Dubai - MENA Herald: Careem, the local ride-hailing app said it has been attracting top engineering talent from Silicon Valley using the platform of LinkedIn. The Dubai-based startup said it has hired 90 per cent of candidates in engineering roles though LinkedIn since 2016, resulting in considerable time saved spent on searching for suitable candidates.
Since establishing a small office in Dubai in 2012, Careem has taken the world by storm – operating across 60 cities in 11 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. This in turn meant the need for a robust hiring solution and the company has since found that most of its placements come from using LinkedIn. “We made 45 new hires in just three months using LinkedIn’s Recruiter Tool. Similarly, our Career Page on LinkedIn speaks volumes about who we are. Our online presence has resulted in a massive spike in followers and placed candidates – it has elevated our brand,” said Nicki Hague, Head of Talent Acquisition, Careem.
"Engineering roles are notoriously difficult to fill and highly sought after. On an average, we get at least 300 applications for every role we advertise. Our main challenge in talent acquisition is finding top product and engineering specialists, who are in high demand and often outside the region. With LinkedIn, we can filter and search with the Recruiter tool, which helps us place the correct candidate,” said Hague. “We have been able to attract people from companies like McKinsey, Google, Facebook and BCG. We also attract people from countries like the US and Europe who have roots in the region.”
Careem recently launched a completely new brand identity and to keep up with the fast-paced and dynamic work culture of the MENA region, continuous innovation was required. Its career page on LinkedIn was instrumental in strengthening the brand, showcasing its company culture and work environment, ultimately helping them attract the top talent globally, and regularly evaluate systems, processes and people.
“Our Career Page does a lot of the work for us. Rather than directly engaging with candidates, candidates engage with our page. And by constantly refreshing and updating content, we are able to showcase our EVP. By implementing this clear plan of action, we were able to increase our LinkedIn followers from around 6,000 followers to over 30,000 in just six months' time. If I had to describe LinkedIn in one word, it would be essential,” said Hague.
“In today’s competitive world, it is very important to differentiate one’s self if you’re looking to hire quality talent. Companies need to take a holistic approach, giving employer branding as much importance as recruiting. When you invest in your online brand – connect with your audience, push out relevant content and create a new, relatable identity for yourself, a large part of recruitment is already done - people around the world are already exposed to your brand and know who they were talking to,” said Arda Atalay, Head of LinkedIn Talent Solutions for Gulf countries.
