Radosław Gałka, europa.jobs: “what allowed us to survive difficult times is our flexibility and ability to adapt”

The recent global events, like the pandemic and ongoing war in Ukraine, have the public’s attention. That includes the recruitment side of employment. Employees, employers, and businesses of all sizes faced various changes.

Presented with such challenges made looking for collaborative, professional opportunities more difficult. An emphasis on implementing new technologies is a prominent trend across all industries. Using trusted platforms that help connect and develop relationships between professionals and businesses will improve overall resiliency.

Taking simple steps to protect user data from cyber threats is part of becoming adaptable. The right VPN is a step in the right direction. Individuals and businesses must learn how to adapt to the fluid nature of emerging technology by using software specifically created to protect users from cyber attacks and breaches.

For an idea of how professionals and companies navigated global events while remaining flexible, we interviewed Radosław Gałka, CEO & Founder of europa.jobs – an online job portal aimed at becoming the largest marketplace for the recruitment industry by connecting professionals with employers, businesses, and organizations across Europe.

What inspired you to start europa.jobs, and how has your vision for the company evolved?

The europa.jobs portal, created in 2019, was in response to the needs of the recruitment industry. I have been successful in running an employment agency for over 15 years. One of the main problems has always been finding the right candidates for work. Hence the idea for a job portal with a pool of new candidates. At the same time, it's a knowledge base and a base of other services that employers and job seekers can use.

Today, europa.jobs serve as the main source of applications for big players in the employment agency market. The vision of the portal's development matures and continues to change. Our goal is to become the largest marketplace for the recruitment industry in Europe. Step by step we are achieving this goal.

Could you tell us more about what you do? How does europa.jobs differentiate itself from other online job portals? Particularly in features and services offered to job seekers and employers?

Our portal is not only a traditional job board - employers add job offers, and jobseekers apply for them. We are always expanding our knowledge base. Our blog already has over 1,200 reliable articles about working and living abroad.

What distinguishes us? First, we focus on cross-border work. Our goal is to enable European employers to find suitable candidates for work, not only from their home country but also from other places in Europe. This is possible thanks to services such as automatic translation of the job offer.

The content gets translated into 9 different languages. Users also have access to the candidate database. Of course, we do have a social media presence. Our social media content is also translated into different languages. Thanks to that aspect, we have a wider European reach.

Can you tell us more about the job market trends in Europe? How do you adapt to these trends to provide relevant and valuable job opportunities?

The European labor market has always gotten characterized as one with high seasonality. The increased interest in our services by employers and candidates alike, happens more at the beginning of the year or during the pre-holiday period.

There's also the issue of migration to Western Europe. Employees from Central and Eastern Europe are one of our main target groups. In recent years we have seen this group start to burn out a bit in favor of, for example, candidates from Spain.

Our business has always been sensitive to trends. That's no different than any other online business. Our way to do this is, above all, effective online marketing. That includes constant expansion of our client base. This also incorporates times of downward trends. Those are times when other groups of employers could deliver their job offers to our users.

How do you think the recent global events affected your field of work? Were there any new challenges?

As I mentioned earlier, our business is always sensitive to trends. Especially when considering global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Let's admit that the period of deep lockdown and closed borders was very hard for us. Many of our clients could not operate, which also affected us. What allowed us to survive difficult times is our flexibility and ability to adapt.

During Covid, for example, we focused more on local job offers. Without crossing borders, we introduced several changes to our offer for employers. We also offered attractive prices for industries most affected by the lockdown.

We also adhered to the principle that we must stick to reliable facts. Our articles and social media kept audiences informed about restrictions. Every possible fake news post was fact-checked. I think that we were better prepared for the war in Ukraine.

A sudden wave of migrants from the east and increased traffic on the website were not a problem for us. We have been developing the Ukrainian version of our website for several years.

In today's competitive job market, what innovative strategies or approaches do you recommend to job seekers? What will help them stand out and increase their chances of securing desired roles?

We take into account the situation in the job market. For example, migrations and the ever-deepening staffing gap in many professions. My recommendation would be to learn foreign languages. Also, to learn more about professions experiencing shortages.

For instance, there's a need for more welders or construction specialists. Professional skills and foreign languages will always be a good bargaining chip. Those options will provide more opportunities for a good job.

What measures do you have in place to protect the privacy and security of user data? Especially in the context of sensitive personal information shared during the job application process.

We have state-of-the-art IT systems, all procedures are compliant with the GDPR standards. User data is safe on encrypted servers, and all application processes or other types of forms are always private. We do not disclose our users' data to any third parties.

Have you noticed any misconceptions or myths surrounding the recruitment field of work? What could be their origin?

In my opinion, every period has its myths and misunderstandings. They change so often that it's hard to keep up with them. I think the source is always the lack of communication. There also tends to be a lack of information about your expectations and needs.

The ability to communicate is a key competence that makes life easier. And that's not only in the recruitment industry but also in general.

How do you see your industry evolving over the next few years? Are there any emerging trends that you are currently observing?

As in many other industries, we see a lot of emphasis on implementing new technologies. These include AR and VR or artificial intelligence. All this will continue to develop dynamically for years to come. I use VR technology myself in my latest company Dig in Vision. It's a welding simulator for professional training.

Soon we will combine what we do at Dig in Vision with europa.jobs. That way, europa.jobs is a job portal and a complete online recruitment center. It will provide practical skills, development, and assessments.

Would you like to share what’s next for europa.jobs?

I already gave away a bit of the answer to the previous question. We have big plans for europa.jobs. We must continue to adapt to the changing world and adapt our services to ongoing trends.

Revealing plans for the near future - soon, a very large update of our portal will see the light of day. So stay tuned!