Our approach: from first conversation to long after the placement

For us, a placement is not the finish line but a checkpoint. We guide candidates before, during and long after their first day. Where most agencies are done once someone starts, that is exactly where we get going.

We call our candidates 'not-so-ordinary talent': students and young professionals you don't recognise by their CV, but by how they work, learn and take ownership. As an employer, you benefit directly. A well-guided candidate shows up prepared, doesn't drop out between offer and start date, and stays longer.

Below you'll find what every candidate goes through with us, and what you get out of it. Our selection process is the same for both routes: working students through StudentFlex and permanent roles through TalentSpark. What differs is the guidance during the placement.

Looking for talent? Looking for talent?

Trusted by 100+ customers

We know our candidates before you need them

The best candidates rarely respond to a job ad. They have plenty of options and only start looking around when someone actively reaches out. If you want to hire well, you have to reach those people yourself. That is why we don't wait for a vacancy, but continuously build our Community of students and young professionals.

Every candidate we introduce, we have spoken to personally and face-to-face. We know how someone works, learns and communicates before you meet them. So you don't get CVs we just received; you get people we already know.

What does our selection process look like? The five phases

1. Attract: we build the pool before you fish in it

We grow our Community through our network, partnerships, events and social media. Candidates join us because they want to grow, not just because they need a side job.

What this means for you: we don't just fish in the pool of active job seekers; we also give you access to talent you would never reach with a job ad.

2. Get acquainted: face-to-face intake plus the Talent Compass

After signing up, every candidate has a personal intake, always face-to-face. We look beyond the CV: what drives someone, how they pick up new things, where they want to go.

Before the intake we map how someone works with the Talent Compass: our behaviour-based questionnaire that measures seven competencies, from curiosity to stakeholder communication. We bring the report into the conversation, so it is about behaviour and development from the start, instead of only about the CV.

Before we introduce anyone to you, we have held at least two to three conversations. At Houthoff, where we have been filling support roles with working students since 2018, that is the fixed standard. Use cases.
For you, this means: every introduction comes with a profile outline that explains who someone is and why we believe it will work in your team. Backed by data, not just gut feeling.

3. Advise and prepare: every interview prepared, every interview evaluated

We have already gone through the role and their motivation before we introduce anyone to you. After that we stay right beside the candidate: we prepare every interview with you, evaluate together afterwards and think along on the contract offer, so expectations match on both sides.

This is how AI scale-up RebelsAI only spoke to a small number of highly motivated candidates who fit both technically and culturally, while we took the entire front end of the process off their hands.

The difference for you: you interview candidates who know where they are and why. No surprises at the offer stage, and hardly any drop-outs between yes and start date.

4. Guide during the job: contact at a set rhythm

We mark the first working day. After that we stay in touch at a set rhythm: how is it going, where are the friction points, what is the next step. For working students through StudentFlex we check in every six weeks. For permanent placements through TalentSpark we do so after one month, three months, six months and a year. With you, we keep the lines short, so you hear signals early instead of after the fact.

We keep that rhythm going with large clients too. At Uber, where we have worked for over ten years and placed more than 400 talents, everyone working through StudentFlex gets that six-week check-in.

In practice: you see problems coming. And because we handle the development conversations, you don't have to run those on the side.

5. Network and development: growing during the placement

Everyone we place stays part of the Community, whichever route they came through. In our Career Impact Lab they work on competencies that add value in any role, from stakeholder management to using AI smartly and critically. Because 'not-so-ordinary' is not something you stay by default.

Why this matters to you: if you work with working students through StudentFlex, you are building your own pipeline along the way. The working student supporting your processes today may well be your permanent hire in two years.

At Freeday, half of all Data & AI students transitioned into permanent AI Software Engineer roles. At Adyen, 194 of our talents have been converted to permanent contracts. Explore the use cases.

Matching on behaviour, backed by data

We select on 'character over skills'. Experience can be taught, character can't. That is why we look for grit, curiosity and accountability, and measure two competencies that make the difference in any growing organisation:

'Tech savviness': how fast someone makes new technology their own. Not what you know today, but how quickly you adapt when the tools change.

'Customer-first mindset': keeping the person your work serves at the centre. A client, a colleague, whoever is on the other end.

These two axes are not standalone scores; they are built up from seven underlying competencies: curiosity, learning by doing, analytical thinking, technical proficiency, stakeholder communication, empathy, and translating customer insights. Some questions count towards tech savviness, some towards the customer-first mindset, and some towards both.

The Talent Compass makes this measurable and visible. The questionnaire takes five to ten minutes, and the report shows where someone is naturally strong and where there is room to grow.

On top of that, we attach one or two core competencies to every vacancy, so we can also match on data. That data is never decisive, but it does let us have a much sharper conversation about whether a candidate truly has it in them.

What does this approach get you?

Instead of a stack of CVs, a small number of quality introductions: candidates who are interested, motivated and fit your culture

Candidates who show up prepared and motivated

Speed: working students through StudentFlex often within a few weeks, permanent roles through TalentSpark within roughly 3 months. At the start of a new partnership we take a little more time, because we want to get to know your organisation first.

Less drop-out, because guidance continues after the start

A talent pipeline: today's working students are tomorrow's permanent hires

The numbers

Guidance that continues is not a soft promise. You can see it in the numbers:

16,500+ talents in our Community
100+ clients, from start-up to corporate
74% of our candidates at Uber stay on
70% at Houthoff move on to a permanent contract

More figures per client can be found in our use cases.

Veelgestelde vragen

What is the difference between temporary staffing and recruitment & selection?

Temporary staffing involves flexible, temporary employment, with the employment contract managed through us. With recruitment & selection, the candidate is hired directly by your organisation. We offer both options and advise you on which approach best suits your situation and stage of growth.

How does a recruitment agency like Talent Sourcing Partner work?

We start with an introductory conversation about your organisation, the role and the team. We then actively approach candidates from our Community and speak to them personally. You don't get a stack of CVs, but a small number of quality introductions with context per candidate. After the placement, our guidance continues.

What happens after the placement?

The guidance simply continues. We discuss with the candidate how the job is going and where their development is heading, and feed relevant signals back to you. That way the match keeps working in the long run too.

How do you prepare candidates for our interviews?

We discuss the company and the role in our first conversation with the candidate. In the preparation call we go a step further: we challenge the candidate on how best to explain their strengths. We expect them to have done their own research too. Afterwards we evaluate together. So you speak to candidates who have genuinely looked into your organisation.

What if the match doesn't work out after all?

Then we hear about it quickly, precisely because of the regular check-ins. First we discuss what is going on and whether it can be resolved. If not, we find a replacement. With flexible deployment through StudentFlex, that replacement is often in place within a few weeks.

What is the Talent Compass?

A five-to-ten-minute behaviour-based questionnaire that maps seven competencies, including curiosity, analytical thinking and stakeholder communication. We bring the report into the intake and the matching. We can also run it across your entire team, as a starting point for a real conversation about development.

Get in touch for a team scan.