ONIee of the week - Talent Specialist

We're excited to reveal more about a day in the life here at ONI. This week we're talking to our Talent Specialist and Blog Author - Chris Best! 

Introducing ONIee of the week

Tell us about yourself Chris...

Before joining ONI I was working for a recruitment company where I specialised within the Life Sciences industry. I was speaking with a candidate one day when I heard about ONI, I was instantly curious and keen to work with such amazing technology. We started collaborating and after placing 15 people in to the business I was approached about a position here.

Why did you choose to join ONI?

ONI has ambitious goals, it's great to be part of the team supporting those. I am not a scientist and therefore can't contribute to some of the more technical challenges but I am able to help by bringing those individuals into the business. It's a slightly over-used phrase but I am genuinely learning something new every single day, sometimes about general business operations but more often than not about science. I have to admit that science was not my favourite subject at school, however I think that's because I didn't understand how it was applied to every-day life. Since joining ONI I have become so much more aware of the real life applications, I'm fascinated!

In addition to learning about science, I am also learning about different cultures/backgrounds. We have over 30 different nationalities represented at ONI which is also a new experience for me.

What do you enjoy most about working at ONI?

I am fortunate in my role that I am able to interact with most people within the business, Talent/HR is very much like that. Initially when I joined I really enjoyed working with people that I had previously dealt with at my former company, seeing them be successful here gives me a real sense of satisfaction. 

I think if I had to highlight one key area it would be seeing the company grow and become successful. We have an 'all hands' meeting once a month and we get to hear about the different projects that people are working on. I find these meetings truly inspirational and feel genuinely privileged to be here.

What do you do on a daily basis?

Excellent question! My role is always evolving and that's one thing I love about being here, no day is ever the same. Broadly speaking, I am responsible for sourcing potential candidates, screening and interviewing them alongside our Head of Talent and the hiring managers. In addition to that I liaise with our external recruitment partners, meet with hiring managers and try and challenge myself every day.

As I eluded to earlier though we are encouraged to take on and own as much as we want to, like this blog for example. I am a huge believer in our brand I want to tell the world about us. I'm always keen to speak with people, I love talking! It doesn't matter whether you're actively looking for a new role now or whether you won't be looking for another 6 months - it's good to talk.

Why would you encourage readers to reach out to ONI Talent Team?

I would encourage people to reach out to learn more about us. We have some incredible technology and I truly believe that we are on the verge of something incredible. I feel as though sometimes there is this perception that you must have a PhD to work at a company like ours, that's not true - I don't have a degree!

I would also say that until you’re here you don't realise how special ONI is. Whilst I was working at my former company I knew that the technology here was good and that the people were special, but not this special.

I often speak to people and they say that they've been tracking our progress for a while but never reached out for a chat, please do reach out. If there isn't an open vacancy that suits your skill-set right now, there may be again in the future - so let's get the process started.

Tell us something that we might not know about you...

I was born on Christmas day and I once snapped my humerus whilst arm wrestling a barman in Turkey, which was anything but funny!

Thank you!

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