Games for Recruiters and Sourcers (but everyone can play). Check it out here

Innovation, Workarounds & Hacks

“Don’t be afraid to try. Czech’s love workarounds and creative solutions. I think this part of our culture can really help in recruiting, as – whilst we work hard – we really love to find clever ways to get the same or better result!

For me it is no surprise that we have super creative recruiters from our country – some of the best in Europe I would say – because of this”

Jan Tegze, Creator, Sourcing Games

Overtime & Workload

“We work long hours. This is one of the things I really don’t like about the working culture here. I don’t mind to work hard but overtime is often expected by many companies – it is not paid – and I think this can be have a bad impact on employees. If I could change one thing about working in Czech I would change this”

Organisational Structure

“Of course it will be different according to each company – for example I worked for a big International tech company here and it was very similar to working in the UK, very open & inclusive culture etc. I then worked for a US company and was based in Prague, however the culture was much more reserved & conservative and did not feel “international” at all. Having said this, I would say that generally we do not like too much formality and there is not much difference between the senior manager and the normal worker”

Czech, Czech Republic or Czechia?

“You may be know that we went through a national rebranding recently – from Czech to ‘Czechia’. Officially this is now the name of our country! Don’t pay any attention to it – almost everyone ignores the change and continue to call the country Czech or the Czech Republic. Please do not make sure not to call us Czechoslovakia though – this has not been the case for over 20 years”

Ice Hockey

“Ice Hockey is the national sport of the Czechs. Whilst it is now competing with football in the summer, it is fair to say that it is a topic almost everyone will have an opinion. 

The national team is the focus but there is also a great club scene at national level. Třinec, Liberec and Mladá Boleslav are the best, though personally I am for Zlin!”

Maternity / Paternity Leave

“Maternity and Parental leave It lasts 28 weeks and starts 8 to 6 weeks before planned childbirth. However, if you have two or more children at once, maternity leave takes 37 weeks. Parental leave can start after maternity leave and may not last longer than until the child reaches the age of 3 years. However, you can stay with your kid till longer, but you must apply for approved absence from work to take care of your child. This absence from work is based on mutual agreement with the employer and employee“

Ondrej Prochazka, Beer Drinker

Best Beer is Czech Beer

“Most people abroad would think of brands like Staropramen, Kozel or Pilsner Urquell, but locals would instead favor pubs with beers like Svijany, Bernard or with beer from Brevnov monastery. What ultimately decides what makes a good beer, however, is not the brand, but the quality. Czech Republic is a country that has perfected the way how to distribute, conserve and serve the beer without removing some of its best properties. So while there are be hundreds of pubs serving Czech beers in Prague, you’ll find Praguers crammed in a few select ones, typically ones with a beer in a tank and a setup that allows for serving unfiltered beers or unpasteurized beer as it just tastes so much better. That’s why you sometimes leave our country wondering why the beer tasted so good or different from when you have it abroad! It’s also why our country has a few exceptions from EU regulations on how we’re allowed to brew beers – we also have such consumption that it’s worth making unfiltered/unpasteurized beers as they turn sour faster. Which beers you might get? Traditionally, you’d be looking at pilsners and lagers, however nowadays each bigger brewery produces a wide range of beer types, with IPAs being more and more favored”

Visegrad Group

“We have a special group within the EU together with, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. It’s called ‘Visegrad Group or Visegrad 4’.

So definitely there is very tight cooperation with these countries, though more on cultural and political spheres. For recruiting the visa / immigration laws are still different; Poland has the most liberal laws; Hungary you can buy a citizenship for example. It does mean that in some cases people who want to relocate to Czech first go to Poland to get a permit there, before moving across”

LinkedIn for posting jobs?

LinkedIn for active sourcing?

Email as preferred channel for candidate first contact

‘Not enough candidates’ as main problem in hiring

Games for Recruiters and Sourcers. But everyone can play. Check it out here