“Professional Patience” in International Recruitment
— Insights from RES —
For over 10 years, my team and I have been placing skilled professionals and executives in German mid-sized companies across Europe and Asia. Time and again, the hiring process for potential candidates falls apart due to the lengthy recruitment process. Even when a company has already more or less decided on a suitable candidate, additional interviews are often scheduled, sometimes stretching over extended periods. The main reason for these delays is the coordination of the various interview participants, as companies frequently have other obligations scheduled weeks in advance, causing candidate interviews to be pushed back considerably.
In the DACH region, both companies and candidates display a certain “professional patience,” as the high-quality standards here also require thorough preparation time. This is understandable, and we greatly appreciate our clients' and candidates’ reliability and well-considered planning!
However, international candidates often operate on a different timeline and are typically less patient than we are used to in Germany. These differing perceptions of time often lead to misunderstandings. Foreign candidates may feel that our clients might not be genuinely interested in them, while companies sometimes feel pressured by the candidates, which can raise doubts about their suitability. As a headhunter, it is essential to keep a finger on the pulse, staying in constant contact with candidates to avoid missing the possibility of them suddenly receiving an offer from another company.
My motivation for providing this insight is to encourage companies, especially when recruiting abroad, to remain flexible and adapt to the local dynamics of the talent market. In many regions, the talent market has become very competitive, with foreign companies often moving much more swiftly, making the competition for top talent even more challenging.
Roman Remel