This is the Successr story of Michalina

The start of my career?

As a child, I always had the aspiration of either becoming a lawyer or working at an embassy. The sight of professional women, elegantly attired, leaving their offices to share lunch together painted a captivating picture of what I deemed to be the ideal job. Guided by my parents' encouragement to dream big and explore diverse living environments, the desire to live abroad had always been there!?

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After high school, I decided to study political science at the University of Warsaw. I was really interested in subjects regarding labor law and women's situation en's situation in the labor market. This made me start a second bachelor: HR management. I wrote my thesis on women's discrimination in the labor market. In the meantime, I joined the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) & AIESEC to connect with internationals and improve my English. This really opened my mind and led me to go study abroad in Sweden for a while.?

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I was lucky to meet a strong and powerful woman during my first career steps: my teacher. She introduced me to the world of healthcare. I worked for one of the market-leading institutions of healthcare in Poland. One of their specializations is heart disease. I did an internship here at the Ministry of Health with a focus on eHealth. This is where I got introduced to the world of internal and external communication and events. This experience gave me an interesting base on how to interact with people, and how to organize and handle my time.?

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I really enjoyed the work in healthcare, but it didn’t feel like the right direction for me. I therefore started to look for internships after my studies. I got accepted into the HR department of a cosmetic brand. Here I learned all about recruitment, employer branding, payroll and compensation and benefits. After half a year I grew into the role of HR generalist where I learned even more about these topics.??

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This is where my interest in HR started?

I remember that my mom was looking for a job. She met a lot of discrimination solely because she was a woman. Hiring managers were not treating her well during interviews. This motivated me to develop myself in recruitment. Besides writing my thesis about it, I read a lot of books on the topic and joined women's communities focused on women rights. You could say that I am a bit feminist, also due to the situation in my home country. Talking with several women also fed my interest in other aspects of HR.?

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On Dutch grounds?

I met my Dutch partner during my studies in Sweden and that is how I moved out of Poland to live in the country of stroopwafels and tulips. Finding a job during corona was tough, but in my search for a job in recruitment and HR, Successr came up. From the first interviews with strong and entrepreneurial women, I felt right at home at Successr. Most companies I applied for mainly hosted for Dutch speakers. It was therefore special to see that Successr was so internationally oriented!?

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Challenges?

I never heard of the role as ‘Talent Sourcer’, but I already noticed quickly that I really enjoy showing people different directions in what they can do with their life and having interactions with them. But living and working in a different country was one of the biggest challenges of my life. My work experience was solely from Poland and it therefore felt like jumping in very deep water. I got the opportunity to gain so much knowledge of the team, new companies, and industries. Not only as a Talent Sourcer, but also as a Payroll Administrator for one of our clients. I was supposed to stay for 3 months at Successr, and here we are 1 year and 3 months later!?

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The added value of Sourcing?

Talent Sourcing opened a whole new world for me. I never expected that this field would develop in the way it did and that it would be so helpful for recruiting. Now I cannot imagine anything else.??

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Every single day you can learn something different when you’re in communication with people. How you can approach candidates and stay up to date with all the news and extensions that might help you. With AI now having a major impact, the challenge to be the different person in their inbox and to show your human side is the most important part for me.?

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Full circle?

Right now, I feel like I have come full circle. My newest client is again in Healthcare and guess what: also specializes in heart diseases! It is interesting how life can surprise you with things that came on your path earlier, and you never know what previous experiences you can use for your future! For my own future, I see myself constantly developing, but the interaction with the candidate will always be something that drives me!?