‘You have to be fast but robust’: Betsson head of global recruitment on hiring for iGaming

According to Adam Woodley, the global head of recruitment at Betsson Group, it is essential for iGaming recruitment to be both robust and fast.

“The candidate experience is key,” he says, adding that in this current recruitment market, “speed is vital,” and that as such, the company’s average recruitment time is 30 days.

Mr Woodley makes the observation as part of the latest episode of Betsson’s bi-weekly panel show, titled Betsson Live, where he was joined by Gerd Bergh, the company’s head of employee experience, to discuss how the company fosters a “game changing” employee experience.

The leaders discuss how the candidate (and later employee) experience is a priority to Betsson, with Mr Woodley explaining that the recruitment process focuses on delivering a great experience to the candidate, tailored to the vacancy.

Should the candidate get the job, the Ms Bergh details how Betsson offers a number of exciting benefits, especially for those relocating to take a position.

“Our relocation process differs depending on which of the 13 Betsson locations you are moving to,” she says, but in the case of Malta, where half of Betsson’s 2,000 employees are based, you get a relocation allowance, use of company accommodation when you first arrive, and the dedicated support of a travel coordinator, amongst others.

Betsson does not only have benefits for new employees however. Ms Bergh reflects that the company has a very strong worker philosophy, with its hybrid working model being an excellent example of this.

Aside from the working model, the company also offers staff the opportunity to work from abroad for 10 days per year within the EU, a “good budget” for team building activities, and a work from home allowance, amongst others.

Providing advice to help candidates get to this level, Mr Woodley puts forward some tips on how a candidate can succeed in an interview.

Importantly, he says that they should make sure they do their proverbial homework before the interview, as this can help feel more comfortable in the early stages of the interview, making sure that the interviewee can feel in control and not panic.

“You really shouldn’t underplay the importance of first impressions. The interview begins the moment the interviewer greets you, and if you’re nervous, it can be easy to say something a little silly,” Mr Woodley reflects.

To make sure this doesn’t happen, he encourages candidates to research who they’ll be meeting, anticipate some of the questions they’ll be asked, as well as preparing some questions to ask the interviewer.

He also backs the so-called STAR method, which is the structure of explaining a personal quality, by first talking about a situation, then the task it raised, the action taken, and the result this produced.

“Going in prepared means you can take the pressure out of the interview,” he says.

Mr Woodley also took the time to emphasise a common misconception, namely that iGaming experience is required to land a job at the company. He explains that while this is the case for some positions, in many cases it is not, including for jobs in the legal and finance departments, as well as for many roles in the IT section.