Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Summit Interview with Simon De Matteo

 
Summit Interview with Simon De Matteo

1.  How did you get into recruiting? I fell into it, like most people I never wanted to get into the industry, I just saw a job advertised when I just finished university and it was looking for a “graduate resourcer”, I didn’t know what a resourcer was, but I was a graduate, so thought I was half qualified at the very least.
2.  What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I never answer the home phone…unless my wife makes me.  I also play the didgeridoo
3.  What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in 2013?
  • To maintain at least the delivery levels of last year which was a record year for Walmart Canada, but also put more rigor around measuring quality of hire.
  • To have a supply chain of talent outside of the business ready to hire on demand. 
  • To leverage systems and technology better without compromising output and delivery
4.   What do you like most about your current job? What do you dislike?  That I hold the keys to allowing the best talent to enter the biggest company on the planet.  Success or failure of Walmart rests in the hands of recruitment.  What do I dislike?  There’s nothing that stands out, if I start to dislike something, I tend to address or change it quickly.
5.    Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others?  People who say “anyhoo”
6.   What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? The people and the culture.  It’s very unique and resonates with me personally.  It’s a very friendly atmosphere, but one where even though people feel constrained in an EDLC environment, great things are achieved through creativity and collaboration. All of these factors make it very easy to sell to prospective candidates
7.  When does the day start for you? 4.30 AM, get up and head off to the gym
8.  What was your first impression of NWA and Bentonville?  That people were unnervingly friendly.  I’ve never seen so many friendly people before, I felt like I was in the Truman show
9.   When you are off work how you do relax?  Work out at the gym, go cycling with my children, cook, go for drinks with friends
10.   A few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List:  Walk the Inca trail -Macchu Pichu, scuba diving a sunken wreck, win a 10k race, break a world record in something
11.  Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc): From a small village in England, went to 2 universities and then moved to London where I lived and worked in recruitment for 6 years, now living in Toronto, Canada.  Wife Lynn, 2 Children Ethan 9 & Eloise 7.  2 Diplomas & a BA Hons degree in Business & Finance
12.  If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why?  I’d have a bit of a dinner party and invite: Karl Pilkington, Josef Mengele, Henry Rollins….should make quite an interesting conversation
13. What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit?  The fact we actually feel like a global team with the same ideas and collective direction for the next 12 months
14.   If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on?  That Walmart global had a centralized talent mapping function
15.   Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to___: there is no fortune, I create my own destiny___”
16.   Where do I spend most of my disposable income:  Vacations, music, gadgets…..children!
17.   One word to sum me up: Passionate
 

No comments:

Post a Comment