Meet our team: Tawfik Boujida
As all freelancers know: some of the recruiters out there, tend to be cowboys. ‘Our’ Tawfik Boujida is the opposite. He values personal connection over anything else. Having freelanced as an IT professional himself, he knows exactly what you guys are looking for. Companies, from their perspective, can count on honest advice on what freelancers need to know from them. High time to introduce this one in a million expert!
Tell us a bit about yourself, who’s Tawfik?
Tawfik Boujida: “I’ve just begun my journey here at addon and I’m curious to see what happens, as I’ve actually been a freelance IT professional myself for a long time. I once started out as a consultant and switched to freelancing after a mere five years. The help desk was my first station, later on I became service desk coordinator and then system engineer. I loved my project so much, that I stayed there (too) long. Something I wouldn’t recommend to other, but more about that later.”
“Why the switch to recruitment and to addon? I’d done some recruitment on the side already and I knew Youssef from a previous work encounter. When the opportunity rose to start here, I didn’t really give it a second thought. I wanted to change things up and make a difference for other freelance IT profiles. As addon’s still relatively young, I’ve got the freedom here to take initiative, help addon grow and become (and remain) an established player. I’m very excited to see how we’ll evolve and I’m keen to make it work, together with Youssef!”
How will your freelancing and IT experience help you as recruiter?
Tawfik: “Only some months ago, I was in the exact same shoes as the people I’ll be recruiting and helping. An enormous advantage as opposed to other recruiters, if you ask me. I’m familiar with the world of freelancers; I lived in it. I understand their concerns, I can ask questions some recruiters wouldn’t even think of, and I know a thing or two about the technologies they want to work with. In other words: I can translate the client’s mission perfectly to a freelancer and help both parties. Honestly, I think I’m the ideal link between the two.”
What can freelancers and clients come to you for?
Tawfik: “Virtually anything. I think I have a clear understanding of what I should be attentive to and how I can help everyone. Freelancers tend to focus on the details, while I can shift their attention to other, more important things. Clients on the other hand, don’t always have a realistic expectation of the profile they want to hire. I think it’s interesting that I can tell both of them what’s good about their offerings and what could be better.”
“The technologies I’m most into myself are anything infrastructure, networking and system engineering. Interestingly enough for me, addon’s mostly been investing in development profiles and project managers. I’ll be able to build our clientele a bit and bet on those infrastructure professionals some more. Looking forward”
How will you make a difference, as a recruiter at addon?
Tawfik: “Truly, by communicating differently from other recruiters, I think. I’ll treat any freelancer as if they were colleagues, and I’ll recruit as though it would be for myself (laughs). It’s no use to treat freelancers like ‘royalty’, as some recruiters do, if you can’t speak their technical language, or if you don’t know how to bring them projects that’ll suit them perfectly. I do believe that I’ve got a competitive edge there, having been a freelance IT professional myself. I’m their peer, and I’ll continue to be their peer to the best of my abilities.”
“That being said, I am just as committed to keep learning. Trends come and go, and the market is continuously evolving. I will make it my business to keep on top of things.”
What are your biggest tips for freelancers and companies?
Tawfik: “I’d tell freelancers to step out of their comfort zones. Like I said, I stayed at a client for way too long myself. Sure, it’s nice, but you (and your technical capabilities) get rusty. You become a sort of glorified consultant. Why would you be a freelancer, then? Freelancing entails such freedom to explore, to job hop and learn more about people and businesses and technologies and sectors and cultures and … Take that advantage! Don’t give it up to ‘be safe’. We’ve got enough projects to offer, trust us, so just go for it.”
“To companies, I’d give the tip to really think about what they want, as specifically as they can. Let your technical people talk to us and tell us what the technical requirements of the job are. Too often, we’re in an interview with a candidate, and suddenly brand-new info drops. That’s such a pity, and we at addon lose face as freelancers then think we didn’t do our homework. So, it’s a tip and a furtive plea at the same time (laughs).”
Hey! We are addon. As we want to keep our personal and human values high, we welcome anyone who wants to contribute to our story and mission. Don’t be shy to contact us: we’re approachable, available and we can’t wait to meet you!
