A Holistic View of Space Recruiting (Part 2 of 2)

This article is a continuation of Part I: Why Space Sector Recruiting is More Than Recruiting. If you haven’t yet read Part I, we suggest that you do so now. 

At Evona, we embrace a holistic model of recruitment.  When considering the space sector as a whole, we see the function of recruitment as similar to the function of the circulatory system within an organism: it enables and manages the flow of vital resources through the system. 

We view recruitment as a vital organ of the space sector itself, existing in a symbiotic relationship with the entire industry. Just as the circulatory system delivers life-giving blood to all the different organs of the body, a recruitment system delivers the “life-blood” of innovation and productive economic activity—talented people—to all the different sub-sectors of the space industry. 

Therefore, a healthy, functioning space sector requires a recruitment infrastructure that is designed to support the needs of the sector as a whole, in addition to the needs of individual job-seekers and hiring companies. 

The Roles and Responsibilities of Space Sector Recruiters

This holistic conception of recruiting fundamentally changes how one views the roles and responsibilities of space sector recruiters. 

The more conventional approach focuses on recruitment as a relationship between individual job candidates and individual hiring companies. In this model, recruiting  is a service that benefits three parties—candidates, hiring companies, and the recruiting agency itself. 

This conventional model may be acceptable for recruiting professional athletes, but it is not acceptable within today’s space sector, where there is a great deal more at stake. 

The holistic conception of recruiting includes all of these conventional elements, but adds to it consideration of the impacts of recruitment activities on the vitality and direction of the space sector as a whole—and on the array of stakeholders who may be impacted by activities originating within the sector.

The reasons for this broader perspective are clear. Think of military recruiting in a time of war. Or recruiting into public health service at a time of global pandemic. In these contexts, it would be perverse to imagine the role of the recruiter solely in terms of earning a paycheck for signing up recruits and matching candidates to open positions, without considering the broader context that motivates the need for recruitment in the first place. 

With space sector development we can’t identify a singular goal that animates the whole enterprise, like winning a war or stopping the spread of a disease. We’re talking about open-ended, market-driven commercial activities, where we want and expect a thousand flowers to bloom. 

But we understand that this garden of commerce will be an incubator of new ideas and technologies, some of which are destined to have far-reaching impacts. Developments within the space sector will create an array of possible futures that would not have existed otherwise. Whether we have human colonies on Mars within thirty years will depend on what happens within the space sector today. 

Space Sector Recruiting is More Than Recruiting

With this bigger picture and longer view in mind, you can see why at Evona we believe that space sector recruiting is more than recruiting. 

It’s recruiting with a mission: to attract and prepare the most capable people for meaningful and fulfilling careers in the space sector; to help them find opportunities with companies that are best suited to their goals and talents; and to provide a network of human resource services that support the productive work of the space sector.

Fulfilling this mission will take us beyond the conventional match-making role of recruiters. For example, to attract and prepare the most capable people for work in the space sector, we can’t wait for them to show up at our door. We must seed the pool of candidates by providing opportunities to attract, educate and inspire talent at all ages and stages of life, from young students to late-career professionals. 

Thus, one of our aims as a space sector recruitment agency is to create awareness and inspiration throughout the education system and among the public. Students of all levels need to be aware of current and future initiatives within the space sector, and what skills and training are most useful and in demand. And they need to be exposed to the great variety of forms that a career in space can take, to know that it’s not all rockets and astronauts. 

In this role we are functioning more as ambassadors than recruiters for the space sector. But this is exactly what we mean when we say that space sector recruiting is more than recruiting. 

Putting it all together

Talented and motivated workers are essential to any business venture. To be successful in the space industry, a company must attract the most prepared and capable candidates. Good recruiters help to identify and prepare candidates for success within the right fields and the right companies. These services save companies time, effort and resources that they can then allocate to innovation and productive work. 

The end result is not just well-placed candidates; it’s well-equipped companies that are better able to make a productive contribution to the space sector—and, by extension, a positive impact on the human experience.

At Evona we see our role as space sector recruiters within this broader frame. We understand that we have a role to play in shaping the story that humanity is writing for itself. 

It is not our role to dictate how that story should be written. But we care deeply about how it unfolds, and we view it as our responsibility to have an eye on the bigger picture and the longer view, as we serve the recruiting needs of our clients.