Tom Smelt is a Managing Consultant at Boston Link. He started off his recruitment career 11 years ago in London, following his degree in Accountancy and Economics from the University of Wales. Since then he has pursued an exciting career in recruitment including moving to South Africa to grow a successful IT division and then working with clients in financial services and consultancy. Tom is now one of our gaming experts, after working with the best gaming companies in Malta for a number of years. We caught up with Tom to ask him a few questions about his experience in recruitment.
What do you love most about your job?
I love changing people’s lives and the thrill of the chase. When you place someone into a new role you not only change someone’s life by getting them a new job, but you please your clients because they’ve just found a new employee, your boss is happy because you have closed business for the company. It puts you on a high until the thrill of the chase starts again.
What do you find most frustrating about your job?
There are two main pet peeves I have;
First are counter offers; there is nothing worse than going through all the work of a deal, only for circumstances out of your control to take it from you at the last minute.
Equally as annoying, are Europass CVs! Malta, in particular, have a huge nod towards drafting these style of CV's. I often find some of the information they include to be irrelevant and cause more confusion than the actual value that should provide.
If you were a superhero what powers would you have?
Teleportation. On a professional level, it would help me create better relationships with clients and talent, because there would be no travelling time between meetings. On a personal level I would love to click my fingers and be in South Africa or on a yacht in the Caribbean, or the South American jungle sitting in a treehouse drinking Acai smoothies from a coconut.
The possibilities are endless.
What’s the most interesting job you have ever been asked to place talent for?
I once rang Liverpool Football Club and asked if I could help place one of their jobs. They let me source a top-notch accountant! I have always been an avid Liverpool supporter and I thought if I worked with Liverpool Football Club they would give me free tickets. But to no avail!
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
‘Don’t let the sun go down on me’ by George Michael. Beautiful song! In my mind, this was the starring moment that I had dreamed about as a child, I thought I was quite the performer. In reality, the pub soon emptied!
Where would you most like to visit in the world?
I want my footprints on every single part of the world. Choosing one single place is hard. I would love to see the Galapagos Islands or Vegas. I can't decide. The world is our oyster to see.
When I retire spend my days drinking rum out of coconuts, snorkelling in the South Pacific. Which is quite a contrast from working in such fast-paced iGaming industry, but Malta has luckily lived up to my blue sea expectations!
What is your top tip for writing a top CV?
Clarity. Your CV should be clear and concise. List the top most interesting points about yourself and your experience without any unnecessary detail. Prospective employers look at hundreds of CV’s so it's like a sales pitch, attract with what really makes you different.
Another tip is to make sure to put your latest job first, it's good to read where your latest experience is, no-one likes an upside-down CV.
What is your top job interview tip?
Research the company, the people and the job. You want to know as much information about what you are moving into. And if you enter the interview knowing the job description and what you can bring to that role, you will be more confident to wow the interviewer.
My last tip would be to smile.
If you are interested in talking to Tom Smelt further about career opportunities in the iGaming industry, speak to Tom on tom.smelt@boston-link.com or search more jobs on our career page.