Aspects of Intercultural Recruitment and Selection of Highly Skilled International Female Staff in Slovenia

Respondent	Country of origin	Age (years)	Cultural background (as stated by the respondent)	Time living in Slovenia (years)
Respondent 1	Belarus	33	Belarus	2.5
Respondent 2	Latvia	ND	The United Kingdom and Latvia	3
Respondent 3	Sweden	ND	Sweden	10
Respondent 4	Russia	35	Russia, Poland and Denmark	5.5
Respondent 5	Russia	ND	Russia, the Netherlands and Belgium	11
Respondent 6	Latvia	ND	Latvia	17

[i] Source: Gromova, own research, 2021.

[ii] ND, not determined.

Table 2.

Categories of the first level.

Categories of the first level
Slovene employment culture:	Drivers at the entry level of the recruitment and selection process:	Barriers at the entry level of the recruitment and selection process:
○ importance of having a degree/education to get a job ○ no strict interview scheme during the selection procedures ○ ability of promotion ○ high value of personal acquaintances while job search ○ ability to get a job through a personal invitation ○ lack of formality while interview ○ English language in CV as an exception ○ easier to find a job through the Slovene website, rather than through international websites ○ focus on personal communication, rather than on hard skills, during the interviews ○ several stages during the selection and recruitment procedures ○ recruitment and selection process in English ○ strict selection and employment process in international companies ○ standards ○ value of network ○ a lot of interviews ○ need to prove uniqueness/unique skills to get a job (for third-country nationals) ○ more chances for women to get higher positions in global companies ○ non-classic hiring procedure ○ less hiring through open calls and positions ○ different interview/selection procedures in big and small companies ○ easier than it seemed to be ○ official and stiff employment procedures ○ no expectations ○ seamless but hassle ○ high value of the employer's experience of hiring expatriates before ○ possibility of easier promotion if you are already in the company, and people know you and recognise you ○ personal conversation during the first job interview ○ no gender issues ○ it depends on the period and reason of the immigration	○ fast answer from the company while job search ○ friendly atmosphere during interviews ○ company support within the legal procedures ○ positive recruitment process ○ pleasure to work ○ easy-going and young-minded colleagues ○ fast and easy legal procedures for the EU citizens ○ support and help from employers ○ no complications ○ plenty of new possibilities ○ changes in HR practices ○ well-organised process ○ good communication ○ zero stress ○ freedom and trust between employees ○ good organisational culture ○ no micromanaging ○ good management ○ orientation of the companies to the specific market	○ challenges during the process of resettlement ○ small and closed market ○ lack of adaptation process in Slovene companies ○ few multinational companies ○ difficulties without knowledge of the Slovene language ○ slow selection process ○ unpreparedness for the unusual system of selection and recruitment ○ a lot of documents to get residence permit (for third-country nationals) ○ malfunctioning of the Slovene working agency ○ challenging ○ HR incompetence ○ difficult to find a job regardless of expatriation ○ difficult recruitment process ○ language barrier ○ more difficult for women to find a job ○ difficult to find a job in Slovenia for women in family-based companies ○ old-styled mentality ○ women are not preferable in the business and on top-positions, regardless of their experience ○ regulational and governmental problems ○ complicated legal procedures for expatriates ○ more difficult relocation procedure for expatriates from third countries in comparison with the EU citizens ○ challenging job searching ○ no possibility to get language courses for EU citizens ○ lack of equal adaptation programme for EU and non-EU citizens ○ lack of help from the state ○ unfairness ○ hard to get into the job market ○ no welcome package, arranged adaptation process for the expatriates ○ cultural differences ○ no personal contact at work before the employment ○ too different from the local culture ○ not so many barriers ○ unexpected challenges ○ difficulties within some process in authorities ○ bureaucracy ○ long procedures to get residence permit/working visa ○ lack of knowledge of English in the authorities ○ bad communication and disrespect toward authorities

[i] Source: Gromova, own research, 2021.

[ii] CV, curriculum vitae.

Table 3.

Categories of the second level.

Categories of the second level

Improvement for the employment and selections process in Slovenia:

Recommendations for self-initiated expatriates:

○ improvement in the HR sphere
○ more help and attention to expatriates while hiring
○ digitalisation
○ allow companies to be set up in Slovenia and hire people
○ to make the legal relocation procedure easier and faster for highly skilled internationals
○ to allow more job advertisements in English
○ more accessible job market for the expatriates
○ to make the adaptation process for the expatriates equal
○ HR needs to be aware of peculiarities of hiring third-country expatriates
○ company should help with documents and visas

○ knowledge of foreign languages
○ ability to take responsibility for their own life and career
○ need to show motivation and interest
○ to be more initiative to find a job
○ to use all opportunities
○ to know people who could recommend you to the position
○ to be prepared for challenges
○ to make friends as soon as possible
○ to start from job searching sites
○ intrinsic value
○ persistence
○ creativity
○ thinking out of the box
○ flexibility
○ self-confidence
○ nothing is impossible
○ preliminary research of the labour market
○ value of international companies
○ to go with a flow
○ to be open for opportunities
○ not over-complicating
○ to be focused on Slovenia and Slovene language
○ have an educational degree
○ to have all the documents prepared/translated
○ to build a network
○ to search for a company that you fit into
○ to search for a job in a big company
○ to search for a job while being in Slovenia
○ to be confident
○ to be open for the possible cultural differences
○ to look for unique benefits and skills to highlight your importance for the company
○ to learn more information about the Slovene job market
○ to be part of the expatriate community
○ to be involved
○ to learn Slovene language and culture

[i] Source: Gromova, own research, 2021.

Table 4.

Categories of the third level.

Categories of the third level

Characteristics of self-initiated expatriates:

Slovene cultural features:

○ professional switch
○ interculturality
○ different cultural backgrounds
○ highly educated
○ highly skilled
○ constant self-development
○ multi-profile education
○ strong connection to native culture
○ ability to self-reflection
○ intercultural professional background
○ travelling a lot
○ self-decision about moving to another country
○ interest in international professions
○ working in a big international company
○ wealth of intercultural experience while working
○ using foreign languages at work
○ experience of living and working abroad
○ experience in different professional fields
○ hard working
○ readiness to make lots of effort to achieve the goal
○ active life position
○ linguistic skills
○ proactive
○ get contacts with someone who can help with the job
○ open to new experiences, especially intercultural experiences
○ energetic
○ interested in their job
○ solid working background
○ ambitiousness
○ learning by doing
○ purposeful
○ constant learning process
○ combination of work and education process
○ self-confidence
○ ready for changes
○ ready to explore
○ problem-solver
○ self-presentation skills
○ stress-resistant
○ communication skills
○ willingness to change life, explore the world, get international experience, grow and study
○ keen on challenges
○ love for research
○ analytical mind