How the Industry Leaders at DHL Find Top Talent to Fuel Company Growth

DHL is an international courier, package delivery, and express mail service provider. As a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post, it’s a global industry leader — delivering over 1.5 billion parcels each year.

Annette Monk is a recruiting partner for DHL’s ecommerce division, which is one the company’s most thriving business units. She meets with hiring managers and potential candidates to determine the right people for the job, work with them throughout the entire hiring process, and ensure smooth onboarding experiences upon hiring. 

As an experienced recruiter for tech jobs, Annette knows what it takes to get hired for these positions. Here, she shares insights into what it takes to break into the industry — regardless of background. 

What does DHL look for in potential hires? 

Many of the roles Annette is responsible for filling involve business intelligence analysis and data science. In an effort to provide career pathways for emerging tech talent, DHL has partnered with Trilogy Education Services, a 2U Inc. brand, to recruit highly skilled boot camp graduates.

“Going through a data science boot camp like the ones offered by 2U allows us to find people who have the training, but not necessarily the applied learning, to do the job,” explained Annette. “We’re able to give them an outlet to put the knowledge they gained from the boot camp to work.” 

Aside from proficiency in technical skills like Python, Power BI, and Tableau, DHL is looking for candidates who have a variety of soft skills. Annette emphasizes the importance of having great verbal, written, and interpersonal skills. In a career that requires contact with people at all levels of employment, from frontline workers to executives, it’s crucial to be a well-rounded communicator.

“Being a problem solver is a must, because any role that we have requires a level of critical thinking and the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and training to discover what options are available for issue resolution,” she said. “There will always be multiple factors at play, and it’s about having the ability to stay with a problem until you find a way to resolve it.” 

Attention to detail, the ability to deal with ambiguity, asking questions, assertiveness, confidence, self-awareness, and thinking tactically are also key traits recruiters like to see in candidates, she adds. 

Why is it a good time to break into the industry? 

Tech has historically been dominated by men. However, companies across the globe are now making efforts to diversify the industry and provide people from all backgrounds with opportunities for career growth — especially women.

“Now more than ever, it’s the right time to hire women,” said Annette. “Companies are ramping up hiring efforts, and the market is very open and progressive. With that, and everything that’s gone on socially in the world, companies are more apt to consider women as well as other cultural differences that they may not have been as open to in the past.”

As an industry with continuous growth potential, technology will always offer candidates promising career paths. Similarly, companies will always need professionals who can measure business insights and make sense of data, making an education in tech a worthwhile investment.

“Technology is always going to be progressively growing and becoming more dynamic as different technologies become available,” said Annette. “There are always growth and learning opportunities, so it’s a good time to just apply and go after whatever it is you aspire to do.”