Meet Angela González: Veriff’s Senior Recruiter helping expand our Barcelona hub

We’re excited to have Angela González join us as senior recruiter to help us grow in Barcelona.

First and foremost, welcome to the team! How did you find your way to Veriff? Had you heard about us before?

Thanks! I'm thrilled to start this exciting stage in my career! I first heard about Veriff thanks to Luke Govier (Head of Talent Acquisition) who reached out to me on LinkedIn. When I browsed through your social media platforms, I was captivated by Veriff's impressive employer branding and employee testimonials. It seemed like a great place to work, and of course, Veriff products solve a massive pain point globally. I decided to go for the interview, and the rest is history like they say.

What attracted you to Veriff?

First and foremost, the opportunity to make a big impact globally. In this position I have the chance to build the new team in Barcelona from the ground up, and engage in employer branding initiatives to increase the awareness about Veriff. We definitely deserve to be recognized in Spain as an employer of choice.

What’s your first impression so far?

I love it! As a recruiter who notices benefits I would highlight the global team and the ability to relocate easily with the support of Veriff. That’s why we are able to find talent from over 46 nationalities working with us.

Our hub in Barcelona is amazing as well and feels more like a social club. And last but not least, Veriff is genuinely concerned about the well-being of its employees by offering additional days off, flexible hybrid working models, as well as generous health and L&D compensation for everyone.

Funny question, have you ever had to verify your identity online before? 

Yes! And as a customer I prefer this to be a smooth process and as automated as possible so it doesn’t become a bottleneck when I have to do any online procedures. I love that the online identity verification process with Veriff meets these requirements, and that it supports ID verification in 40 languages.

Veriff opened its Tech Hub in Barcelona just a couple of months ago. Who are you looking for there?

There are lots of exciting opportunities in Barcelona. We are currently looking to expand our engineering and product teams here. However, as our team is growing quickly we are also looking for more people across the company. The most up-to-date information about our openings is on our careers page.

How would you describe the job market in Barcelona? From the news we see that it's become a new hotspot for global tech companies. Why is that?

The job market in Barcelona is becoming more and more competitive, due to the amount of international companies that have decided to open tech hubs here. But I love that there is great and diverse talent, and that it’s a very lively market. It has a lot of movement due to the short notice periods in Spain and most of the people are always up for a chat to check what’s out there. Getting that first chance to speak with a potential candidate is always the most difficult part, but when you work for a great company like Veriff, it’s really easy to sell it and make people feel excited about continuing with the recruitment process. 

And Barcelona is a destination that is extremely attractive for international talent, because of the weather, multiculturalism, exciting career opportunities, and amazing leisure options. It is also very well connected, which makes the potential relocation easier. Even if it’s an expensive city compared to other Spanish destinations, it is still quite affordable in comparison to other European cities.

What are you looking for in potential candidates? What should potential applicants keep in mind while applying? 

As a personality trait, we look for people who offer solutions, execute their ideas, thrive in a changing environment, and are ok with working individually and under minimum supervision as we build up the team in Barcelona. And of course, they have to be excited about Veriff’s mission!

The type of candidates that we’re looking for right now are mostly senior, but for some positions we need generalists that want to become more specialized eventually. We are in a hyper-growth stage, so we’re focused on positions with more specialized skills.

Companies across the world are dealing with talent shortages — people are calling it ‘the Great Resignation.’ How is Veriff working to overcome that?

By offering a fair compensation package from the beginning. A significant problem during the pandemic is that a lot of companies took advantage of people's despair, and now that the market is ramping up, a lot of them have decided to accept better opportunities in other organizations. Another key aspect is to be agile, and being open to adapt to the talent requirements and the changing trends. Having rigid procedures regarding working from the office or fixed time schedules won’t help you as a company, and will make the talent look elsewhere.  

What do you see are some of the key trends in recruitment this year that scaling companies need to keep in mind while attracting talent?

Hybrid work. If you require people to be 100% in the office for jobs that can easily be done online, you’ll sink when it comes to getting the best talent. 

Work/life balance. Offering flexible working times is incredibly attractive to people since it allows them to carry out their other life responsibilities and oscillate between both aspects in a successful manner.

Fair compensation. Conduct regular salary band research for your industry and location. It is imperative to stay aligned with the bands and keep an eye on the market. 

To sum up, let’s do a speed round of questions:

Working remotely or in the office?

Hybrid. I love the fact that Veriff offers that flexibility! 

Best thing about working and living in Barcelona?

Awesome career opportunities, super international, lovely weather, and a huge selection of amazing restaurants and cafés. 

One reason to join Veriff?

Knowing that you are contributing to a huge mission — making the internet a safer place for everyone.