Interview With Primo Hiring – A Leading Recruitment Startup

I had the pleasure of interviewing the lead recruiter, Paras Shah, at Primo Hiring Solutions – a recruitment consulting firm that has worked with some of the biggest homegrown startups and corporates in India, to provide them top talent. 

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Well hiring has always had a critical role to play in any organization’s success. Recently I read in a study, and this was done by Dr. John Sullivan, HR leader and speaker in Silicon Valley, that not keeping a revenue generating position open for longer than necessary by investing in a good recruitment agency can save your company over $5,000! People at Primo understand the impact hiring has on any organisation and so are always motivated to find the right people for every company we work with.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your company?

Sometimes the requests we receive are very specific and complicated to work with. One such case was when we helped a major construction company find a sales manager with 10+ years of experience in liaising with municipal corporations. This case was interesting not just because we were specifically looking for candidates with B2B sales experience with municipal authorities, but because we were shortlisting those candidates who were married and willing to relocate with their family, as and when required by the client.

Our team extensively sourced candidates through multiple channels for over 6 days and came up with a shortlist of high caliber individuals, one of which the client immediately hired.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We’ve all forgotten to send mails that say ‘please find attached’ without attaching the said document! Once the staff had sent a mail for an invoice raised to a client without the document. But our clients are conscientious people and they highlighted the mistake the following day or we would’ve only realised the error after not receiving a credit message from the bank at the end of the payment period!

Needless to say, after that, we always double-check our emails when we say we have any link/document or other source added.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I think one of the reasons why our clients love us, is because at Primo Hiring, we are always eager to listen. Whether it is extensive requirements or critical feedback, we pester clients to tell us all problems they anticipate in filling the position so that our hiring is extensive and comprehensive. Also, our hiring process is quick. Recruiting experts at Primo can usually shortlist start candidates within a short span of 11-20 days to ensure that clients keep their business running.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

It’s good to keep searching for interesting projects to be engaged and challenged. At Primo for example, we fill positions across 12+ industries like business services, consumer products, energy and utilities, financial services, healthcare, education, etc. and over multiple levels like senior executives, managers and bulk recruitment. This allows our experts to encounter a new challenge everyday.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Our heroes are our recruiters. Only with their consistent performance can we ensure that our clients find the right people for their role and organisation every time. 45% of the offers our candidates receive are made after less than 3 interviews. That’s how much expertise our HR consultants hold in uncovering the capabilities and aspirations of candidates.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Our success can really only happen if it does good to people. For us to be successful, we have to do good to our clients by finding candidates who meet their expectations and also by saving them time and money. Similarly, we do good to the employee by giving him exactly the work-culture, role and salary that he hopes to get. We are proud that we have been able to help 130+ companies and 900+ candidates in this way.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

Well, at Primo we really believe that the power of human capital can grow empires out of rubble. And all successful companies today are an example of that.

What do you wish someone told me before you started your company and why?

One thing I can definitely think of is to be flexible. Even at Primo, though we push for our clients to rely on our recruitment consultants’ expertise and intent to guide them to the right candidates, we always give them space in decision-making and are eager to get all feedback on candidates we recommend.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Mandatory communication workshops is something that could be useful for our workforce!

How can our readers follow you on the internet?

We are active on facebook with the handle Primo Hiring Solutions where we regularly update our readers with useful tips related to job search, interviews, etc. and our clients with information on hiring trends, skill availability in the market and human resource management.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!