Who are Poland’s recruitment influencers?
Poland’s recruitment industry is still developing. It is also highly reliant on social media for its’ ability to develop, mainly LinkedIn. But it wasn’t always the case. Many years ago some of you might remember that a film was released in Poland. A film about a headhunting company based out of Rondo 1 in Warsaw. ’Nigdy nie mow nigdy (2009)’ was a Polish blockbuster starring some of the best actresses and actors from Poland. Anna Dereszowska, the main actress, must have spent time at a headhunting company to play the leading role so well.
Shortly after the release of the blockbuster Polish film. Another person who spent some time exploring a headhunting business came up with an even better storyline. Robert Pasut, of Abstrachuje TV, played the role of keen apprentice at a new company. In the now infamous YouTube film: ‘Oczekiwania vs Rzeczywistosc: Pierwsza Praca’.
And then everything went a bit quiet. Probably because nobody thought that a YouTube video like this would hit so many views. Well over 5 million people have now watched the film, and numbers continue to grow. More than some blockbuster films
When the dust settled…
Recruitment Influencers create a following in Poland
Not to be outshone by the boys at Abstrachuje TV. Next came a moment of brilliance by Maciej Hassa and the team at PZU. For those of you new to the recruitment industry in Poland, it’s well worth a quick watch:
There was a big difference between the two videos. The wider market had started to get used to ‘modern offices’. The PZU advert was filmed in a room specially designed for the video. Our editorial team once visited Maciej there for an interview about the catchy advert. Recruiting talent was becoming a serious business, finally.
Today there are many YouTube videos about recruitment in Poland. The most famous is probably the team at HRejterzy. Setup by CodeTwo a few years ago, the video series has become a bit of a cult movement in Poland. Their 225,000 followers on Facebook and 223,000 subscribers on YouTube are testament to their success.
The rise of sourcing using social media
Traditionally there were always ‘researchers’ working within recruitment companies across Poland. It isn’t the most glamorous place to start your career in recruitment. Some of them sit at laptops all day with hundreds of LinkedIn pages open. In the hope that they can complete their long lists on time. It can be monotonous.
But not if you follow Jan Tegze, for instance. Jan has been pushing out humorous and empathetic recruitment posts for years now. Based out of Brno in the Czech Republic, just this week Jan posted on LinkedIn how “recruiters have a difficult job! Not only are we tasked with searching for the right candidates for a given. The goal is obviously to present an outstanding prospect that goes on to become a tremendously valued employee for an organization. But this is often easier said than done.”
So far 700 people have liked Jan’s post and he has had 80 comments. And it’s not even one of his more popular posts from the last few weeks.
Shortly after Jan stormed onto the social media scene in Central Eastern Europe, Kasia Tang returned from London. Next was a stint at Lightness with Zyta Machnicka and Jacek Krajewski. All three of them have created their own followers. Kasia, however, has gone on to create a knowledge platform about sourcing in Poland. Members of the Recruitment Open Community Polska on Facebook will remember her efforts to create 'community’. Today you can find her growing a new community around Super Source Me too.
Working in recruitment means being an Influencer
Another influencer is the self-proclaimed Rekruter Z Broda, Grzegorz Deszczka. With 12,000+ followers on LinkedIn he certainly seems to have created a good following. Grzegorz, like Kasia, runs workshops for recruiters. With good feedback by all accounts.
Considering the above, there is clearly a market for this type of activity. But its worth considering how we got here. And that is partially due to people like Piotr Jablonski and Jakub Babij. Piotr is still very active on LinkedIn with well over 30,000 followers. His story is impressive, he was one of the first to take seriously the meaning of employer branding using LinkedIn. The numbers speak for themselves.
There is also Maja Gojtowska, another huge influencer. Her 'candidate experience’ book published in Polish in 2019 was a huge hit in the HR and recruitment communities. She may not have the followers on LinkedIn that Piotr does. But Maja more than makes up for that in the engagement she gets on her posts.
It’s a small market. Everybody knows each other too:
Employer branding or Influencer recruitment?
A few years ago, OLX popped up as an unlikely candidate for number 1 job portal in Poland. Or OLX Praca as they probably prefer to be called. OLX Praca organized a Know How 2020 event in December 2020 where they announced the winners of “Liderzy Rekrutacji”. The event awarded recruitment teams from across the market. And, although no actual individuals were named as winners, there were plenty of teams who won an award. In fact, even PR firms started to be nominated for helping improve the quality of virtual recruitment campaigns in Poland.
Pracuj.pl do some awards for employers, but otherwise the situation is not as rosy as it could be.
Finally, we must not forget about the HR Influencers. Who are constantly working to improve the quality and transparency of HR in Poland, as well as recruitment. Maja Chabinska Rossakowska and Andrzej Borczyk’s famous interview with Witold Moszynski from 2016 is just one example of the work that HR leaders in Poland are doing to help the market develop and mature.
Perly HR for recruiters across Poland
There is no question that Poland needs more platforms for recruiters, recruitment teams and recruitment influencers to share best practice. And receive awards. That, and ensure that the sector is working not just for profits and the lowering of attrition amongst their clients. But also, to ensure the recruitment industry in Poland is healthy. Has good traditions. And, most importantly, works closely with HR influencers in Poland. Ensuring that clients, candidates AND recruiters are equal stakeholders in the recruitment process.
To suggest to our readers to simply follow any of the past winners of the Perly HR competition, wouldn’t be enough. Partially because not all the top talent in Poland applied to win the award over the years. Sure, applications grew over time, but there must be upwards of 20,000 people in recruitment in Poland. Previous nominations each year numbered in the hundreds only.
One thing is for sure though; social media and recruitment influencer status will become standard critera for any nominations soon. And why shouldn’t they?
Let’s hope this story sparks discussion and helps young recruiters in Poland choose who to follow and why. To choose who they follow wisely. And understand how these people can help them create the best online content and habits that they can. Increasing the footprint of the entire recruitment industry in Poland.
Any recruitment influencers you feel we might have missed in our story can be sent to redakcja@magazynrekruter.pl.