Taking Digital HR to the Next Frontier with Robindro Ullah

From his popular HR in Mind blog, to our stage at Hiring Success 18 Europe, Robindro Ullah’s past informs his present, and even though he admits the future isn’t always clear, he’s not one to shy away from a dive into the unknown. In fact, he wants to take us with him.

What does Hiring Success mean to you?

Hiring Success is not only filling a position but making someone’s life more complete. Work is such a big part of life that having something which fulfills you is incredibly important. During my first recruitment job at Deutsche Bahn, someone reached out to me once and said thank you. I could hardly remember the person, so I asked what for. She said that ever since she heard my speech at the recruiting fair at her university, she thought Deutsche Bahn might be her employer of choice. And now, based on this very first thought she signed the contracted a year ago and was proven right. That’s Hiring Success from my point of view.

What drove you to start HR in Mind? What were some unforeseen issues while setting it up?

The first impulse came from my former colleagues, who asked me to sum up the latest recruitment news from the internet. They knew that I was constantly online searching for new ideas, so I started a weekly report which ended up online. After a few months, I got the feedback that my summaries were nice, but my opinions were more of interest. That was 2009, after I launched the first Twitter Career Account in Germany, for Deutsche Bahn.

What sort of things do you want the blog to accomplish?

The blog is my tool for clearing things up. HR is full of misunderstanding, and there’s a huge shortage of knowledge about digitization. It’s not one of those finger-pointing blogs, it’s a window to one likely version of the future.

Innovation is a word that gets thrown around a lot. What does it mean to you?

For me, there are two categories: the first one is about inventing something new out of nothing. The second is creating something new by bringing existing things together—which is the one I am good at. Even bringing people to the right position for them could trigger some innovation.

Why did you choose to write books, and why do you think that medium is effective for your message?

I think the question should be: why did you authorize your books to be printed. To write a book is quite obvious for a blogger. I agreed on printing it because the target group is still very used to content on paper.

If you had one message overall, what would it be?

Embrace the future and participate in determining it!

Who is your target audience?

HR Managers all over the German-speaking countries.

Tech has improved HR and destroyed publishing. Thoughts?

I don’t think so—tech has improved everything and destroyed outdated mindsets. With the right modern mindset, publishing can still be successful—even in these tech-driven times.

Where do you see HR in 2020?

Ohhhhhh in 2020—no one can see that far. But what I would love to see evolve are people’s old-fashioned mindsets. And that’s exactly what I think I can help with.