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In unserer Serie „AGENEO PRESENTS THE MEMBERS OF INRALS” sprechen wir mit Geschäftsführern des von ageneo mitbegründeten INRALS-Netzwerkes, dem International Network of Recruiting Agencies in Life Sciences.
In unserer heutigen Ausgabe: Jan Derks – Geschäftsführer von Derks & Derks (Niederlande)
Dear Jan, would you please present yourself and your company!
My name is Jan Derks, proud initiator and owner of Derks & Derks. My agency is located in Amersfoort, the heart of the Netherlands and we are the leading recruitment and selection agency in the Dutch Life Sciences. In 2021 we will celebrate our 20th birthday: we’re full of ambition and energy! Our slogan says it all: Delivering Recruitment and Development Solutions in Life Sciences and Healthcare. We are experts in finding the very best higher educated candidates for professional positions, middle management, higher management and general management. We provide both temporary staffing and permanent solutions. Our GDPR proof database consists of 25.000 well screened candidates and we’ve got 95% returning clients. Derks & Derks also provides assessment centers, education, interviewclinics and salary reviews. A true sector specialist!
Why and when did you join INRALS?
Together with Michel Vandycke, who then owned and ran the best agency in Belgium, I started INRALS in 2011. This was a logical choice after collaborating with Michel a few times, the European markets opening up and the fact that talent is not hindered by boundaries. We noticed that our specialist position regularly requires international searches and argued that this must be the case in every country. When we started recruiting members we soon found that this conclusion was correct. Naturally the (realistic) marketing value of being a member of INRALS (local knowledge, global reach) helps a lot in getting in contact with potential clients as well. Besides all these advantages it also was appealing that we got in contact with best practices and experiences of alike agencies all over the globe. Almost ten years later I must say that INRALS is a clear ‘hit’!
What advice could you give our clients when it comes to filling open vacancies during the Corona-Pandemic?
This is a difficult question, because the answer depends on so many factors. We recently published a blog in which we point out that during a crisis, strengthening your team with top talents is a major opportunity. The high potentials are more easily to be approached and when you realize that ‘before Covid-19’ the major concern of CEO’s and HR Managers was ‘finding talent’, it adds up to a logical statement that especially during the Corona Pandemic vacancies should be filled!
What do you like most about your field of work?
My field of work is much bigger than recruitment and selection. Our psychologists with their deep assessments of candidates give me joy. A strong, valid and reliable advice is where we stand for. With the high end courses we developed in Healthcare and Pharma, we remain in close contact with our primary target markets, which enables us to do what we are good at: connecting great companies with fantastic professionals. It is a thrill to help our clients grow, to be a trusted and experienced intermediary for both clients and candidates. The best part may be that, after over 20 years in the Dutch Life Sciences, clients have become candidates and the other way around. The knowledge of our agency is being used in consultancy and with this we contribute to the Dutch Life Sciences and Healthcare.
What was the funniest thing that happened to you at work?
Funny things happen every day! I very often laugh aloud in the contact with my nearest colleagues and with our clients and candidates. A ‘funny’ thing that comes to mind happened during the first year of Derks & Derks. My client granted me the recruitment and selection assignment of a Director Quality Assurance. I found the ‘ideal candidate’ very fast and it did not ‘feel’ right to charge this client the full invoice. When I called him to discuss this matter he simply refused my offer for a discount. ‘Jan’, he said, ‘this time you were a bit lucky. But next time you will have to do a whole lot more to find the perfect match, so please send me the bill. I am more than happy to pay the full amount’. This moment was a very valuable lesson.
Jan, we thank you for your time and these insights!
If you want to learn more about our inrals-partners, stay tuned!
Carolyn Klein – Marketing Associate
*Allein aus Gründen der besseren Lesbarkeit wird bei der Personenbezeichnung in diesem Beitrag auf die gleichzeitige Verwendung männlicher und weiblicher Sprachformen verzichtet. Die verkürzte Sprachform hat lediglich redaktionelle Gründe und beinhaltet keinerlei Wertung. Sämtliche Personenbezeichnungen gelten für alle Geschlechter.