Celebrate Hiring Success in the industrial glamour of Säälchen part of the famed nightclub Kater Blau with DJs, drinks, a visit from the circus, and a surprise musical performance.

To close out the first annual European Hiring Success Conference, SmartRecruiters invites you to network and unwind in Säälchen, part of the renowned Kater Blau nightclub. This exquisite space combines the ornate touches of art deco and the industrial allure of new Berlin with parquet floors, exposed brick, and a killer sound system. Embrace the vintage ambiance with a Vesper, while enjoying the du jour DJs of Berlin’s techno and house scenes, like Spoul, Wolf and Modest Crow.

In the same spirit of  #HIRE18 San Francisco’s Smarty Party, which took guests on a tour of California’s storied bay aboard the Hornblower – complete with a pass under the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset – guests at SmartX Closing Celebration will experience a night of authentic Berlin vibes as they dance to the beat of Europe’s definitive party destination.

[foogallery id=”37238″]

Mingle with speakers, attendees, and the who’s who of Berlin’s burgeoning tech scene. Be astounded by a spectacular acrobatic performance that defies the limits of the human body. Then be ready to boogie with a set from Marching Band, a ten-piece, brass group that reimagines pop favorites in swinging jazz style.

But be sure to save some energy for the surprise musical performance that will end this party with a bang. Doors open at 21:00 with R&B essentials from DJ Hessam, and don’t close until 5:00 in the morning. See you there!

*Conference attendees are automatically on the list, but if you are hoping to attend without a conference ticket register here while there’s still room!

After a decade in the industry, SmartRecruiters’ Head of People, Sarah Wilson, shares why she still never misses a conference.

Sometimes I walk away from an event and think, “That was pretty good, I am glad I went,” and sometimes I skip out of the room thinking, “Holy shit I love my industry!” Our Toronto Hiring Success breakfast definitely fell into the “holy shit” camp. It was an early morning, a time of day that pairs poorly with jet lag and Toronto humidity. The struggle was real getting out of bed. Though the hotel was moments away from the venue, by the time I reached the slightly muggy room, I was already thinking, “This is going to be a long one.”

“HR is the coolest job, you get to impact everyone in the company.” Sarah Wilson @SmartRecruiters #RecruitingAutomation pic.twitter.com/ObMc8rKgmu

— RAS (@RAS_SF) June 14, 2018

Moments later, a few of my favorite Torontonians walked in – equally blurry-eyed – and that amazing thing happened when you remember why you love something. HR has always been about the people for me. The people we serve, but also our peers, our exhausted fellow practitioners who can make an early morning conference session fly by with insight and enthusiasm, and I wanted to share some of the top takeaways that sent me back to San Francisco still skipping, even after 10 years of doing this whole HR thing – and in ascending order:

5. Think of marketing and recruiting like peanut butter and jelly.

We’ve been talking about Marketing and Recruiting intersecting for several years, but now it’s really happening. The consensus from the room was that marketing (for now anyway) belongs inside the Talent function (ask us again in a year or two and see whether we change our minds), but we have a lot to learn from our marketing counterparts. At the top of the list is how to be data driven when we think about reach, response, and investment. The key to having a business case for marketing spend is built upon solid data. If you aren’t sure how to do that, don’t be shy about asking your friends in marketing.

4. Just tell the truth.

Not every candidate is going to get hired. In reality, 99 percent of the candidates you meet may never work for your company.  What’s important to them is that you keep them in the loop. Let them know if you aren’t going to hire them – gently of course – because all they really want is the truth from you. One of our panelists talked about rejecting a candidate over the phone because there wasn’t an open opportunity, but offering to chat casually with a few colleagues so the candidate would be top-of-mind when a position comes up. Taking accountability:   Making the candidate feel special:

3. Help hiring managers more.

Listen to their needs, learn from them, and lend them your expertise so they can pick the best candidates.

2. Never feel alone!

Every story prompted a chorus of nods. When we opened to questions from the floor, there was continuity in the flow of ideas. My a-ha moment that morning wasn’t so much a tactic I could take away and implement tomorrow,  it was that I felt a sense of community. Which leads me to my final takeaway…

1. Get together more often.

Talent Acquisition is a team sport. It’s an industry that gets better by sharing. Yes, the war for talent is real, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work together to win it for the industry as a whole. Of course we are a competitive bunch, but we are also a group of “people people” who gather energy from everyone around us. The people I meet at conferences inspire me, and push me to be better – and I know I can do the same for them. Who’s with me?

Join SmartRecruiters for Hiring Success 18: European Edition, being hosted September 19-20th in Berlin!

SmartRecruiters’ first European Hiring Success Conference calls on the fresh voices of the EU, UK, US, and beyond to recast the TA conversation.

At its core, recruiting is about community building that powers business success. Hiring Success 18 Europe, coming September 19-20 in Berlin, Germany, brings together experts of varied disciplines, from TA gurus, political advisors, to tech savants. The one thing they all have in common? An uncanny ability to lead.

Whether it’s inspiring an organization to redefine talent, or challenging your team to become fluent in social media, the speakers at Hiring Success 18 know how to achieve business goals through inspirational people strategy that gets everyone on the same page.

Today we introduce just a few of the innovators in our exceptional line-up. Make sure to check out our conference agenda here and register now for best prices for you and your team.

Dr. Franziska Leonhardt

Dr. Franziska Leonhardt is an executive legal consultant for high-profile corporations and private equity firms in Germany. She first made an impact in Berlin’s startup scene as part of the management team of Rocket Internet SE, where she helped structure the company’s international business portfolio and IPO in 2014. Dr. Leonhardt currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of kloeckner.i, the web platform for the steel and metal industry giant Klöckner&Co SE, where she oversees company growth strategies in the digital space.

Diana Kinnert

CEO, equal-rights activist, political advisor to the Chancellor, published author. She’s not even 30 yet.

Matt Alder

Since 1999, any company ready for the digital transformation has turned to Matt Alder to lead the charge. This digital strategist and author has already redefined “exceptional talent” in his eponymous first book and now he’s ready to show us how you can make your own best practice.

Frédéric Mazzella

Car-hailing and -sharing services are now normal in most cities. But when your ailing grandmother sends for you from her country house at the end of a muddy lane 60 miles away from your favorite Starbucks, what do you do? Paving the next lane in car apps, Mazzella founded BlaBlaCar to handle the kind of long-distance carpooling that will have you dipping biscuits into granny’s tea in no time, and leave you enough money for your next week of lattes to boot.

James Purvis

Heading a Human Resources department at a paper factory is one thing. James Purvis has the responsibility of choosing between the smartest people on Earth for the most prestigious job postings in modern science, at CERN. After almost 30 years of career growth within the organization, he may, by now, even be able to explain to you what the Hadron Collider does.

Jenny Elisabeth Jung

Jenny Jung attended her first peer coaching program in 2017, and was so inspired by it that she launched MindTheLeader, a leadership training and peer-coaching service for startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Firmly rooted in the Berlin startup environment, Jung was previously the VP of Operations at EyeEM, a premier photography community and sharing platform, as well as the COO of Factory, a tech startup campus that hosts SoundCloud, Twitter, and Zendesk. Leveraging her wealth of experience in the startup space, Jung mentors up-and-coming leaders on company organizational health, business operations, and people ops.

Kasia Borowicz

This sourcer, trainer, and lifelong learner helps recruiters get the hang of the social aspect of social media to build real relationships with candidates. Kasia knows how to create communities around professional passion, and she’s ready to make you part of hers!

Adam Kostyál

From his Stockholm office at the top of Europe, Nasdaq’s Adam Kostyal oversees the comings and goings of tech firms across European markets. A professional watcher of startups, an obsessive once he sniffs the possibility of hypergrowth, there is no one better be able to read what’s coming on the far side of an IPO, or when betting on the outcome though investment will pay off.