01 · SEARCH
Direct talent sourcing
I map the relevant market and proactively identify people whose experience genuinely aligns with the role — including professionals who are not actively job hunting.
Independent talent search · Austria & Europe
Hard-to-find talent. Found personally.
Direct sourcing and thoughtful candidate screening for hard-to-fill, specialist, technical, commercial and leadership roles — with more attention to the person behind the CV and the opportunity behind the job title.
Flexible engagements, including success-based arrangements where agreed. Candidate introductions are made with consent.
CapabilityEvidence, achievements and role requirements.
ContextCareer direction, environment and practical realities.
Human fitMotivation, values, communication and culture.
Direct, independent search
You work with the person conducting the search.
For companies
When the right person is unlikely to simply apply.
De Klerk Ventures helps companies identify, approach and screen professionals for roles where ordinary job advertising is not producing the right people — especially hard-to-fill roles where the right match can make a meaningful difference to both the company and the person hired.
02 · CONTEXT
Screening beyond statistics
Experience and measurable requirements matter, but so do the team, environment, values, motivations and career context that determine whether a move makes sense.
03 · SIGNAL
Fewer, better introductions
The aim is not to flood your inbox with CVs. It is to introduce people worth speaking to, with a clear explanation of strengths, gaps and likely fit.
The human-fit lens
Recruitment informed by an understanding of people.
Our screening approach is informed by training and qualifications in clinical psychology and counselling. The goal is not to turn recruitment into therapy — it is to ask better questions, notice context and understand the person behind the professional profile, not only the keywords and statistics on a CV.
Evidence & capability
We still start with the fundamentals: skills, achievements, seniority, scope, domain knowledge and evidence that the person can do the job.
Culture & environment
A candidate can look perfect on paper and still be wrong for the setting. We consider leadership style, pace, autonomy, communication and team context.
Values & motivations
We look at what the person is moving toward, what matters to them and whether the opportunity makes sense for their longer-term direction.
Strengths & gaps — clearly stated
No candidate is perfect. Where useful, introductions include a concise view of why someone fits, where the gaps are and what should be explored in interview.
Why we do it
Good recruitment can change two sides of the same story.
There is something special about helping a person discover a role they genuinely want — and helping an organization find someone who is truly motivated to contribute there.
1
For companies
We enjoy the difficult searches: the roles that are hard to fill, highly specific or simply too important to leave to chance. The aim is to find people who can do the work and who are genuinely excited by the opportunity.
2
For candidates
A new role can be a major life decision. We want introductions to feel relevant and worthwhile — whether someone is actively searching for a dream position or simply open to the right next step.
3
The connection matters
At its best, recruitment is not about moving CVs. It is about connecting talented people with organizations where their skills, values, motivation and ambitions can make sense together.
A personal search
You work with the person doing the sourcing.
De Klerk Ventures is deliberately hands-on. I personally research the market, approach potential candidates and look closely at why a move may — or may not — make sense for both sides.
My approach combines evidence from the role and CV with psychology-informed questioning, context and human judgment. That means looking beyond titles and statistics to understand motivation, working style, values, culture and the environment in which someone is likely to thrive.
The goal is simple: make fewer, more meaningful introductions — especially when the role is difficult to fill or the opportunity deserves someone who is genuinely excited to be there.
Direct sourcing
Psychology-informed screening
Candidate consent
Austria & Europe
How it works
A focused search, from brief to introduction.
Define the real brief
We clarify the role, must-haves, trade-offs, team context and what would make someone genuinely successful.
Map the market
I identify relevant companies, talent pools and candidate profiles rather than relying only on inbound applications.
Approach discreetly
Potential candidates are contacted directly and given enough context to decide whether a conversation is worthwhile.
Screen for fit
Interest, capability, motivations, constraints and relevant contextual factors are explored before an introduction.
Introduce with context
You receive the candidate with consent and a clear explanation of why the match may be worth pursuing.
Optional pre-interviews
Add another layer before your hiring team invests its time.
For searches where it is useful, De Klerk Ventures can add a structured pre-interview to explore the candidate’s experience, communication, motivation and expectations before introduction.
English
German
Romanian
Afrikaans
1
Role-specific questions
Questions are tied to the actual position, including achievements, responsibilities, decision-making and likely gaps.
2
Motivation and constraints
Why now, what would make the move worthwhile, location and relocation considerations, compensation expectations and other practical factors.
3
Communication and context
Where relevant, we explore how the person describes problems, relationships, ownership, conflict, change and the environments in which they perform best.
4
Clear handover
You receive a concise summary of the conversation — not a clinical judgment — so your team can decide what to explore next.
For candidates
Your career is more than a CV.
I work with professionals who are actively looking as well as people who are simply open to the right next move. I care about helping people find opportunities they can genuinely be excited about — roles that fit their ambitions, values and direction, not just their experience on paper. Conversations are confidential, and your details are not sent to a company without your permission.
What you can expect
Clear information about the opportunity, honest discussion of fit, no pressure to pursue roles that do not make sense, and explicit consent before your profile is shared.
Start a conversation
Tell me who you’re hoping to find.
Whether you have one difficult vacancy or a role that deserves someone genuinely passionate about joining your organization, send over the basics and I’ll respond directly.
barend@deklerkventures.comCandidate privacy
Privacy information for candidates.
If I contact you about a professional opportunity after finding your profile through a public professional source, this notice explains how De Klerk Ventures uses that information.
Controller
Barend de Klerk, trading as De Klerk Ventures, Austria · barend@deklerkventures.com
Sources and data used
Professional information may be obtained from publicly accessible sources such as LinkedIn, XING, company websites, professional directories and similar public professional sources.
Depending on what is relevant to a search, this may include your name, professional contact details, current and previous roles and employers, education, qualifications, professional experience, location, publicly available profile information and profile URLs, together with limited notes about potential professional fit and previous communications. Special-category personal data is not intentionally collected or used for candidate sourcing.
Purpose and legal basis
The information is used to identify professionals who may be relevant to career opportunities, assess potential professional fit, and contact them about relevant roles.
For initial identification, assessment and contact, De Klerk Ventures relies on legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The legitimate interest is targeted recruitment and talent sourcing for relevant vacancies, while limiting processing to professional information reasonably necessary for that purpose and taking account of the individual’s rights and reasonable expectations.
Sharing and recipients
Your information is not sent to a prospective employer unless you have first agreed to an introduction for that opportunity. Where an introduction is made on the basis of your consent, Article 6(1)(a) GDPR applies and consent can be withdrawn for the future.
Information may also be processed by service providers supporting email, IT or recruitment administration where necessary. If a service provider processes data outside the European Economic Area, an applicable transfer mechanism or appropriate safeguards under Chapter V GDPR are used where required.
Retention
If there is no ongoing recruitment process, sourced-candidate information is generally removed from active recruiting records within six months after the last relevant contact. Where there is an active recruitment or placement process, relevant information is generally retained for the duration of that process and for up to twelve months after the last relevant contact.
Information may be kept longer where you have agreed to this, where a legal obligation requires it, or where it is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. If you ask not to be contacted again, a minimal suppression record may be retained where necessary to respect that preference.
Your rights
Subject to the GDPR, you may have rights of access, rectification, erasure and restriction of processing and, where applicable, data portability. Where processing is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, you also have the right to object under Article 21 GDPR.
If you do not want further recruitment contact, email barend@deklerkventures.com. Further recruiting approaches will stop, subject only to retaining any minimal record needed to respect that request.
You may also lodge a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde), Barichgasse 40–42, 1030 Vienna, Austria · dsb@dsb.gv.at.
Automated decisions
De Klerk Ventures does not make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects about candidates solely by automated means within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR.
Candidate privacy notice · Last updated September 2026