting podcasts to listen to at work
