Christina Dunbar describes her view on recruiting during a panel at Casual Connect USA 2014. “It’s kind of like matchmaking,” she said. “It can’t just be good on paper; it has to make sense all the way around. It has to be the right opportunity for the candidate, has to make sense as a move in their career. And then on the organization’s side, it has to be a good fit for your overall culture.”
Christina Dunbar enjoys the games industry because it is fast-paced, ever-changing and so exciting that she would be bored doing anything else. She is the senior consultant at Pentasia, where she is responsible for supplying a portfolio of clients with key staffing hires that they are unable to locate through their own networks. She also provides independent advice and consultation on trends and conditions in the recruitment market as well as access to information and resources from across Pentasia’s global network.
Christina became a part of Pentasia because she was looking to make the move from land-based casinos to the emerging online gaming in the US. When Pentasia’s vice president of North America asked for a meeting and offered her a job, the move became reality.
It Starts With Understanding Consumers
Her experience in corporate casino HR as well as the years she spent in operations as a player/business development executive gives her a unique perspective on the industry. She feels, “I truly understand the end customers and their enjoyment of gaming, so I can better comprehend all of the positions that make up the business.”
Whenever Christina finds the perfect person to connect with the perfect job, she feels a moment of extra satisfaction. She says, “From working both internally and as an executive search consultant, I know it is always a great feeling to match the right person to the right job. On the candidate side, it is great finding a new opportunity that maybe he or she didn’t even know was out there. On the hiring manager or client side, I enjoy really understanding the personality as well as the role so I can find the perfect person to complement it.”
She became involved with games by starting in land-based gaming at MGM resorts in Las Vegas. She insists, “I love all things gaming! I started in recruiting for casinos, so I got the opportunity to learn about every person in casino and what he or she does. Then I moved into actual casino marketing and operations that put me right into the action. Now I am so excited to work in online/iGaming as I believe embracing technology is the future of all gaming.”
Convergence Ahead
Christina sees the next big trend in the industry as the convergence of the social and online gaming engagement models. Online gaming companies will want to add the social model where players purchase memberships in return for credits. Online gaming will also follow social gaming by incorporating more interactive and animated elements into their games to make them more appealing. In the future, Pentasia, especially in the US, will continue gaining valuable market knowledge and exposure to candidates across all verticals to offer increased opportunities.
In her free time, Christina’s most important activity is spending time with her daughter. Since she likes to golf, the two of them are taking lessons to get better together. When she gets the chance to play, her favorite game is Candy Crush on mobile, something she claims is the result of societal pressure. She doesn’t really have a preference between Android and iOS, but she does play more on iOS because she is using her phone and iPad. She plays during any otherwise empty time, most recently the plane ride from London to San Francisco.
At Casual Connect USA, Christina announced Pentasia is the eGR Recruiter of the Year for the third year in a row. They have now won this award four out of the last five years.
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