Swen Karbownik speaks
Swen Karbownik, Manager of CERTA, in an interview with medicalnews.bg:
TRUST BUILDS THE FUTURE!
We are absolutely aware of what it means to make a decision, move abroad, start a new job, know the problems that arise when looking for a job and know the importance of preparing your documents, looking for a home, and what it means is getting used to the new environment.
Mr. Swen Karbownik is the manager of CERTA Personalmanagement GmbH, a German-based a company offering mediation services to medical professionals, wishing to work in Germany, with headquarters in Hamburg and branches in Bulgaria (Varna and Plovdiv), Romania (Bucharest and Timisoara), as well as in Croatia (Križevci). As a professional with over 15 years of experience, he tells us about successful ways and concepts for a new life and a new job in Germany.
Mr. Karbownik, please tell us more about yourself and the company you are managing.
Hello, my name is Swen Karbownik, I live in Hamburg with my wife, who is Bulgarian, happily married and we have a 14-year-old daughter. For over 15 years, CERTA has been operating as a staffing company and we specialize in the field of medicine. We are concentrated in countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, where I am personally every 6 to 8 weeks.
What exactly makes your company unique in the mediation of doctors and medical staff in Germany?
We accompany our applicants from the first contact in their home country intensively and individually from A to Z and often afterward. We take care of the language course, we fund it partly, we know the exact and specific procedures, knowledge of German recognition of the profession or approbation. As soon as we receive the approbation of one of the candidates, we start looking for a suitable job for the candidate. We arrange trips for interviews and pay them accordingly. Flight, transportation, accommodation – all of us.
If the interview is successful in Germany, we look for accommodation’s possibilities, if the applicants have children, we look for kindergartens, if the partner still does not speak German, we look for a language course for them. In addition, each candidate has a personal consultant at their disposal.
Here is an example: Increasingly, we have applicants stating that they want to live and work in Munich. My answer is often, “Are you sure you want Munich exactly?” It must be known that life, e.g. Munich rentals are the most expensive in all of Germany. Of course, we can mediate a candidate who wants to be in Munich, but through our professional experience, we can offer them alternatives.
Who can apply with you and which professions are most in-demand?
Anyone working in the medical field who sees their future in Germany can apply with us. We mediate doctors from all specialties, but with the pleasure of young doctors who have just completed their studies and want to gain their first professional experience in Germany.
In which cities in Germany can you mediate, where do you find a job?
We work in all federal states of Germany with reputable clinics and medical practices. That is why we can meet the needs of each individual candidate.
What are the biggest difficulties you face in your day-to-day work with different applicants?
Most often the language is the biggest difficulty. I often hear, “You are the first German I speak to personally.” Even when applicants already have a level always before a real interview at a clinic in Germany, they have individual Skype exercises with my German colleagues. My colleagues are very insensitive and know all the typical questions of chief physicians. Of course, these exercises are free for applicants.
What about the costs of your agency’s services?
Our services are free to applicants. We receive our fees from German clinics and medical practices.
What advice would you give to Bulgarian professionals who see their professional development in Germany but do not yet know how to achieve their goal?
The most important from my point of view: Trust. That is why our motto is: “Trust builds the future.” We consult our candidates individually and according to the needs of each of them.
The second important aspect is professional competence. We have many years of experience with the documents for physicians’ approbation and recognition of nursing education and we know exactly every detail of the approach with the German administrative authorities.
The third important aspect is social competence. Our approach to each candidate is individual and we help them where we can. Even if the candidate has been in Germany and worked here for months, they still come to us and have questions. We are happy to help them. As a result, half of our new applicants have come to us through a recommendation from the old ones we’ve already helped.