Interview | Pauline Kamau, Human Ressources Manager | SAW Components

Hi Pauline, thank you for taking the time for a short interview on your experiences in hiring tech talents! You just started your work as Human Resources Manager at SAW Components and we are thrilled to learn about your thoughts and findings so far. Let’s jump directly to the first question:

→ What are the main challenges being responsible for HR in a tech company atm?

My major challenge is the technical jargon/language that the rest of the team speaks. This is because I come from a non-technical educational background. Understanding these technical aspects would enable me understand the team’s strengths, weaknesses and challenges better.

→ Which expectations have talents applying for a tech job?

The younger talents (graduates/trainees) are concerned about career growth while their experienced counterparts are enthusiastic about teamwork.

→ With the shortage of skilled workers in Germany, how do you think companies need to adapt their hiring process?

Hire for Skills – where possible hire individuals who fail to meet the requirements but have the skills/demonstrate the ability to learn on the job, invest on-the-job training and enhance the onboarding processes so as better retain their talent.

→ Which skills do young talents on the job market have and have not. And how to deal with it?

Young talents bring in fresh ideas, are flexible and willing to learn. However due to lack of exposure they sometimes are unable to work independently. To resolve this, organizations can introduce mentorship programs through which young talents are guided in the mastery of their own abilities.

→ Your personal path as a foreigner finding your job – What where your experiences?

Navigating the job market as a foreigner was a challenge. I had to unlearn all I knew about the application and interview processes, as the approach here is a little different from my home country. However, with the help of the seminars that were offered to job-seeking students by the university, I was able to adapt easily.

Thank you very much for the interview and the insights. We wish you every success and always fresh ideas to attract young tech talents to work at SAW Components 🙂

btw: At SAW Components there are still some really cool job positions open. Visit their website or write an e-mail to Pauline directly!

SAW Components Dresden GmbH ist ein international agierender Entwickler und Hersteller von SAW Bauelementen und SAW-basierten Sensorsystemen. Das Unternehmen verfügt dafür über eine eigene Wafer Foundry in einem 1000m2 Reinstraum. Das Unternehmen bietet im Kontext IoT Bauelemente für Funkschaltungen an, die u. a. im Bereich Smart Metering und für drahtlose Datenübertragungssysteme eingesetzt werden. Desweiteren bietet SAW Components Sensorsysteme für die drahtlose und batterielose Temperatur- und Dehnungsmessung sowie Identifikation in rauen Umgebungen an, womit Maschinen IoT-fähig werden, bei denen die notwendige Datenerfassung bis dahin nicht möglich war.