Patrick Joosten: the new Sales Director at HRlinkIT and Minggo

6 Questions for Patrick Joosten, the New Sales Director at HRlinkIT and Minggo.

1. You’ve been with HRlinkIT and Minggo for about a month now. What stood out to you when you first started?

Patrick: “Definitely the ambition of the organization. We want to make progress, continue developing, improve, and grow. I also see a lot of opportunities, so the driven salesperson in me gets really excited about that. I’m already in full swing with conversations with clients, partners, and prospects, and that’s really enjoyable! At the same time, I’m still discovering a lot and looking ahead to 2025 and beyond. I feel incredibly welcomed. The team consists of hardworking people who are eager to move forward. It’s great to be part of that!”

2. You have 18 years of experience in sales, 11 of which were in IT recruitment and 7 in SaaS solutions. How does this background help you in your new role?

Patrick: “My experience means that I’m familiar with many of the challenges staffing organizations and corporate recruitment departments face. I’m well-acquainted with a lot of tools and also understand the implementation and optimization processes.”

“Over those 18 years, I’ve held many roles in the sales process or in implementation projects: from user/customer to solution provider, and even SI partner. So, when I speak to colleagues, partners, clients, or prospects about their challenges, it feels very familiar to me. I hope this helps me be valuable both internally and externally. That said, there’s always much to learn because technology is developing so rapidly. So, relying only on the past is not an option.”

3. Recruitment technology continues to evolve at a fast pace. What’s your perspective on this?

Patrick: “Of course, AI and automation are the big buzzwords right now. A lot is happening, and much more is yet to come. The real value will be in distinguishing what truly adds value from what is just unnecessary fluff. Additionally, a personal approach and ease of use—for recruiters, candidates, and clients—will become even more important, combined with speed.”

“It should feel like a tailored solution for the end user, where you can quickly view and exchange information. And yet, the tools themselves shouldn’t be custom-built but should be based on standards that allow flexibility for customization or expansion. If something’s clunky or complicated, forget it—it takes too long. On to another solution (read: a competitor)! That’s how your customer or consumer thinks.”

“Our role at HRlinkIT is to be a genuine partner, helping our clients avoid overly complex solutions, setups, or unnecessary tools during the implementation or optimization process. We aim to offer solid standards that add value.”

“With our platform, Minggo, the same applies but from a product perspective: clear, valuable standard solutions that continue to evolve and can be easily integrated and adapted as needed or desired.”

4. With so much recruitment software on the market, it can be overwhelming for agencies. How do you ensure they can see the forest for the trees?

Patrick: “By always starting at the beginning: where do you want to go, and what do you want to achieve? From there, you look at which tools best support those goals. You start with the objectives and then peel back from must-haves to nice-to-haves. You try to stick as closely as possible to standards in the basics. When you have in-depth conversations and are willing to be critical with your client and yourself, you’ll usually end up with a limited, and therefore manageable, selection.”

“Then, you dive deeper, looking at your needs and whether the tools add value there. In the end, everything is a choice. There are pros and cons to everything. It’s our job to clearly highlight this with strong arguments and provide transparent, honest advice.”

5. What do you think will be the biggest ‘game changer’ in recruitment technology in the coming years? What are you personally most excited about?

Patrick: “Minggo, of course! 😉 Our no-code platform offers so many possibilities for what I mentioned earlier: providing a personal approach and ease of use for clients, candidates, and agencies. We integrate tools to transfer or enrich data and can automatically display or request information at any time for each role (client, candidate, or recruiter) through a user-friendly interface. It’s great for both the candidate and the client! And for the recruiter, it eliminates the need to switch between different tools to view information or input data manually. Within one interface, we can even link multiple sources. Efficient for the recruiter and easy to use! This way, we enrich other recruitment solutions.”

6. You place a high value on open communication and honesty in your work relationships. How do you apply this in your collaboration with clients and your team?

Patrick: “That’s correct. Honesty, trust, intention, and development are the foundation for me. Everyone should be given trust from the start. Honesty means sharing your opinion and also being clear about what you can and can’t do.”

“Additionally, I have a genuine intention to do my job as well as I can and to continuously develop myself. If something does go wrong unexpectedly, you learn from it and solve it with that same intention.”

“When you take the above as the foundation, it also means that everything should be open for discussion. And I truly believe that. If we interact this way within the team, we make each other better. And we also do the same with our clients and partners, and they do the same with us.”

Want to brainstorm an idea? Schedule a free online conversation with Patrick.