She followed in her mother's footsteps and left Poland to work in Belgium. After working as a temporary consultant for ten years, Joanna decided to switch things up and took a job as a receptionist in a hospital. Eventually, the call of the recruiting profession was too loud to ignore. In 2019 she joined IMPACT as an IDM recruiter, where she looks for talented international construction and technical experts to fill local vacancies in Belgium.
Around 2005, Joanna left her native Poland behind to fully immerse herself in her Belgian adventure. ‘My mother had been living in Belgium for a while and I visited her regularly. I finally decided to follow in her footsteps and move to Belgium for work. So the country wasn’t entirely new to me.’ Joanna took an intensive Dutch language course and found a job as a consultant at an employment agency, where she worked for ten years.
Unique opportunity as a foreign expert
Like many temporary workers, Joanna felt the time was right for a new adventure. ‘Recruiting was all I had ever done. I wanted to try something new. In 2019 I started working as a receptionist in a hospital. A quiet job with no specific targets to meet sounded great at the time, but I soon realised that I needed that challenge and a certain amount of pressure to succeed. My sidestep outside the HR sector lasted only four months. I finally found my place as an IDM recruiter at IMPACT.’
Joanna is now part of the international team at IMPACT that finds and recruits talented foreign specialists in Belgium. ‘We receive vacancies from companies looking for specific expertise. We find the right candidates, conduct a thorough screening, and then introduce them to the client. The clients get a talented expert that they never would have found without IMPACT, certainly not in Belgium. The foreign specialist gets the unique opportunity to put their talents to good use in an interesting job with an excellent salary and fringe benefits.’
Blind trust
IMPACT has a lot to offer international temporary workers. ‘Our company has a lot of expertise and a great reputation. Temporary workers can blindly trust us and count on us at all times. Our guidance doesn't stop after we find them a job. We try to take individual wishes into account, address questions and concerns, arrange housing near their workplace, and even arrange transport, if necessary.’
Joanna knows the value of temporary workers. ‘We’re open and honest from the very start about the pros and cons of the vacancy and about living and working in Belgium. We want to avoid unpleasant surprises and make sure all temporary workers are well-informed before they arrive. This helps them feel at home more quickly and they know they can always come to us to discuss any questions or concerns. As a newcomer and a temporary worker in Belgium, you can rest assured that IMPACT will make all the necessary arrangements for you.’
We asked Joanna one final question: How do you make an impact?
‘By expecting perfection from myself and others. A candidate can be perfect on paper, but if their personality or mindset doesn't fit the company, you have to be honest. This is also true the other way around. We're people, not products. The goal of IMPACT is to find a suitable job and a cool workplace for all starters and help them build a long and satisfying career. This makes everyone happy: the employee, the client and us. That’s the best part of being an IDM recruiter.’
