VP Team

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Director of Engineering at Turnitin. We are 1000+ employees ed-tech company with various product portfolios in writing integrity, grading and assessment, and proctoring domains. Turnitin helps teachers, instructors, and publishers to check students' work on similarity, detect authorship, handle remote exams securely, grade assessments, and provide feedback.

For what projects/services did your company hire VP Team?

We urgently needed to hire a team of top engineering talents in a very competitive market. We formed the budget before the Great resignation, so it became outdated very quickly. We were looking for high-demand specialists such as Senior Java and React engineers. We were looking for someone who also fits our values and shares our mission.

Those people need to be very good at collaboration, proactivity, accountability, and soft skills.

How did you select VP Team and what were the deciding factors?

Turnitin had been already working with the VP team before I joined the company. VP team hired me for Turnitin. I used to work with the VP team back in 2013. They helped to hire a team of engineers for Smarter Software - the US-based company that produces automation, development, and monitoring tools to build better software and applications.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The VP team helped us to hire excellent Principal backend engineers as well as Senior frontend engineers and QAs. They matched the Turnitin engineering team perfectly. These engineers are working on Writing and Exam Integrity products now. The Principal engineer became a great addition to Turnitin Architecture Group.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

At the very first they talked to hiring managers and people team members to understand which kind of person would fit the team. The VP team wanted to understand daily routines and hard skills requirements in detail. They thought about career development opportunities for candidates. We discussed the budget, created job requirements together, and decided which are must-haves and nice to have.

The VP team did a great job of translating those requirements into storytelling that is attractive to top talent candidates on the market. VP team handled several sessions with the hiring team and shared useful tips and tricks on how to attract the best class employees. It was super important since the company is also being evaluated by candidates during the interview process.

A lot of candidates decide if they are going to join the company based on their interview experience. The VP team shared weekly updates about the pipeline size, the number of sourced candidates, and prospective ones. They also provided useful feedback on how to pivot the interview process. The VP team checked in with all candidates during the probation period and even sent them small gifts for the first day at work.

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

The VP team helped us to hire excellent Principal backend engineers as well as Senior frontend engineers and QAs. They matched the Turnitin engineering team perfectly. These engineers are working on Writing and Exam Integrity products. The Principal engineer became a great addition to Turnitin Architecture Group.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I explained it in the recruitment process section. They communicated a lot with the hiring team. At the first, they tried to understand the requirements and team vibe. They also shared candidates' feedback and helped pivot the interview process.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They use a truly personalized approach to every company and every team. I hired engineers for several different teams in different companies with the VP team's help. I have a long working history with this agency from both sides - as a company and as a candidate. They remain in the leadership position in the market for years.

They were a team of professionals who were passionate about what they were doing. I would hire the VP team again for sure.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

They send really cool gifts to candidates that accepted an offer. They don't extra charge the company for this. Gifts might be cooler than the onboarding kit for employees which put us as a company in a weird situation :D

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the co-founders of Mannequin Technology. Company is building ML solutions for global industries and is specialized at the generative content.

For what projects/services did your company hire VP Team?

Our company started a development of new products and we were in urge to find senior react native and backend engineers to kick start the development

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I have heard a great feedback about VP Team from my colleagues in the industry as well as close friend who is a recruiter.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

One of the main factor for us was the speed of hiring, we had everything ready except the missing react native engineer. So we needed an experienced developer that is ready to start yesterday. The VP Team just outdid themself and we were able to conduct a first interview just in couple days after the first call and sign the offer in a week. Team was very responsive and our communication was smooth all the time. I am very happy with our collaboration process as mush as with the result.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked directly with Victoria, Marina and Violetta on the kick start session and then with Alexandra on the actual candidates and interview operations.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We hired 2 great candidates that are a great fit both in cultural and engineering areas.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was very efficient, but more important it was very positive, we get a lot of great energy from every interaction with VP team.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We like their speed of work and positive energy. They felt like part of our company.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing comes to the mind yet, hopefully there would be something after more collaborations.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm HRD at Bini Bambini. Bini Bambini is a product company and a leading developer of educational mobile games for children. We are a team of like-minded people that have built up our audience from scratch to now have more than 50 million users, all with a team of 250+ people.

Bini people are creative people – we create ideas and we create products. We have made more than 30 applications, with users scattered all over the world, including USA, Germany, France, Turkey, China, and more. Our apps work on iOS, tvOS, and Android (available on the Google Play Store and Amazon).

The team at Bini is all about atmosphere and curiosity, because creating a children's product keeps you young at heart and eager to learn about the world.

For what projects/services did your company hire VP Team?

As part of our strategy, we started searching for CEO so that our current CEO and founder can focus entirely on the vision and product direction.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

VP Team is a number one recruitment service in Ukraine IT field so there were no doubt to start working with them

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We had a detailed interview to clarify the requirements of the vacancy and our expectations. Then we worked on the preparation of a vacancy brief. Despite the complexity of the vacancy, the first relevant candidates appeared quite quickly

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We were lucky to work with Recruitment Lead of VP Team Also, on all organizational issues VP Teams COO, lawyer and CEO&founder were always in touch

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The final candidate has just started working with our company

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything was in time. We were completely happy with the processes.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Quality of the provided candidates, attention to the requirements and very nice and friendly attitude

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I think everything was really great

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of product for a research organization.

What challenge were you trying to address with VP Team?

We have a small team in the States, across L.A. and San Francisco, and my goal was to expand it with overseas engineers. We hired VP Team to help us with recruitment.

What was the scope of their involvement?

VP Team acted as our recruitment team. They looked at what resources we needed in terms of technical skill and experience, and they looked into our timeline, the project itself, and the responsibilities for the position. 

We were looking for full-stack Node.js/React developers who had AWS database experience, as the engineer would mostly focus on backend tasks. In terms of soft skills, speaking English was an important criterion. VP Team gave us a couple of suggestions for the job description, and we included their ideas to make the job offer more interesting to candidates.

They started sourcing résumés after we had finalized the job description. We ended up interviewing five people in total, but we moved forward with the first engineer that VP Team showed us. We handled the onboarding on our side, and VP Team no longer had much involvement there.

What is the team composition?

We initially interacted with their CEO and then with the operations manager or director. From there, we were assigned a recruiter with whom we had constant communication throughout the relationship. 

How did you come to work with VP Team?

I had worked with them several years ago, and this was our second round of collaboration. I was initially introduced to them by a reference.

How much have you invested with them?

They charged us a percentage of the new hire’s annual salary, and the total was $16,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took the entire month of January 2022.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

That we ended up going for the first résumé that we received from VP Team is a good evidence of how well they source qualified candidates. We did look at a few others just to compare, but we ultimately went with the first résumé.

It’s only been a month since we made the hire, and it’ll probably take three months for the developer to onboard and understand the system fully. Thus far, though, everything’s been good. VP Team did a great job finding somebody who’s technically savvy, and I have no complaints.

How did VP Team perform from a project management standpoint?

They pretty much met our expectations in terms of the timeline. When a candidate canceled a meeting, VP Team communicated the situation just in time. We mostly used Slack and emails for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a pretty good reputation in the Eastern European market, and the candidates I talked to found VP Team trustworthy. The candidates that came from them also seemed pretty committed; some had been in talks with 15 other companies but developed more interest in our company simply because of their relationship with VP Team. 

That being said, relationship management is one of VP Team’s core strengths. They talk to and create a network of great engineers. People just know this brand and the company. As their partner, I like it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In general, clients should be specific in terms of what they’re looking for. If they like the candidate, they should try to get them as soon as they can and not spend too much looking at other ones. If they keep sourcing candidates, they may lose the ones they liked in the very beginning. The market is very competitive, so people have to be fast.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an HRBP at an EdTech company. We are an internet-based company that provides plagiarism detection services.

For what projects/services did your company hire VP Team, and what were your goals?

We hired people for a variety of projects and different positions (from medium to top-level)

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We chose this vendor based on excellent feedback and recommendation

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a kick-off meeting aimed to discuss goals, requirements, the scope of work and outcomes. After that, we had plenty of catching up sessions to discuss progress

VP Team helped fill a vacancy with fairly high requirements for candidates in the shortest possible time. Immediately after the opening of the vacancy, several candidates were proposed for consideration. At the stage of formation of the application, requirements and description of the vacancy were qualitatively worked out and helped to visualize all the company's advantages.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Up to ten people: Founder, Recruiters, Operations Manager

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

I definitely recommend VP Team! They promptly responded to our requests and answered our questions.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had regular catching up meetings and communication to discuss progress via Zoom, Telegram, e-mail, telephone calls.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I would especially like to note the expert understanding of IT recruiting in Ukraine, the considerable base of candidates, and the network of contacts that have been accumulated over many years of work.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder and CEO of a custom software development company.

For what projects/services did your company hire VP Team?

Hiring a variety of people in engineering and leadership roles.

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

We connected with Vika through a referral and her visibility in the tech community. She immediately made an impression of someone who can work with complexity and ambiguity of our space.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

As a CEO, I wasn't heavily involved in the process, but I can speak to results.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

• 3-4: Founder
• Team Lead
• Recruiter

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

Some of our best people came from VPTeam, which was pretty flexible with us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had emails and calls, which felt sufficiently effective.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Vika's nuanced understanding of the market, her values, and her sense of humor were impeccable.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Set up shared Slack channels for more real-time collaboration.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Co-Founder and CTO&CPO at a fintech/blockchain startup where we building a self-custody solution for consumer investors

For what projects/services did your company hire VP Team?

We needed to expand our engineering team and find the best talent in the industry.

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

VP Team was referred to us by our connections as the best engineering recruiting firm in the region.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Our need was to find the first backend and mobile engineers for our team with experience in the industry who is passionate about what they are doing.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We were working with the founder, client manager, and recruiters for the specific positions

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

They delivered exactly what we wanted and we've closed our positions quickly!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

VP team representatives paid high attention to details about our company and positions. They responded quickly to our comments and requests.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We love the quality of their candidates, attention to detail, and highly professional approach!

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

They are the best!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Senior Director of Vimeo Ukraine Technologies,LLC

For what projects/services did your company hire VP Team?

We need highly skilled professionals with perfect English with a certain skill set, they can not be found on the employee market

How did you select VP Team and what were the deciding factors?

Quality and quantity of the closing positions

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Team work, they worked as a partner, not as a vendor

How many resources from the VP Team team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Up to 6 team member are working with us on daily basis

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

At a time when the market is candidate's, and the specialists we need are worth a lot, together with the VP Team, we have increased the company by 25% and we hope it will continue to grow.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Best quality on our market, active social responsibility position of the company

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not much, numerous cases during 3 year. They've immediately fixed issues by open communication.