Client: Johnson Matthey
Johnson Matthey is a global manufacturer of high-quality and technologically advanced semi-processed and finished products for glass and ceramics decoration in, among others, the automotive industry.
Discipline: Technical Management
For the Color Technologies business unit at Johnson Matthey in Maastricht, FITz was commissioned to find an Project Manager R&D specializing in the Japanese automotive industry. The requirements for this position were challenging to say the least: the candidate should have a background in chemistry and possess relevant R&D work experience in the development of fire-retardant materials, conductive pastes, top layers and dyes. Finding the right balance between background and experience was a challenge in its own right. But what made our search seemingly impossible was finding someone who was fluent in both Japanese and English and worked in the Euregion.
The solution:
After conducting a feasibility study for this position, we realized our search would be indeed challenging, but not impossible. We did expect the search to take slightly longer than usual. Our first step was to map out this very specific market. For this, we deployed all available resources. With the help of external databases, social media, our own network and a direct search, we effectively targeted the majority of the candidates for this position. While they all met the background requirements, none of them had Japanese roots. After expanding our parameters, we launched a direct search in several Japanese communities. This search proved very successful and FITz managed to find the ideal match. Not only did this candidate have long-term work experience in Europe, he also possessed excellent communication skills and relevant R&D experience. The candidate was both available and willing to join the innovative work environment that defines Johnson Matthey.
The success factor
We managed to find a unique candidate in the European labor market in just three weeks. This promises to be a great start for our new collaboration with Johnson Matthey. We proved that our feasibility research does not deliver empty promises. We tackle the issue head-on and we don’t stop until we find the perfect match. FITz always delivers surprisingly good results, even for a challenging position like this one. After all, a promise is a promise. Our decisive exploration of a number of Japanese communities not only sent us down the right path towards the ideal candidate, it also helped us provide Johnson Matthey with valuable market information to help them enhance their recruitment strategy. Following this successful search, FITz also played an important role in obtaining a timely work permit. An integral part of the FITz service guarantee!
