Poland was previously known for its significant emigration, with many seeking employment in countries such as the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.

However, in recent years, Warsaw has transformed into a thriving economic center, attracting multinational corporations such as Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia. The well-educated workforce, as well as the lower cost of living and labor expenses, contribute to this attraction.

We recently spoke with Ruslan Halilov, co-founder of Bluedot, an AI-powered Chrome extension for Google Meet. He found and relocated their CTO to Poland with the assistance of Relocate.me, and he’s here to share his experience.

What prompted you to locate your tech hub in Warsaw? 

I used to live in Warsaw and it’s an excellent city for engineering talent. You have a high standard of living, extremely safe surroundings, and a wide range of activities. Warsaw is already a top destination for multinational companies, and its popularity will only grow in the coming years. 

Who exactly were you looking for? 

As a remote-first company with co-founders based in London and Berlin, we faced a unique challenge when finding the right CTO with a strong engineering background and leadership experience. It was crucial for us to hire a CTO as soon as possible because we had recently raised funding and our investors wanted to see a strong technical team in place. Being a remote-first company allowed Bluedot to tap into a global talent pool. 

How helpful was Relocate.me?

We’ve heard about Relocate.me from many other founders who found and relocated engineering through them.

The job posting feature on Relocate.me proved to be an invaluable resource in Bluedot’s search for a CTO. They ensured that our job opening was seen by a large number of candidates by promoting it on their website, relevant job boards, and social media platforms. Furthermore, their expertise in crafting compelling job postings helped us effectively communicate our company culture, mission, and values, attracting highly qualified candidates from different parts of the world.

How did you find your CTO?

Among the pool of applicants, one candidate stood out: a talented CTO from Kyiv who expressed a strong interest in relocating to Poland. With his technical expertise and leadership experience, he was the perfect fit for Bluedot. Following interviews, it became clear that he possessed the distinct skill set needed to succeed in the role. He previously worked at Wix.com, where he scaled an engineering team. 

Recruiting a CTO was only half the battle; ensuring a smooth relocation process was also critical. Fortunately, Relocate.me provided comprehensive support every step of the way. They offered guidance on visa applications, housing recommendations, and assistance with essential services such as banking, allowing for a seamless transition for our Ukrainian hire.

What would you recommend to other founders looking to hire a CTO?

Make recruitment your number one priority. It should be treated as seriously as sales or fundraising. You will also require strong partners, such as Relocate.me, who will assist and guide you along the way.

Maxwell is an Amsterdam-based company, working on low-code platforms for chatbots and voice assistants. Thanks to their products, one can easily build and implement chatbots without technical knowledge. We’re more than happy that this company leverages Relocate.me to recruit experienced Software Engineers from all over the globe. To find out more about their hiring success, we spoke to Asbjørn Jørgensen, the co-founder of Maxwell.

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Why did Maxwell decide to hire abroad? Did you experience a talent shortage on the local market, or just wanted to diversify your team?

As we focus on hiring the best people for our positions, we don’t limit ourselves to the local candidates’ pools only. It so happened to be that we often find suitable people abroad. Currently, most of our team consists of expats.

Do the Dutch companies often hire from abroad?

Yes. At tech companies, based in large cities like Amsterdam, it’s becoming common that teams consist of people from multiple nationalities. Moreover, the government makes it relatively easy for employers to relocate candidates to the Netherlands, so the process of becoming a sponsor for knowledge migrants is quite streamlined and smooth. That helps us save time in order to focus on helping candidates to relocate.

Tell us about your overall experience with Relocate.me.

We use Relocate.me to attract professionals for engineering roles. The hires who come through the platform usually have 10+ years of hands-on experience in the industry-leading companies. That makes Relocate.me a unique source of experienced candidates for us. As for the timing, we usually find a candidate we’re excited about within 2 months.

How long does it take for you to relocate a candidate to the Netherlands?

The whole process usually takes 4-6 weeks. From the moment of signing the contract until the candidate arrives at work, we usually need at least 4 weeks to get everything prepared for a smooth relocation.

How do you support your candidates during the relocation process?

We provide our candidates with visa sponsorship and help with all the other practical matters of relocating. As soon as our new hire comes to the Netherlands, we help them with the residence permit, accommodation, a bank account, social security number, and everything else they may need. Surely, we discuss the checklist of relocation assistance resources with every candidate individually.

Maxwell team in their office garden

What do you like most about working with Relocate.me?

For Maxwell, it’s all about the quality of candidates. Currently, we’re very happy with the candidates that we found through the website.

What do you think makes Relocate.me different from the other job boards for developers?

Relocate.me has a very specific focus and goal — helping professionals to relocate to another country. As someone whose parents both relocated to the Netherlands, I support this goal with all my heart. It’s a big deal, seriously, and we always take the time to make this step successful for our candidates. We really care about our hires, and I personally take a lot of responsibility in supporting them during the relocation process.

Having gone through the process of hiring from abroad, what advice would you give to those companies who are going to use the same approach?

Try to find a balance between hiring from abroad and hiring from the local market. Expats always want to learn more about the local culture; so it definitely helps to have a few locals in the team.

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Browse jobs at Maxwell and other tech vacancies in the Netherlands here. If you want to move to the Netherlands, read the story of Michele Bertasi — a passionate C++ developer who moved to Amsterdam from Italy.

Oradian is a Croatian fintech company, creating financial-inclusion tools for financial institutions that serve some of the world’s most hard-to-reach communities. Their principal project is called Instafin — a cloud-based banking software for financial inclusion. Located in Zagreb, Lagos, and Manila, the company currently has 120 employees, representing 25 nationalities. Over the past few months, 3 talented tech specs joined Oradian through Relocate.me. We’ve spoken with Ivana Jozic, a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Oradian, to find out more details about their hiring success.

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Why did Oradian decide to hire abroad? Was it a talent shortage, the willingness to bring diversity to the team, or something else?

As Oradian’s founders represent different countries, we aim to make our team nationally diverse, too. However, we also admit that here in Croatia, there’s a shortage of specific talent and experience in the financial industry. So, as we regularly communicate with clients and partners located all over the world, the whole world is our candidate pool.

Is it a common practice in your country to hire internationally?

No, it’s not, but as we’re focused on the global markets, we seek inspiration from international companies. Moreover, apart from bringing people to Zagreb, we also move specialists to the Philippines, (our biggest market), and Nigeria. Relocate.me helps to boost our visibility and attract more international hires.

Who did you hire through Relocate.me? How long did it take to find your perfect candidates?

With Relocate.me, we hire mostly tech and product development specialists for building our software, Instafin. Recently we successfully hired two excellent Front-End Devs and one QA Engineer. They were from India, Turkey, and Argentina.

As for the selection process, it is never quick and easy. Once we post a job, we receive dozens of resumes within a week or two. Then the hiring manager collaborates with our Talent and Culture team to choose the right candidate for a particular job.

What about the relocation process — how long does it take?

Depending on the candidate’s previous location and destination, the relocation process lasts from one to two months.

What kind of relocation assistance do you provide?

After a job offer is accepted, we talk each candidate through the whole relocation process, to explain all the steps and clarify their expectations. As for practical help, we cover the new hires’ flight expenses and their accommodations for the first month, and we provide visa sponsorship.

In Croatia, we always cover all taxes and health insurance expenses for our employees. If a person is relocating with a partner/spouse, we share the partner’s resume with local hiring agencies. Moreover, if our new hire is relocating with children, we help them to search for schools.

What do you like most about working with Relocate.me?

Relocate.me’s customer assistance is responsive, fast and reliable. The platform is connected to our applicant tracking system, which allows us to automate certain parts of the application process and save a significant amount of time. And we really love the country pages of the Relocate.me website, where you can learn more about the countries where companies are based.

What do you think makes Relocate.me different from other recruiting/job platforms?

It’s an all-in-one service for people who want to relocate. Firstly, they don’t need to use other sites to check the average costs of living. Secondly, they can do a background check of potential organizations that fit their profile. Relocate.me also ensures a level of quality in the already overcrowded tech industry. All in all, it’s a reliable source to rely on when looking for job relocation opportunities.

Having gone through the process of hiring internationally, what advice would you give to those companies who are looking for tech professionals abroad?

Make sure to develop a good communication strategy towards potential candidates — don’t use the same channels or copy/pasted job ads to reach different people. Potential hires are a special audience, and you shouldn’t treat them the same way you treat your clients or business partners. If you try to approach all your audiences through the same channels, things can get messy.

Also, be conscious that the selection process always needs to be fast, focused, pre-defined, and clearly mapped out to a potential hire. To seriously consider relocating and working for your company, candidates need to be able to trust you from the start. The candidate experience always needs to be respectful and include feedback.

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Browse for Oradian’s jobs and other vacancies in Croatia here. You might also enjoy the story of Mackenzie Schnell, the communications manager who moved to Croatia to work for Oradian.