Spotlight on… Jordan Roberts – Senior Consultant in Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC)

Jordan Roberts is a Senior International Headhunter who leads the Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) team at CSG Talent. Jordan has a wealth of experience working within Testing, Inspection and Certification through his time at CSG Talent and previous roles working across the TIC marketplace globally. Jordan works with small, independent businesses through to Tier 1 companies, placing mid to executive level positions within a variety of business functions.

The TIC industry is constantly evolving and experiencing rapid growth as it matches new and emerging markets in which it is essential. Whilst TIC is still prevalent in industries such as Electrical, Industrial, Machinery and Automotive, developments into newer sustainable energy like Hydrogen, and advances with automation and self-driving vehicles, there are new opportunities within TIC to surrounding compliance and safety of new products and processes.

Jordan shares his own insights into his role, the model at CSG Talent and latest updates within the Testing, Inspection and Certification market.

How does your approach to recruitment make you stand out from others operating within TIC recruitment?

I think what’s important is the ability to have a strong understanding of the market and the businesses you work closely with. Having this in-depth knowledge and awareness enables me to effectively reach and engage with the right talent in the market. Not only that, but it’s about finding the right people at the right stage of their career. Considering timing and understanding of career paths and the right time to make the next move proves highly advantageous when building relationships with candidates.

Our team are dedicated specialists who are aware of the challenges businesses in TIC experience when striving to grow their business and attract the right talent. We are committed to understanding all areas of the businesses we work in partnership with to have a true understanding

Jordan has a true passion for the TIC industry and prides himself on his determination to seek the best talent available on the market for his clients. Jordan has a strong network of contacts and spends time building relationships and carrying out detailed research to continually identify the key players his clients are keen to attract.

Which aspect do you enjoy the most about the Testing, Inspection and Certification industry as a market to recruit in?

I love the variety working within Testing, Inspection and Certification brings, the broad range of industry sectors we are exposed to as a team is both interesting and exciting. Working with clients facilitating significant developments and new areas allows us to play a role in organisations mission to make the world a safer place by securing the talent needed. As a team we successfully place roles that contribute to sustainability efforts, safety, and compliance and this is something that motivates our team.

What challenges do businesses currently face within Testing, Inspection and Certification?

Like all industry sectors across the globe, there is a significant shortage of candidates in the market for a new role. We’re working closely with clients to ensure they have effective hiring strategies in place to combat talent shortages and remain competitive in the market. Another key issue is the huge increase in salaries because of fierce competition and prevalence of counteroffers. This is having a knock-on effect for businesses and candidates for both expectations and capabilities to offer competitive salary ranges in the market.

What are the main motivations for candidates within Testing, Inspection and Certification Recruitment?

Typically, technical professionals are looking to further their skillsets and develop themselves and their career. The Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) environment can often be heavily focused on knowledge and experience development so a career move allows a technical professional to further develop their certificates, experience and overall knowledge required to be successful and credible within the sector.

What roles are in demand within TIC currently?

Newer and emerging industries are a hot topic in the TIC industry right now – technical and operational skillsets within areas such as Renewable Energy (Hydrogen, Wind, Solar, Carbon), Cybersecurity areas, functional safety, and autonomous vehicle compliance. We’re seeing an increased need for professionals with experience in these areas.

Which areas do you predominantly operate?

Given the nature of the Testing, Inspection and Certification industry, our team operates across a wide range of industries to fulfil any safety, risk, and compliance related positions. Some of the industry sectors we commonly recruit include Automotive, Electrical, Industrial, Renewable Energy and Machinery. At CSG Talent, we support our clients with their hiring and growth plans across all functions within a business, from Commercial and Sales to Technical and Expertise, Management, Operations and Leadership level.

What does an average day/week look like for you?

Day to day my role consists of a combination of candidate outreach and business development. I work on recruitment projects in the US, EMEA and Singapore, so operate across various time zones. I spend time conducting interviews, reaching out and engaging with both prospective and existing clients as well as researching newer and emerging areas to further deepen my knowledge of the sectors we operate. Areas such as renewable energy and cyber security are huge areas of growth and development so these are focus areas for the TIC recruitment team at CSG Talent.

What do you love most about your role?

The most rewarding part of my role is to place a candidate in a new role that has a huge impact of their life. I build strong relationships with candidates to really understand their desires and motivations for their next role and what this means to them professionally and personally. Contacting a candidate to share with them the news of a job offer is the best part of my role, confident in the process we’ve been through to ensure the opportunity is exactly what they want, at the right kind of company both in the short and long term.

Having open and transparent conversations with candidates helps build credible relationships and there are many candidates I stay in regular contact with following placements to hear how they are progressing within their role.

What makes CSG Talent successful and stand out from other executive search firms?

CSG Talent are a global business, we operate across a wide range of industry sectors on an international scale. As a well-established brand with offices across the globe and teams accessible across all time zones, this is a huge advantage for both our clients and candidates. Within the TIC industry alone I’ve recently placed candidates in new job opportunities across Europe, Africa, and the US. Working internationally allows the team at CSG Talent to learn about specific regional challenges across locations and enables us to tailor our approach to suit and advise clients on best practice around salary benchmarking, benefits packages and other factors impacted by location differences.

What attracted you to work at CSG Talent?

I liked the idea of building my own team within a market that I already had strong experience in. The culture of the business appealed, very autonomous, hugely learning and development based, and highly rewarding.

The flexibility of being able to work at home or change my hours to suit time zones and overseas business was also a significant factor in choosing to join CSG Talent.

For someone who might be considering a role in recruitment…

I find recruitment an extremely rewarding environment to work within, it’s an opportunity to play a part in developing a candidate’s career, whilst providing talent attraction and hiring strategy support to businesses striving to achieve headcount and business growth. Recruitment is focused on people, working in a consultant role allows me to connect with and support phenomenal people across the globe and present them with career opportunities they may not have been aware of without my input.

The business model at CSG Talent allows consultants the opportunity to become true experts in their vertical market, this is not only highly beneficial for clients and candidates having a knowledgeable and dedicated expert, but it also gives the team an opportunity to build their own knowledge in an area they are both passionate and interested in. Learning about new developments, changes and growth within the industry is exciting and it’s a great opportunity for personal development.

My advice… Come with the right attitude which I’d say is a mix of competitiveness, positivity, and ambition to succeed. We don’t try to re-invent the wheel at CSG Talent, but we do the right things very well and that can be reflected in the results of some of the top performers in the business.

To explore in more detail the areas of recruitment CSG Talent operate within Testing, Inspection and Certification, please click here. Alternatively, if you’re considering a new opportunity and have recruitment experience, please explore our careers page here.

To get in touch with Jordan Roberts, view his profile here or contact: Jordan.roberts@csgtalent.com