Why Us | Optima Europe

We're Optima Search | Europe & America and the story behind our business isn’t a typical one.
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Most recruitment companies were formed during the recruitment boom of the 1980s, and since then, these companies have constantly struggled to reinvent themselves as staffing agencies, job agencies, job placement agencies, employment agencies, career development agencies … we could go on all night.

Then came the ’90s .com boom, and before you knew it, every other website was a recruitment website. But with Optima Search, we know what we are and we keep it simple.

We’re international recruitment agency headquartered in London, UK, with a twist.
Optima's founder, had worked for many years as EMEA in-house recruitment and talent manager for a number of software vendors such as Adobe-Omniture, Salesforce-ExactTarget, Oracle-Maxymiser. Prior to this, he was part of an international recruitment agency supporting clients such as Nike, GE, Western Union, Philips, Experian etc.

This way Kris saw the recruitment game from both sides of the spectrum. He understood the needs of the applicants who were eagerly looking to be placed in the jobs of their dreams, and he also noticed the heavy burden – both in terms of financial and time – that was being placed on the companies looking for new talent.

We are different!

As a former in-house Talent Acquisition Manager, Kris (The Founder) witnessed his fair share of online recruitment agencies that failed to live up to client expectations. In his day-to-day work he often observed recruiters that were only interested in hitting sales targets with little regard for the quality of work delivered. And it is this mantra that forms the very antithesis of everything Optima Search stands for.

We know what challenges lie in quality online recruitment and how time-consuming the internal processes for finding and hiring top talent can be. Endless CVs to review, laborious screening processes, and not enough hours in the day to make a truly informed decision; enter Optima Search.

What sets Optima apart from the competition is that the majority of the work can be done remotely; most of the time there is no need for clients to endure arduous face-to-face meetings to map out all the requirements and expectations.

We have the skills and experience to find the right talent for the client, which meets the need, while also providing high quality candidates … in impressive volumes.

This is a particularly rare paradigm in today’s hyper competitive recruitment market.

Optima is an EMEA wide recruitment evangelist that delivers a very high quality service.

Our client network is growing organically every day – the team’s networking and client recommendations prove it well. And large and smaller software houses and B2C enterprises alike have recognised this.

Our clients are diverse and equally impressive.

No Time to read? No problem!

EMEA & USA Recruitment

We specialise in recruiting in the following areas: Sales, Marketing, Professional Services, Operations and Executive Search. Optima supports world-class brands and early-stage IPOs.

Since 2013, our core service offering has specialised in helping US companies expand into Europe and European companies enter the US market, drawing on our extensive experience and proven track record.

Executive Leadership Table Talks

This is our unique online platform to exchange leadership experiences and thoughts. Opportunity to learn from other peers / senior business leaders, but also nourish and inspire each other.

Optima's 10 Year Anniversary

In 2013, Optima challenged the norm and prevailed,
Working in flip flops, our spirits never derailed.
Optima, a consultancy wide and vast,
Recruiting with transparency, built to last.
But can they find candidates with flair,
Who seek space travel or a countryside affair?
High-quality candidates they boast,
But what if their candidates prefer to ghost?
Transparency and integrity, they always maintain,
But can they spot a candidate who's just in it for the fame?
With nearly 90% clients singing their acclaim,
They truly excel in this business game
With an 85% project completion rate they boast,
What of the other 15%, who need them the most?
Over 50 B2B clients they've found,
But who are the unlucky ones left on the ground?

Typical Scenario

Europe is our core activity and we work with well-established companies either scaling up their operations or looking for new, fresh talent. We do also support intercontinental high growth clients, ranging across North America and Australasia.

A common situation could be a client that has an established team in its home country but is looking for help with initiating operations in Europe/EMEA. And that is where we come in. We help the client turn their European start-up operations into a smoothly running and well-organised machine; we often increase our clients’ global headcount by up to 50% … and it is the fact that Optima Search can take on the sizeable burden of sourcing and hiring this talent, that makes all the difference to our clients. So, in a nutshell, we’re a young and dynamic boutique consultancy in London UK with a serious recruitment company pedigree that goes right across the board in terms of industry, geolocation and requirements.

We draw customers globally!

We’re a European business, yet our track record is truly global. Yes, the UK market – you could call it our recruitment “bread and butter”, yet, that said, 35% of our business is in Germany. We also serve French, Nordic, Southern Europe, APAC and the USA regions, meaning our view of recruitment is a truly comprehensive one.

Our clients come in all shapes and sizes; they may be software vendors like Emarsys, Tableau, Snowflake, Hootsuite or Exponea, or even more B2C-focused entities, such as Lebara. And this is the other great thing about us: we’re malleable to your needs and can support different requirements.If you need client services specialists, we have them. If you require more help on the digital side, we can help you. If you are searching for a new Sales Director or Senior-level Executive, we have the capabilities and track record to support you.

Our Core Values

Optimism

Our daily approach is to maintain a positive mindset. This is the key to enjoying our work, and this positivity carries through to the service we offer our clients.

Professionalism

We deliver on time and provide a high-quality service, leaving our customers with a memorable experience that translates into long-term cooperation.

Transparency

We operate based on trust and openness – when you work with us you get a clear view of the full picture. This enables us to maintain the integrity of our work and foster an honest and thus productive relationship with you, the client.

Integrity

We conduct ourselves in line with the very principles this section outlines, ensuring we always adhere to our own high standards.

Money Back

Each year we give back to society by donating a percentage of our profits to charities.

Action

Whether we’re at work or pursuing our hobbies in our free time, we always give 100% to anything we put our mind too; after all, you get out what you put in!

Thanks to a wide network of contacts OPTIMA sourced a relevant Sales Director.

The Result

Recruitment process was finalised within 2 weeks.

Clients of our online recruitment services

Testimonials

“Optima is incredibly efficient in the recruitment process. They went really into details to understand our needs and culture in order to select the right candidates. They are also very persuasive to the ones who made sense for our company and very supportive to us. I do not often recommend partners but this time I do without hesitation!”

Jean-René Boidron



President & CEO

Kameleoon

“Working with Optima was almost like working with an internal recruiter in terms of response times, alignment, and understanding the search criteria as well as the relevant experience and cultural considerations”

Ohad Hecht



CEO & Co-Founder

Prodport & Emarsys

“I love working with Optima as they are very structured, process driven and deliver the right results across different markets worldwide”

Scott Rogers



VP Global Channels & Alliances

Akeneo

“I’ve worked with many recruiters over the years and have always tried two have a mixed portfolio of agencies. My rationale being that sometimes I need a larger agency with wide coverage to get a recruitment drive moving fast. Optima, although not the largest recruitment agency, have consistently outperformed all other agencies on my books with in terms of quality and quantity of candidates. As a result, I have for the first time in my recruiting history considered an exclusive relationship. Please keep up the good work Optima!”

Eddy Swindell



Co-Founder/CRO

Fresh Relevance (DotDigital)

“Optima helps us with highly qualified candidates in a tough environment. They perfectly understand our business and our needs, which makes them an outstanding partner in the research of the top profiles we are looking for.”

Timo Von Focht



Country Manager DACH

Mixpanel

“I have had the experience of working with Optima Europe on both sides, as both a candidate and hiring manager and in both cases I was extremely happy with the services provided. They are a niche boutique recruitment house with a personalised approach. Their expertise and wide network in the digital space translate to their ability to provide high quality candidates. Finally, they care about people and build long-term relationships. I’ll be working with them again to make one of my next hires in my new role”

Carolyn Branco



Chief Marketing Officer

“I can strongly recommend Optima, as they combine a broad knowledge of our industry with a deep sense for our individual needs. The fitting rate of their candidates is extra-ordinary.”

Michael Witzenleiter



CEO

Conversion Maker GmbH

“Optima is always diligent in their search and deliver the quality we require”

Ian Scarr



Regional Director - Customer Success

Aforza

“Optima have been instrumental in helping us with niche roles. They have a partnership approach and their boutique focus rather than a one size fits all approach makes them a great search firm to work with”

Naleena Gururani



Chief People Officer

Hyperoptic

“The team at Optima are honest, punctual and super proactive”

Andrew Howe



VP Operations

RTB House

“Optima is a recruitment expert with thorough understanding of staffing industry across EMEA markets. They have the ability to identify most efficient candidate sourcing strategy, map the target markets/companies, attract talent and manage full recruitment cycle. Optima looks at innovative solutions and utilizes their networking skills effectively. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending them as recruitment service provider”

Dominika Nowak Krol



Talent Director

Sanoma Learning

“Working with Optima is always a pleasure. Not only they are extraordinary headhunters and highly skilled recruiters, but unique talent for finding the best resources around for pretty much any role. Their network and long experience has put Optima on the map as one of the most capable recruiting organizations around in London and I’m looking forward to follow the company’s growth and evolution over the next couple of years. Sincerely my very best of recommendations!”

George Samuelson



Investor / Tech Entrepreneur

“I simply have not met anyone more dedicated to the needs of the candidate, Optima both promote you aggressively and support you through the process”

Matthew Kelleher



Chief Revenue Officer

“Optima Europe take time to ensure a thorough understanding of a client’s needs and the associated skills/ knowledge requirements, followed up with an in-depth market insight and candidate appraisal that is second to none in the digital market. We’ve found their corresponding candidate appraisal and recommendations of very high quality. Equally important is candidate feedback, which is consistently positive highlighting the transparency and personal support throughout the process. This has resulted in strong team building and ultimately commercial uplift.”

Mikah Martin Cruz



Group CMO

Lyca Global

“I have worked with Optima Europe for several years. They display the utmost professionalism in their work and are very detail orientated. Using all their profiling skills to select the best candidates. This attention to detail and personable approach attracts the best talent; Optima Europe is a recruitment partner you can trust and puts every effort in to get the job done. I hope to work with Optima further in the future and would have no issues in thoroughly recommending them and their credentials”

Niall O'Shea



CX Director

SAP Marketing Cloud

"Optima helped me fill several marketing positions. They really listen to your requirements, have excellent understanding of the tech market and work in a very structured and transparent way."

Martina Poehler



VP of Marketing

Enmacc, Germany

“I've used Optima for domestic and international hires and could not fault them. Really understood the brief and introduced us to some incredible talent”

Chris Edge



Chief Customer Officer

Salesfire

^{Spotting hard to find talent
‍}^{since 2013}

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