Urban legends circulate about how recruiters use dating apps to find candidates. It turns out that dating recruiters actually takes place and for the benefit of both candidates and companies. O4 Coworking in Gdańsk has been organizing speed recruitment dates for 3 years now. The effects are surprising.

O4 Coworking residents are small and medium-sized companies for which time and effectiveness of reaching candidates are important. We have heard from many of them that it is difficult for them to recruit people for junior positions. That’s why we created a format we called Recruitment Speed Dating. In May, we organized the 7th edition of the project, which after a month from its end gives participants satisfaction from working in the companies they met at this event – says Martyna Czarnobaj-Borowska, creator and manager of this format.

What is speed dating recruiting? O4 Coworking invites specific Pomeranian universities to cooperate and recruits participants from among their students. At the same time, it includes companies that are looking for people for junior positions in the project. So far, 500 students and 100 employers have participated in the project. When applying for the project, students must justify why they want to take part in it, and the project itself is divided into several stages, which allow young adepts to prepare for interviews, and companies to recognize the best candidates for work. The first stage consists of workshops on competences that are useful at the stage of looking for a job and developing a career, as well as initial interviews aimed at checking the fit of candidates to the needs of companies. The magic happens at the next stage. Each participant meets with people representing the companies involved in the project. These conversations last 6 minutes and take place on a similar basis to “speed dating.”

Speed Dating at O4 coworking

This year, we took part in 2 editions of this project
– says Bartosz Badzioch, director at PredictX, a company looking for young, creative employees as part of Recruitment Speed Dating. Within 3 hours, I had 20 recruitment interviews with young people who had been tested beforehand, open-minded and willing to work. I was able to get to know their motivations, and they had the opportunity to learn what we do at PredicX and how we work. In one morning, I collected 20 well-chosen CVs. I invited some of these people to further recruitment. In addition to recruitment benefits, participation in this project is also a valuable image-building activity.

Students who “dated” companies also did not hide their satisfaction with participation in the project. Weronika Paluch, a student of English Philology at the University of Gdańsk, appreciated the workshops preceding the meetings with recruiters. Most of the people I know from university have already had their first professional experience. We know that finding a job that we will fit in and grow in requires more than just responding to advertisements. That is why the workshops on communication and the use of LinkedIn in the job search process were very valuable to us. And the quick meetings with recruiters themselves are a developing experience. Even if they do not end with receiving an offer, they are a great opportunity to practice and learn about the mechanisms of modern recruitment – Weronika describes her experience.

Speed Dating at O4 coworking

The partner of the 7. edition of Speed Dating Recruitment was EF Education First, a world leader in language and intercultural education, as well as WSB Merito and the University of Gdańsk “We share a common goal with EF – to open the door to new growth opportunities. EF has been doing this in the field of language education for almost 60 years, offering language courses and learning trips around the world. We know from employers that knowledge of foreign languages is often a basic requirement for people starting their careers. That is why it is worth investing in proven solutions and that is why we are glad that EF was a partner of this edition of Speed Dating – sums up Martyna Czarnobaj-Borowska.

Olivia Centre is a hub in which over 200 companies are currently operating – emphasizes Bogusław Wieczorek, the representative of the Management Board of Olivia Centre. These are very different entities – from the most well-known global corporations such as Amazon, Bayer, Nike or thyssenkrupp to small and medium-sized enterprises concentrated in the O4 coworking space. It is our melting pot of creativity and it is where many initiatives are born, bringing added value to the entire community of Olivia residents. Speed Dating Recruitment is one of them, and the fact that its seventh edition has already taken place shows that the project brings tangible results. As the experience of previous editions shows, almost all participants have a good chance of finding a job, because the effectiveness of this form of recruitment is almost 70%.