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Recruitment in a Polish company - from a CV with the note "Hello" to salary talks
Running a business in Poland is not only an extreme sport in the “avoid offices and taxes” category, but also – and perhaps above all – an exciting game of recruitment roulette: you never know whether you will come across a talent or someone who has just discovered that Excel is not an energy drink brand.
Stage 1: Job advertisement, or "who you are looking for and who you will get"
You write a job offer, trying to be precise – requirements, duties, salary range. Because if you don't, you'll soon get CVs from candidates who "expect decent pay" but don't give amounts because they don't like to limit themselves... or declare.
And then the magic happens…
- Position: Sales Specialist – you get a CV from someone who worked as a waiter, but “he knows how to talk to people, so it’s pretty much the same thing.”
- Requirement: Fluent in English – in the “languages” section entered: “English – basic (I understand how slowly they speak)”.
- Responsibilities: B2B customer service – a note in the email: "is there an option to work remotely? Because I don't like contact with people."
And an absolute hit: CV without an attachment, but with the note "Hello" in the body of the email.
Stage 2: Candidate selection – or CV Russian roulette
You're looking through applications and wondering if you've actually posted the right ad.
- Unsigned CV – someone forgot to add their name and surname, but there is a phone number. You can play “guess who”.
- CV sent by mom – yes, it happens. “My son is very ambitious and is looking for a job, please contact me.” The son probably doesn’t know about it.
- A candidate who sends the same CV to all positions – “You applied for the position of graphic designer, but I see that you also applied for the position of warehouseman, accountant and programmer…?” – “Yes, because I want to develop myself!”
After several hours of selection, only the best remain… or at least those who did not include in their CV “English – basic, but I can communicate with sign language”. Is this really the crème de la crème? Time to find out if it is the cream or the buttermilk.
Stage 3: Interview – Live Stand-up
You start the conversation. First, a control question: “Do you know what position you are applying for?”
- "I don't know, but I'm open to suggestions" – great, I thought I was the one recruiting, not the other way around.
- “What does your company do anyway?” – the perfect candidate who didn’t even click on the link to the website.
- “What are the working hours?” – it was written in the advertisement.
- “Can I do part of my work from home?” – it's a magazine, but who knows, maybe virtual reality already allows it?
And finally the climax arrives… salary conversation.
- "How much do you propose?" – it was written in the advertisement, but so be it.
- You enter the amount.
- "Oh my, that's it?" (when expectations were lower) – so less was possible after all.
- "Could we do more?" (when expectations were higher) – a negotiation classic.
And a real hit: “Can I get a bigger salary if I try harder?” – or the employer as a living loyalty program: you collect points, you get a bonus.
Stage 4: Decision and onboarding – what else can go wrong?
You found the perfect candidate. You sign the contract, you're happy as a child. And then...
- He doesn't come to work on his first day. Reason? “Oh, because I found something better.”
- On the first day he comes, but does not return after the break. The reason? “I don’t feel well here.”
- After a week he says that this is not it, but he can stay if he gets a raise.
Welcome to the world of recruiting.
How to survive?
Despite everything, it's worth keeping your distance and not giving up. After all, somewhere out there is that perfect candidate who... well, maybe doesn't know Excel, maybe hasn't read the job offer, but at least won't ask during the interview: "What's the position?"
Do you have your own recruiting gems? Share them in the comments – maybe together we can create a ranking of the weirdest job interviews!
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