I wrote, "I recommend my wife as a tech recruiter."
I wrote an original post in December 2021. My wife was looking for a job and trying a new career then. After I posted, her friends and acquaintances recommended her. It went viral. My wife met with over 20 companies and is now a tech recruiter. It's a fantastic accomplishment.
The link below is to a post written in Korean at the time. I also translate and publish in English now.
Jongjin Choi
In English below
First, I'm writing to share a little about my wife, who doesn't promote herself often. I have a small hope that this post will be of interest to companies hiring tech recruiters, educational institutions and companies running boot camps, startup-related organizations (accelerators, government agencies) whose job it is to connect talent, etc. (It's a small hope, but I really hope so).
The bookmarked link below is a post I wrote first in Notion. - it's about the same thing, so feel free to read it at your available time.
1. She has a warm heart.
Shortly after my wife and I found a small office and started working together, the office of a company (then called Aurora Planet) run by our now-acquainted friends Jung Kim Jin-won Kim caught fire. When my wife heard the news, she didn't hesitate for a second and immediately grabbed some dry towels.
My honest opinion was these. We don't know Aurora Planet company. Also, we've only met them once. Wouldn't they be uncomfortable with strangers like us offering to help them? Is it okay to go? How could she act like that?" and so on.
Anyway, I arrived and tried my best to help out, and that's how we met Jung Kim and Jin-won Kim.
To this day, when I ask my wife, "Why did you go to help if you didn't even know them at the time?" she replies, " Even if you don't know, you should help, didn't you?" Even if I ask her on facebook messenger 10 minutes ago, her answer is always the same. Honestly, I think it's one of the most beautiful things about her. I don't know how she can be so casual in their goodwill when so many are only looking out for their own interests.
2. She has a superpower to Draw People In
I was running a coworking space called 'Hive Arena' near the Gangnam area for three years with my wife. It was known as a coworking space where software engineers visited often, and domestic and foreign engineers worldwide visited our space.
During our early days, we faced a challenge promoting our coworking space because we didn't have a budget to promote it domestically and internationally.
However, as time passed, I noticed something strange. At first, just one or two foreigners accidentally came, but some used the space regularly. What was fascinating was that these foreigners had one thing in common. They didn't recognize the name Hive Arena (because it was new), but they knew my wife's name.
On his first visit, one friend asked me, "Is Hyekyung here?" I stumbled over my words. "Yes, she is here." It happened more than once. And I couldn't help but wonder how he knew my wife's name, being new to Korea from the States.
I asked them, "How did you know about her name?" They responded, saying they heard about her from a friend who visited our space. This friend received a referral from another friend, and foreign developers recommended her through word of mouth. "If you find a coworking space in Seoul, look for HyeKyung."
It was fascinating to see that every foreign engineer using our space at the time had never met each other before, but every single one of them came because they knew my wife's name. Hive Arena got featured on Forbes and FastCompany with little effort. Thanks to her superpower.
In conclusion, my wife has the superpower to draw people in. Her ability to connect with people and make them feel welcome is a fantastic gift.
3. She likes people and knows how to win people's hearts.
I asked her, "Why do you like software engineers?" she answered that they're just cool people to build something to help people. When I was running a coworking space, one day, my wife made me a serious proposal. She said, "There's a Python developer meetup called Pyjog, and they're looking for a space, so why don't we bring them to our space?" I met Kim Seul, who runs Pyjog.
We met and talked with Kim Seul, who runs Pyjog, and Pyjog held until we converted to coliving space. Since then, similar things have happened. We collaborated with various developer meetups for a long time, including Seoul Tech Society, 9XD, Seoul Bitcoin Meetup, and Learn to Code.
She even suggested a meetup with foreign developers. Kevin, who was working as an Elixir developer then, was hesitant about running an Elixir Meetup. When my wife heard about it, she said, "Why don't you open it up? I'll sponsor our space. Why don't you do it?" And so the Elixir meetup became a regular event. That's how it started, and Kevin was a speaker at the Elixir Europe Conference 2017. It may not have happened if she hadn't suggested it.
Seoul Tech Society was similar: I met with Victoria and Alex, who struggled to organize meetings because they couldn't find a space, and my wife suggested they host their meetup at Hive Arena. Looking back, They had never met her. My wife didn't hesitate to send a proposal. When I asked them later, they said they'd had similar offers, which hadn't worked out, so they were thinking about her proposal, 'Can we trust this person?
And something awe-inspiring happened. At the last meeting, before Victoria and Alex returned to their countries, A lot of people came, close to 100 people. As we said goodbye, Victoria mentioned that Seoul Tech Society could run like this because we had another co-organizer Hyekyung. She honored my wife in front of the participants.
When I watched, it was incredible how my wife gained people's trust. She doesn't brag, and she doesn't show off. In the end, she wins people's hearts. That's an incredible ability.
Finally.
Finally, thank you for reading this far. More than 90% of this post is promoting my wife. Whenever I see her eyes light up, especially when she talks about the people around her that she has a crush on, I wish my wife a job that allows her to use her skills to their fullest potential.
So, with a bit of shamelessness, I write this. My wife doesn't even know I'm writing this (I'm sneaking it in). She's the kind of person who's very embarrassed to promote herself. When I ask her, "Why don't you just say you have experience and skills?" she says, "I like the quiet role of making others shine. If I can laugh with the people I've helped, that's good enough for me."
Isn't she amazing? I hope she impacts a lot of people, especially women like her, a woman, Asian and Working moms, on a bigger stage, a global stage. That's my little wish as a partner for her life.
Recommendations from friends.
I attached some recommendations from her friends at that time.
Now
As mentioned, she is a technical recruiter at a Korean blockchain startup. She is working in a new field where she can utilize her skills.
She strives to make a difference in the tech industry as a working mom. She recently spoke at Woman TechMakers Korea 2023, sharing how she overcame a career break.
If you're interested in a quick coffee chat or want more information, you can reach out directly at her email address and Linkedin, Twitter.