The Post: Talent Acquisition Lead, Hypixel Inc.
The Post Holder: Holly Johnstone
Strong communication skills, good self-motivation and plenty of patience are key to Holly Johnstone’s role as a Talent Acquisition Lead.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
My career started at the age of 16 in a local restaurant, I then moved into retail and would find myself there for the next 10 years as I completed my studies and raised my son. I climbed the ladder from sales assistant to supervisor to sales manager during this time. I had some experience recruiting as a sales manager, and really enjoyed that aspect, but at the time never would have thought it would become my career.
In 2018, I left retail and moved on to be a Business Development Assistant, a role which saw me build lots of new relationships locally and expand my networking skills. I was studying for my Master’s degree in Human Resources at the time, and decided to move into something more aligned with my career goals. I started out in a recruitment focused role in 2019 and found my flair. I thoroughly enjoyed gaining skills and experience, the variety of my role and meeting new people from all walks of life.
In 2020, I was skimming job openings and found a recruiting role which was advertised by a local agency. It didn’t say which company the role would be for, but within the job description one line caught my eye, that the company was seeking a candidate who was ‘demonstrably passionate about their hobbies’. This said to me that the company cared about their employees as people, not just as assets. I submitted my application and met with our CEO, Noxy, and COO, Sean, for an interview. When they revealed who they were and their goals for Hypixel Inc, it was like it was meant to be! I had played on the Hypixel mini-game server with my son, who was an avid Minecraft fan, but never thought for a second there would be a link that day within the interview. They spoke about their aspirations for Hytale, for the local community, and for their employees. I was in awe of the vision, and was lucky enough to progress through the recruitment process and ultimately land the role in May of 2020.
I am coming up on three years now with Hypixel Inc, in a role and company I thoroughly enjoy being a part of, it’s not everyday you can say you work in a gaming studio in Northern Ireland.
What was your favourite subject at school?
My favourite subject at school was Business Studies, with Spanish a very close second.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so what did you study and where?
I started my degree in 2011 in Business with Human Resource Management at the University of Ulster, Magee. I completed this in 2014, then went back in 2017 to study a Masters in Human Resource Management at Queen’s.
How did you get into your area of work?
I wouldn’t say it has been something I planned for, that goes for both recruitment and the games industry. I was lucky enough to have some exposure to recruitment throughout my time in retail then take the plunge into pursuing it as a career. As for the games industry, when I was playing games as a child I would never have thought for a second it would or could be something I would work in but I am definitely glad that I applied for the role which caught my eye and led me to where I am today.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
I wanted to be a nurse until I split my head in Primary 7 and fainted at the sight of the blood!
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
Not entirely. For my role prior recruiting experience was needed, but recruitment also requires a lot of secondary and interpersonal skills like organisation, empathy and tenacity.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
Yes. There are many alternatives, university is not the only path or option. Many people I know within the industry have, like me, fallen into a recruiting role through a variety of paths.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
Strong communication skills, self-motivation, organisational skills, relationship building and a lot of patience.
What does a typical day entail?
A typical day would normally consist of interviews – these are for a range of different roles. As we hire globally, we usually interview EU/UK candidates in the morning, and shift across to the East and West Coast of America later in the afternoon. In between these we are catching up with our teams internally to keep things moving for our candidates and any additional needs that our hiring managers might have.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
The best aspect would be working with a globally dispersed team. Being able to be immersed in so many different cultures has been a great experience and has enabled me to learn a lot. We are a very passionate team and we like to have fun in what we do. The most challenging aspect would be filling some of the more specialised roles we have.
Why is what you do important?
What I do is important because we are growing the team and skill sets to meet the needs of our players and community worldwide. Since joining in 2020, the team has grown from 35 developers to now just shy of 110. Seeing the progress of Hytale has been extremely rewarding, but more importantly, we have not lost our culture during the growth.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
My advice would be networking. Use all the resources available to you.
If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?
I honestly would have no idea. The role and industry I am in now isn’t something that I had planned for but I wouldn’t change a thing.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
Try your best to relax and be yourself. Recognise that nerves are only natural but they will pass.
Describe your ideal day off.
An early coffee and a nice walk, followed by a good breakfast and some Frasier. Then a nice relaxing afternoon and an evening meal with good company.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
Make sure you find a company you will enjoy working with and find something that rings true to you. If you find a job you will love and you don’t have all of the essential skills apply anyway, what’s the worst that could happen?
Hypixel Inc will be among those taking place in this year’s RENDR Festival. Running from February 23-24 at Portview Trade Centre the festival will bring together creative minds from across the global film, gaming, animation and immersive tech industries converge to explore the space where creativity and technology collide.
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