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The Warning Bells

It was 2004 and I had just graduated. While searching for a job, I saw an advertisement from a small company in downtown Athens. The ad mentioned an “office job” as an “assistant to the Marketing Director” and stated that they were looking for a junior candidate who could grow with the company. “No sales,” it clarified.

Two interviews and a few days later, the Marketing Director (who was also the HR Director) told me that I met the criteria and invited me to visit them so they could inform me about the salary. I was led to a meeting room where three other girls were waiting. We had similar educational backgrounds and were about the same age — and we had all been selected for the position.��That’s when the first warning bell rang: four Marketing assistants?

Then the Director arrived and told us we would sign the contracts in a few days. Second warning bell. I didn’t know much about the job market at the time, but I knew that contracts are signed before starting work. She told us not to worry.��She verbally told all of us at the same time what the salary would be (which sounded good), asked us to think about it, and let her know if we accepted. We all said yes.

And that’s when the “training” began. To learn about the company, we would first have to go out and sell the product for a few days. Third warning bell — but we ignored it because it sounded somewhat logical.��So we went out in pairs doing door-to-door sales at the addresses they gave us. Of course, the “training” didn’t end there. After a week (needless to say we were exhausted — the product was incredibly heavy!), we still hadn’t seen any contract and there were very few buyers. Some of the sales, as we later learned, had been pre-arranged so that we wouldn’t lose hope.��“Look, during the first month no one gets paid, and after that you only earn commission. Oh, and the job is basically a sales rep,” one of the “older” employees told us.��At that point the warning bells were deafening — it was obvious that the job advertisement had a serious identity crisis. That very afternoon we all “resigned.” Of course, there was no compensation and no attempt to retain us. They were probably already preparing the next batch of candidates!

Why did we ignore all the suspicious signs and keep hoping until the end? Because a person capable of exercising influence (the Director) did not hesitate to manipulate young employees who did not yet speak the language of deception.��And that leads to the question:��Why would someone do this?��The answer probably lies in the darker side of human nature.��And in this way, the Director-Pinocchio becomes a perfect counterexample of both a recruiter and a trainer.

The Benefits of Executive Coaching in Leadership Development

Executive Coaching is a strategic learning and development tool for business executives. It strengthens leadership skills and human talent, producing immediate positive results for organizations. It supports performance management, change, and excellence by focusing on solutions and results.

The story I will share aims to highlight how Executive Coaching works in practice, the problems it addresses, and the expected outcomes. The case concerns an executive from a client company who agreed to share their experience.

Diagnosing the Problems

In this case, the executive (hereafter referred to as the coachee) took the initiative to request Executive Coaching sessions from the company (the sponsor) where he worked. Several reasons led to this decision.��After being transferred from another business unit, the coachee faced a heavy workload, lack of time, intense stress, and continuous complaints to the company’s President from his team members regarding his ineffective leadership style. He perceived strong competition and a lack of cooperation and teamwork. He felt that the culture of the new unit did not suit him. Every morning he woke up without wanting to go to work and was even considering resigning.��Following a tripartite meeting (company–coachee–coach), the shared goals that were set focused on time management, strengthening the coachee’s self-confidence, and improving relationships with his team.

The results of the��360-degree feedback��process (supervisors, peers, and subordinates anonymously completed questionnaires and shared their perspectives) showed that colleagues felt the coachee did not listen to them, did not trust them, did not collaborate, and did not ask for help from either subordinates or superiors. In other words, they felt he ignored them, did not accept diversity, and simply did things his own way.��What the coachee perceived as competition — which put him in a constant defensive mode — was actually the pressure his colleagues felt and their need for support and guidance from him.

Targeted Solutions and Results

Based on this feedback, we designed an action plan so the coachee could incorporate into his daily routine goals such as prioritizing tasks,��listening more actively and without prejudice to colleagues’ intentions,��respecting team members’ opinions,��trusting the team’s capabilities,��supporting and delegating responsibilities,��and seeking help from senior leaders when their experience was needed.��The results of these actions were almost immediate. Complaints from team members to management stopped. As he began supporting them, listening to their ideas and needs, involving them in decisions, and valuing their contribution, their attitude toward him changed.��He began saving time for developing new projects and ideas by prioritizing tasks, trusting his team’s experience and strengths, guiding and delegating effectively. Most importantly, instead of feeling discomfort and considering resignation, he woke up each morning and went to work with confidence and gratitude.

Conclusions

My conclusions from this case are that there is no single correct perspective, but many different ones. Effective communication is necessary to find sustainable solutions.��Often, when we believe a company’s culture does not suit us, it helps to observe, listen actively, trust others, seek common goals, motivations, and values, and consciously offer what we expect others to give us.��The dynamics of a team change through the change in the leader’s mindset.

Executive Coaching therefore provides valuable tools and practices that lead to these realizations. It strengthens the coachee’s self-leadership, empathy, collaboration, and productive communication among teams. Conflicts are resolved more easily, and organizational management becomes more productive and enjoyable through individual initiative without overburdening management. This — along with many other experiences of people who have engaged in Executive Coaching — demonstrates that it is a true investment for any organization that aims to achieve its goals through its people.

“I remember hearing this phrase at least twice during that discussion from different people: ‘You don’t look like someone from HR — well done.’��‘…I mean it as a compliment, you didn’t take it the wrong way, right?’”��Apparently I hadn’t hidden my irritation well enough.

Questions followed about what they meant and why they had that perception. What are we doing that makes other executives view HR with suspicion — or what are we not doing that causes them to doubt us?

How attractive is it really to say that you work in HR? And how effectively can you actually function as HR within an organization?

The truth is that not everything in our profession is rosy or glamorous. It’s not the sign outside your office that will give you a professional boost.

Our role is to contribute meaningfully to what organizations ultimately call��results��— even if the recognition does not always go to us.

Through our processes, projects, responsibilities, and constraints, we work toward the same shared goal as the rest of the organization. We are not detached from its reality; we operate in the same direction, and all our actions must align with it.

Yet it sometimes appears to outsiders that we lose sight of the bigger picture and operate inwardly. That’s what my interlocutors meant.

During the pandemic, many of us were called upon to manage crises within our organizations and establish new processes.

We are on the front line and, through our experience, we can set new frameworks. That is part of our role: supporting organizations to achieve their goals, reorganize, adapt to their environment, and succeed while maintaining employees with high levels of engagement and satisfaction.

Our Unconscious Biases in the Workplace

Promoting diversity and reducing bias in the workplace is a major topic in HR. However, before trying to reduce bias as HR professionals, it is crucial to recognize and work on our own unconscious biases and stereotypes.

In the early stages of my HR career, while searching for a job, I was concerned that my academic background was in psychology rather than business. I believed this might make it difficult for me to integrate into a corporate environment.��“I don’t have the business mindset required,” I thought. “How likely is it for a company — especially in Greece — to hire a psychologist?”

During one of my first interviews for an HR role, I had already judged my background as “different,” so I tried to suppress it. I prepared carefully so that my answers would focus mainly on my HR studies and any business-related knowledge or experience.

I noticed the recruiter seemed concerned, and I concluded — quite logically, I thought — that it was due to my lack of business experience, reinforcing my own bias. Then the recruiter said:��“One of the reasons your profile caught our attention is that you are a psychologist, and I would like to hear more about that aspect of your background — since you haven’t mentioned it much.”

I certainly did not expect that answer! The characteristic I believed made me less competitive turned out to be a competitive advantage. That was when I realized how strongly an unconscious bias had shaped my thinking and behavior.

What I learned from that experience is that our biases can negatively affect not only ourselves but also the people we influence as HR professionals.

If we want to strengthen diversity in the workplace, we must first develop the filters that help us recognize and limit our own unconscious biases.

Hero or Simply Different?

Job searching is difficult, exhausting, and emotionally draining for most people — especially when, in addition to the challenging labor market, you also use a wheelchair.

My story begins many years ago, in 2000. I was a final-year student in French Literature. Although I had been accepted into my first-choice program, I wanted greater professional challenges. I decided to work in the private sector and started sending out my first CVs — without much success.

But persistence pays off. After many attempts and some disappointment, I was invited for an interview by a small-to-medium-sized Greek company. At first, I considered declining because I believed only large multinationals would have a diversity culture. Fortunately, I was wrong.

During the interview they treated me as an equal candidate. Believe me — nothing is worse than feeling the gaze of pity or sympathy.

At that moment I decided I wanted to work in that company and would not waste the opportunity. When they offered me an internship, I accepted immediately and worked extremely hard to prove — first to myself — that I deserved the opportunity.��I wanted to shape my professional identity and earn my colleagues’ respect.

That company never implemented a formal diversity management program. I don’t know whether it qualifies as a “best practice,” but it simply treated every employee as a unique member of its family.

Twenty-one years have passed and I am still working in the same company, which has now evolved into a large multinational with international presence. Most importantly, this experience inspired me to change my professional path and pursue postgraduate studies in Human Resource Management.��Work is a right, and everyone should have access to it. An employee with a disability is not a hero — but a professional who should be evaluated equally and contribute according to their knowledge, skills, and talents.

One Job Advertisement a Day…

About five years ago, I was invited to give a short presentation at a Corporate Social Responsibility conference. The topic of the conference focused on young people and how we can motivate them to remain in the country, especially during a period when the well-known��brain drain��phenomenon had reached its peak.

I chose the title��“Young People in the Country of Faust”, aiming to illustrate how older generations sometimes appear almost hostile toward young people entering the labor market. One of my presentation slides included the following phrase, representing a job advertisement that, unfortunately, in some cases does not differ much from reality:��“Wanted: young man/woman up to 20 years old, with 5 years of experience in the field, fluent in 7 languages, able to breathe fire, and having already won the Champions League.”

Although humorous, similar phenomena often appear in real job advertisements. Companies request far more qualifications for positions that are significantly lower in both responsibilities and compensation. Young applicants approach interviews with expectations based on the advertisement, only to be abruptly disappointed when they hear the real terms during the interview. At the same time, HR departments become overloaded with unnecessary work, receiving numerous irrelevant CVs.��This creates a tug-of-war situation:��candidates apply for positions for which they may lack qualifications,��while companies inflate their requirements in order to attract stronger resumes.��There is a widespread — and, in my opinion, misguided — mentality that says:��“It’s better to hire someone overqualified and use them later.”��This approach may only work in companies that have a structured and clearly defined career path.

Because of the mismatch between job advertisements and real requirements, I have experienced uncomfortable situations from both sides — as a candidate and as a hiring manager. I vividly remember, at the beginning of my career, attending an interview for a marketing position that turned out to be something between��telemarketing and a Ponzi scheme. It took me about three or four minutes to realize what was going on, and that was the end of the meeting.��Having experienced the unpleasant feeling of wasted time, I later adopted a practice in my own interviews: after presenting the job position in detail, I usually ask candidates whether the job advertisement accurately reflects what we have discussed.��Because, just like the famous proverb about the apple a day keeping the doctor away — emphasizing the importance of long-term healthy habits —��an honest job advertisement can lead to a strong and long-lasting professional collaboration.

Against the Current: Women in Shipping in 2021

The recent blockage of the��Suez Canal��caused by the grounding of the vessel��Ever Given��brought attention not only to the disruption of global trade but also to the issue of��gender discrimination in the maritime industry.��Indeed, the first Egyptian female ship captain,��Marwa Elselehdar, was falsely accused online of being involved in the incident — even though she was actually working miles away in Alexandria.��Inspired by this event, the ease with which Captain Elselehdar was targeted simply because she is a woman and Egyptian, and the aggressive reactions from media outlets and anonymous social media commentators, I would like to address the issue of��everyday sexism.

I have been working in the maritime sector since graduating from the master’s program in 2014, and the industry indeed contains numerous daily examples of sexism and gender inequality. Every woman working in shipping faces different challenges depending on her role. Often, for years, we must balance the demands of our work with the constant effort to prove that we are equally capable — while hearing dismissive remarks such as��“You’re not a captain.”��Without question, the shipping industry requires technical knowledge. But that does not mean someone entering the field cannot acquire this knowledge — or that, due to gender, they cannot understand it.��The��Ever Given��incident made something very clear: even if you��are��a captain, if you are a woman, there may still be inherent suspicion.

At times we may feel defeated, exhausted, or ready to give up. But working in the shipping industry is more than a job — it is a lifelong passion. The evolving nature of the industry continues to challenge and attract us, much like the constantly moving sea itself. The same applies to those working in the creative aspects of HR: human behavior attracts us with its complexity and variability.

As Captain Elselehdar stated: “People in our society still do not accept the idea of women working at sea away from their families for long periods. But when you do what you love, you do not need everyone’s approval.”

So continue to dream, do what you know is right, and do what you love — seeking approval only from the one person who truly matters:��yourself.

And don’t believe everything you read online!

Beware! Job Interviews Can Be Dangerous!!

Almost three years after graduating from the Human Resource Management master’s program at the ���Ͽ� of Economics and Business, I am very happy to share a personal experience.

My story takes place a few months ago — specifically during the summer of 2020 — in the midst of��COVID-19. At the time, I was working for an airline severely affected by the pandemic. I decided to search for opportunities elsewhere and began sending CVs for entry-level HR positions.��(“Great timing!” you might think — and you wouldn’t be wrong.)

From June to October I sent more than��150 CVs, without receiving any response. My first two interviews took place during career days, followed by three more interviews — none of which resulted in a job offer. Around November, almost miraculously, I received a phone call inviting me for an interview at the headquarters of a large food company. They were looking for an��HR Assistant for the payroll department, and I had submitted my CV quite some time earlier without high expectations.��As you can imagine, I was extremely excited.

I chose a professional outfit, prepared as well as possible, and left with positive energy, thinking the only words I might hear would be:��“Congratulations, you’re hired!”��The reality, however, turned out to be quite different.��When I arrived at the company’s headquarters, I was greeted by the recruiter — a very friendly man. After exchanging the usual formalities, we moved to the conference room to maintain the necessary distance due to COVID-19.��The conversation began with typical questions about my educational and professional background. Then came the��questions that should, in my opinion, disappear from every company’s interview list.

Where��R��= Recruiter and��M��= Me.

R: “How old are you?”

M: “35.”

R: “Are you married?”

M: “Yes, I am.”

R: “Do you have children?”

M: “Not yet.”

R: “That’s bad — the director won’t like that.”

M: “What do you mean?”

R: “Well, at some point you will have children!”

M: “Maybe yes, maybe no. Who knows?”

R: “Of course you will!”

“Teacher, You Who Taught…”

When was the last time you hired someone from a��completely different industry��than your own?

Jobs are constantly evolving — and so are the skills required for people to adapt to these changes. How will these skills enter organizations?

What happened to the famous motto: “Hire for attitude, train for skills”?

Why do we produce products and services that target diverse customer segments but fail to ensure similar diversity among our employees?

How can we talk about culture if we ourselves are not open-minded when selecting people? Even worse — how can we talk about change if we never change the profiles of the people we hire?

Over the past two or three years, I have had the opportunity to speak with many colleagues in Greece and abroad across various industries. Many of them say that��“the market has a shortage of candidates”��— yet they still prefer candidates��only from their own sector.

Of course, I should not forget that years ago I behaved the same way. I would ignore any candidate who had not graduated from a tourism school or had no experience in the hotel industry.

Until I tried a completely different approach — fortunately early enough to realize that:

• The candidate whose CV I almost rejected because she studied��philosophy��and had tutoring experience is now a��manager in a large hotel department with more than 20 employees.
• Giving an opportunity to an��accountant from an “irrelevant background”��helped the entire finance department learn new things and develop useful tools.
• A candidate’s enthusiasm for a company’s��brand��made her a��top seller for several consecutive years, even though she had never worked in sales before — let alone B2B.

Over the past year especially, many of us have acquired new skills — or rediscovered old ones — both professionally and personally. As you read this text, many companies are re-evaluating the skills their people need. Perhaps this is a good moment — for those who have not already done so — to start looking for��new skill sets��among both candidates and current employees.��Instead of placing CVs from different industries on the left side of the desk and those “from our sector” on the right, ignoring the fact that those experiences may be��a goldmine of knowledge and best practices.

I often hear colleagues say:��“Yes, but I want someone who is plug-and-play.”��Whenever I hear that, I think of my new printer. Even though the box said��plug and play, I still had to download and install a driver before it worked. So how can we be so certain that a candidate — even one from the same industry — will be ready to “print” from day one?

As HR professionals and strategic partners, we must be able not only to evaluate the candidate in front of us but also to see the��bigger picture. The person sitting across from us will eventually become part of a larger engine that drives the company forward.

Sometimes the best talent is not missing from our company —��it may simply not exist within our industry. Curiosity is, after all, one of the most important characteristics of a good recruiter.��And understanding people is one of the greatest advantages for those of us working in Human Resources.��If we ourselves do not try new tactics and alternative approaches to talent acquisition, how can we expect others to improve their own practices?

Do We Approach Recruitment and Selection Correctly as Businesses, or Job Searching as Candidates?

Having been on both sides of the interview table, I realized that things are often not as we expect them to be, nor as we have been taught.

After graduating from the postgraduate program in Human Resource Management and beginning my job search, I realized that there are professionals in the field who, despite occupying key positions in personnel selection, either lacked the appropriate training or had not fully understood the importance of the process.

What left the worst impression on me as a candidate was the time when the HR Manager was searching for my résumé among a pile of CVs even though I had already entered the office for the interview. There were also many occasions when the interviewer attempted to “negotiate” the salary, even though it is widely known that each position has a predetermined salary range.

Such behaviors gave me the impression that the individuals interviewing me had either not realized the importance of the selection process or were not sufficiently familiar with human resource management systems. It should be noted that such an attitude does not only characterize the specific individuals, but the company as a whole, negatively affecting its reputation as an employer.

From the other side of the table, as a recruiter, I have received responses such as: “I don’t remember sending my résumé to your company,” “Could you send me the job description again because I didn’t have time to review it?”, or “I am attending the interview to gain experience from interviews.”��There are also candidates who respond with one-word answers and do not participate in the conversation. How can the interviewer get to know them? Why did the candidate attend the interview in the first place? Just for the interviewer to observe their appearance? And how should an interviewer react when the candidate responds to messages on their mobile phone during the interview?

For any organization, personnel selection is an extremely important process, as inappropriate hires involve high operational costs and damage the organization’s image.

Therefore, the interviewer must take the necessary time to prepare before meeting with the candidate, clearly understand the requirements of the position to be filled, demonstrate empathy, behave with professional courtesy, and remain impartial.

The way we search for a job—whether it is our first position or a career change—demonstrates how determined and committed we are to achieving this goal.

Gathering as much information as possible about the company offering the position will help us determine whether our personal values align with those of the organization.

A thorough understanding of the job description will help prevent the possibility of making an unsuitable career choice.

Advice from experienced and trusted individuals will also contribute to better preparation for the interview.

Do not forget:��job searching is a job in itself.

The most important element in both the��Job Search Process��and the��Recruitment and Selection Process��is��Preparation. Prepare in order to succeed.

Evaluating Academic Duration in Entry-Level Candidates

One of the things I examine in the résumés of candidates who have little or no work experience is the duration of their studies. I consider this more important and interesting than the analysis many candidates include in their CVs about how they spend their free time and their hobbies. If a candidate’s studies lasted nine years instead of the typical four or five, I consider this something worth exploring during the interview. To avoid misunderstanding, I am not overly strict; I believe that studies can be completed with some delay, but not in double the normal time unless there is a serious reason.

Based on this, I would like to share part of an interview with a candidate who completed their studies after nine and a half years. I asked him to explain why his studies lasted so long.

Candidate:��Of course. You know what student years are like.

Me:��What do you mean?

Candidate:��Well, you’ve studied as well—you should know.

Me:��Could you tell me what exactly I should know?

Candidate:��You know… coffee, friends, taking things a bit more relaxed. Surely you know about that.

Me:��Why should I necessarily know? If I told you that during the same period I completed my studies and obtained two part-time postgraduate degrees while working, is that something you should know? As you see, everyone uses their time differently.

Candidate:��Of course, you are right. That’s probably why you don’t know.

I should mention that this was not the only incident in which I encountered similar responses from candidates. At this point, I would like to offer two pieces of advice to candidates:

First, do not assume that everything is self-evident during an interview. Your own truth and perspective do not necessarily coincide with that of the interviewer.

Second, in a similar situation, it may even be better to provide an explanation such as: “I had to pause my studies because my father became ill and I needed to support my family.” No one will be able to verify whether this is true. They may not believe you, but at least you will have made a better impression.

People Management VS Micromanagement

The role of a People Manager (PM), responsible for managing individuals and teams, is highly complex and requires time, effort, persistence, and patience. No one wants to be a poor manager, and every PM aims to develop their team. However, the role has a way of turning even the most talented leaders into micromanagers. In some cases, managers may not even realize that they are moving in this direction until they begin losing employees and productivity. According to the research of Harry E. Chambers in��“My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide”, 79% of employees have worked under a micromanager at some point, while 91% of managers report being unaware that employees might leave their job due to such behavior.

Two Ways to Recognize and Avoid Micromanagement

Do you want to control every detail of your team’s work?

You may believe that frequent monitoring of a project demonstrates support, but your employees may not see it that way. Responsible employees who perform their work well feel suffocated when someone constantly supervises them. They stop thinking creatively and feel exhausted and discouraged because they do not feel trusted. A simple way to avoid this behavior is to organize weekly meetings. This allows employees to know when updates are expected and helps them plan their time accordingly.

Do you feel uncomfortable delegating tasks?

When the time comes to assign some of your responsibilities to your team so that you can focus on something critical, do you think that “the only way to do it right is to do it yourself”? This approach may make you feel more comfortable, but it is not beneficial for your team’s development. Try doing the opposite: assign the most challenging tasks to your team members. This will relieve you from some of the workload and give you the space and time to focus on more strategic matters. At the same time, your team will feel that you trust them, creating a win–win situation for both you and the organization.

The next time you catch yourself focusing excessively on controlling details, take a deep breath and choose a different path. Trust your team and their capabilities. If they need more support, they will ask for it. Give your team the opportunity to flourish without the constraints of micromanagement.

The Value of Integrity in Professional Relationships

Every day we speak about the values that should characterize a company or organization. It does not take great insight to understand that the most important of these values is integrity. However, for this value to be truly established, honesty must prevail consistently over time.

This is particularly true in the maritime industry, specifically in crew management within shipping companies, where seafarers are not permanent employees. After completing their contracts—typically lasting around seven months—they are free to choose another shipping company for their next assignment. In such an environment, honesty becomes a fundamental pillar of communication and long-term relationships.

People are not foolish—they simply have needs: the need for work, the need for promotion. Seafarers, like all employees, can recognize when someone attempts to take advantage of them during difficult times. They may pretend not to notice disrespectful behavior, but internally they are aware of it, and they carry that memory with them.

In shipping, we form relationships not only with seafarers but also with their families—from the Captain to the first-time cadet. The question is how this is achieved. There is no strictly right or wrong way. There is, however, the appropriate way: understanding what the seafarer and their family truly need. It means respecting their personality, hopes, and aspirations, and remaining close to them throughout the relationship—supporting, training, and developing them. Most importantly, it means always telling the truth. Truth should not merely be an option; it should be the only path. As one border control sign abroad wisely stated: “We will treat all people with dignity and respect regardless of your nation, religion, sex, or the color of your skin.”

We live in a rapidly changing world where values such as kindness, respect, and trust must be cultivated daily. Only relationships built on trust, honesty, and dedication will move us forward and create conditions for personal, professional, and social prosperity. The value of the human factor remains fundamental.

People Management: The Pursuit of Workplace Motivation

For most companies, payroll and employee benefits represent one of their largest expenses. Beyond the fixed monthly salary, many organizations rely on high performance bonuses and salary increase prospects in order to motivate employees at all hierarchical levels.��However, are these financial resources invested effectively, or are there alternative approaches that could yield better results?

Employee engagement and continuous performance are primary objectives behind these practices and form the foundation of compensation and benefits strategies. In today’s challenging business environment—characterized by limited budgets and increased employee pressure—organizations must seek combined solutions. Motivation programs should integrate both��financial and non-financial rewards. Recognition and appreciation from direct supervisors play a key role in improving employees’ psychology, performance, and overall job satisfaction.

Respect, appreciation, recognition of effort, workplace fairness, and positive feedback from leadership act as powerful motivators. The outcome is a sense of moral satisfaction for employees, who in turn contribute significantly to achieving organizational goals. For example, employees are often less concerned about salary differences when they know these differences are based on a fair and transparent evaluation system.��Increasingly, motivation strategies focus on forms of recognition such as��training and development opportunities, moral rewards, job autonomy, and employee participation in management decisions.

Developing effective motivation incentives and fair compensation systems plays a critical role in improving employee effectiveness and productivity. In today’s competitive and constantly changing environment—where personal and professional lives are closely connected—the combination of financial and non-financial rewards represents the most effective strategy for motivating human capital.

Challenges in Finding a Job Abroad

I am pleased to share my most recent recruitment experience.

Having worked in recruitment myself, I had almost forgotten what it feels like to be a candidate—especially in another country. I am now based in Denmark. The first challenge I faced was that I was not invited to interviews and received rejections during the CV screening stage.��At that point, discouragement began to set in. I started thinking that my CV was not good enough and that I would not find a job. What helped me was the belief that as long as I continued trying, there was still hope. If I gave up, I would certainly not find employment.��

After two months, I finally began receiving interview invitations. Initially, I realized that I was not performing as well as I would have liked. I also felt insecure because I did not know the language. However, I never gave up.��The feedback I received from interviews was: “You are very good, but we preferred someone with experience in recruitment within Denmark.” While this was perfectly understandable, it also made me feel that finding a job would be extremely difficult.

Eventually, I realized that I needed to change my strategy. Instead of applying to companies operating only in Denmark, I began applying to multinational organizations. And then the opportunity came.��I went through a selection process with several stages: interviews, English tests, psychometric assessments, and a case study presentation—and I got the role.��At every stage of the process, I simply believed in myself because I truly wanted the position. What I realized is that��motivation helps us succeed. Of course, knowledge and experience are essential. But when we doubt ourselves, we also make others doubt us.��Do not give up! There is an opportunity for each of us in the job market—provided that we keep trying and continue despite the challenges.