Speed Dating for Recruiting: Matching Ukrainian Tech Pros with Nordic Companies
If you have been following our blog, March kicked off a short blog series about the many uses and benefits of the speed-dating format (SDF). At the end of the first post, we introduced the possibility of applying SDF to recruitment. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the need for doing just that presented itself very quickly: Due to the recent events, Ukrainians were granted the right to live and work in the EU for the next 3 years, which makes the hiring process in European companies easier.
Even now, there is a huge cohort of unemployed tech professionals spilling out of their home country, so we partnered with the Finnish tech recruitment agency Finders Seekers to arrange a recruitment event for Nordic companies to meet some of this Ukrainian talent. Since the majority of these people were on the move or without a stable place to stay, we knew that the traditional recruitment process wasn’t feasible. We believed that sending CVs and cover letters was perhaps the furthest thing from these people’s minds, and so we decided to help them get face-to-face with employers using our micro-mentoring application DropBy. Finders Seekers were able to reach out to their vast pool of great contacts who were looking to hire, and so the Ukrainian Talent Campaign came to be.
May madness — filling two needs with one deed
The first event launched on Wednesday, May 4th, and connected 24 company representatives with 25 job seekers via quick, 5–7-minute video calls based on mutual skill tags. Due to the large number of signups, two additional events have been scheduled.
“As a small, agile technology company we had the industry knowledge and ability to respond fast to two urgent needs: on one hand, the need for tech talent in the Nordics, and on the other hand, the need for Ukrainians to find work. The agility and speed did come with its twists and turns though — to be able to give everyone the opportunity to participate, we had to turn the one-off event into a series, bringing with it some extra work and challenges with communication and organisation. Partnering up with a brilliant firm like FiSe, though, gave us access to more companies than we could have ever imagined, and thus more opportunities for the job seekers as well.”
– Ines from Kasvu Labs, DropBy team
“Since the start of the war in Ukraine, we have wanted to do something concrete to help, and this event seemed like a perfect opportunity — it combines our passion and expertise in matching great tech talent with the most exciting employers. We all know that there is a need to attract global talent to the Nordics, and we were really happy to see over 60 companies signing up for the event! On top of recruitment there is of course also a bigger purpose for these kinds of events. Even though the schedule was really tight, it has been awesome to work together with Kasvu Labs for such a good cause!”
– Anni from Finders Seekers
Both teams are working hard to connect the next batch of job seekers with companies such as Nokia, Finnair, and Tietoevry.
Embracing the encounters
The DropBy team has been receiving very positive feedback from both job seekers and companies who took part in the first event, both sides appreciating the chance to get some facetime in early stages of the recruitment process and learn more about the other party.
“It was an amazing experience for me. Even though I didn’t get the job offer this time, I understood a little bit more about the recruitment process in the EU, analyzed weak spots on my CV and will be more prepared for the next event. Also I had immediate support from the DropBy team and it made me feel more secure during the whole process.”
– Anna, Job Seeker
“It was a great opportunity to chat with all the Ukrainian talents!”
– Anni from Nokia
If you would like to join our future events, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! The next events will be held on May 18th and June 1st.
Ukrainian job seekers interested in working in the Nordics can pre-register for the events through here: https://www.eventbrite.fi/e/ukrainian-talent-campaign-online-it-speed-dating-event-nordics-vol2-registration-336630941207?aff=medium
Companies wanting to recruit Ukrainian tech professionals, please drop us a line at hello@dropby.club
Happy speed-dating ❤
