How the war rewrote hiring priorities: who Ukrainian companies choose first
A new informal hierarchy of candidates has formed on the Ukrainian labor market, taking into account the risks of mobilization.
A new informal hierarchy of candidates has formed on the Ukrainian labor market, taking into account the risks of mobilization.
This was stated by HR Director Yar Bozhyk in a post on LinkedIn. According to him, some companies today actually follow this hiring procedure:
- candidates abroad;
- women in Ukraine (in safer regions);
- women in other cities;
- men with reservation or deferment;
- men subject to mobilization.
«It is more difficult for a man in Ukraine to find a job, especially an office job, without a deferment or reservation,» notes Yar Bozhyk.
He also points out that companies that can reserve employees sometimes offer salaries 30–40% below market, effectively compensating for this with the ability to reserve.
A discussion broke out under the post, where market participants assessed the situation differently.
Some experts confirm the trend. IT Project Manager Svyatoslav Cherednichenko notes that after the cases of mobilization of employees, companies have become more cautious: «If the profession allows, employers increasingly give preference to female candidates or those who work from abroad.»
Product Owner Nazar A. explains this with business logic: «At that moment, the risk of men as a resource increased. This is an economics issue, not a question of justice.»
Andriy Sartek expresses a similar position: «This is a pretty smart hiring strategy, especially for roles where it is impossible to work remotely.»
At the same time, not everyone agrees with this assessment.
Supply Chain & Logistics Leader Andriy Marchenko says that in his experience the situation is different: «Now most companies have reservations, and this is already the basic story.»
Senior QA Automation Engineer Vadym Rudenko is also skeptical: «Nonsense. Where does this information come from?»
Some commentators link the situation to state policy.
Strategic Communications Consultant Oksana Gogol believes that the problem arises due to the lack of regulation of mobilization and reservations: «The primary source is the authorities' unwillingness to accept normal rules.»
At the same time, some participants also pay attention to the behavior of the candidates themselves. In particular, Nadiya Martyniv questions the willingness of some men to work offline.
Despite different assessments, the participants in the discussion agree on one thing: the labor market has changed. On the one hand, businesses are trying to minimize the risks of losing employees. On the other hand, the shortage of personnel (due to mobilization, departure abroad and the lack of new specialists) is forcing companies to compete for people. As a result, hiring decisions increasingly depend not only on the candidate’s experience, but also on external factors — primarily those related to the war.
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