Interview with Matt Doyle, Technical Recruitment Lead EMEA at Tenable
Discover how Matt Doyle, Technical Recruitment Lead EMEA at Tenable, enhanced his team’s effectiveness through the TechMap training program. Learn how investing in technical knowledge improved their recruitment success and relationships with candidates and hiring managers.
Matt Doyle
Recruiting Senior Programme Manager
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at Tenable?
Sure! My name is Matt and I’m leading Tenable’s Technical Recruiting in EMEA. In this role, I lead a team of technical recruiters in Ireland, France and Israel.
We tend to hire a large number of engineers per year and a mix of Engineers, SRE’s SDET’s and Functional Managers up to Senior Director level.
Tenable is the Exposure Management company. Today, more than 40,000 organizations around the world rely on Tenable to help them understand and reduce cybersecurity risk across their attack surface — in the cloud or on-premises, from IT to OT and beyond.
Can you tell us a little bit about the TechMap training program and what it entails?
TechMap is a training program that we bought to help our team of technical recruiters better understand the fundamentals of technology. The program covers a range of topics, including software development, data science, and cloud computing. It’s designed to give our recruiters the knowledge and skills they need to be more effective at matching candidates with job opportunities and working with hiring managers to fill open roles.
How did you come up with the idea for the TechMap training program?
What can I do as a tech recruitment leader to make us all better at our job? There isn’t a huge amount out there to invest in the professional development of a recruitment team.
TechMap allowed me to invest in my team in an area which could also help us differentiate with all tech recruiters out there. Tech recruiters are the first point of contact for tech candidates. If my team can interact better with them, build better rapport by showing them they know what they’re talking about, we’re already one step closer to winning their trust.
And fundamentally, I believed it wouldn’t hurt me and the team to become more tech-savvy, whilst giving us a time to be learning altogether.
What was the response to the program like from your team of technical recruiters?
Our team was very excited about the program and immediately saw the value in gaining a better understanding of technology. They were eager to learn and participated actively in the course materials. We received a lot of positive feedback from the team about the program, and they were grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow in their careers.
We also had people for whom English isn’t their native language, and we found no issue in them capturing the value of the course.
Can you give us some specific examples of how the TechMap training program has helped your technical recruiters be more effective in their roles?
One of the key benefits of the program is that it has enabled our recruiters to have more informed and productive conversations with both candidates and hiring managers. They’re now better able to understand the technical requirements of a role and match candidates with the right skills and experience. This has led to more successful placements and better relationships with our clients.
How has the TechMap training program impacted the overall success of your team of technical recruiters? We’ve seen a solid improvement in the performance of our technical recruiters since implementing the TechMap program. Their improved technical knowledge has meant better conversations with hiring leaders and candidates. Shortlisting is more efficient and we are better able to position opportunities on our engineering teams with top talent.
In your opinion, what sets the TechMap training program apart from other training programs for technical recruiters?
I think what sets TechMap apart is the focus on the fundamentals of technology.
Many training programs for technical recruiters focus on specific tools for Recruiting but TechMap provides a broader, more comprehensive understanding of the technologies and associated work practices. This is new for recruiters and gives them a chance to get under the hood of how technology works at a pace that works for them while always tying the learnings back to our core roles as recruiters.
Is the TechMap training program something that you would recommend to other companies looking to improve the skills of their technical recruiters?
Absolutely! The TechMap program has been incredibly valuable for our team, and I would highly recommend it to other companies looking to improve the skills of their technical recruiters. The program provides a strong foundation in the fundamentals of technology, which is essential for success in this field. It’s been a great investment for our company, and I’m confident that it would benefit other organisations as well.