🏆 Talent Spotlight - Bastian Raphael (No. 4 - 2025)

Welcome to Talent Spotlight – where very month, we shine a light on standout talent professionals, and the real stories shaping our industry.

Hey Bastian, tell us a bit about yourself 😀. Who are you, where are you, and what keeps you busy these days?

I'm Bastian Raphael, 33 years old, father of two wonderful kids, based in Berlin.

My path into People & Culture wasn't typical: after finishing lower secondary school, I started working as a construction equipment operator, later completed my high school diploma, and began studying biotechnology.

I quickly realized that while I loved MINT, it wasn’t the field I wanted to work in. So, I pivoted to a degree in Business Administration with a focus on P&O and labor law.

Today, I'm Head of People at eduki, where I lead a growing team across Talent, HRBP & L&D and Workplace Management, helping to shape our company's sustainable growth, with heart and pragmatism.

Your Story

1. Will you share a small moment that taught you a big lesson with us? (could be a mistake, a surprise, or an "aha" moment - from any part of your life):

One defining moment for me was my struggle to finish high school.

I failed twice, technical programs with poor grades. On the third attempt, focused on economics, I made it. Not with flying colors, but solid enough.

And that was a huge aha moment for me:

“Resilience beats perfection!”.

It showed me that success isn’t about being the best from the start, it’s about not giving up. That mindset continues to guide me, especially in P&C, where seeing potential beyond the obvious makes all the difference.

2. What about something you learned from a completely different field/hobby/experience that unexpectedly helped you in your talent work:

Before entering recruiting, I worked in many jobs: construction, electrical, retail, logistics, customer relations, editorial, marketing, even at corporates like Lufthansa, Bosch and H&M.

These experiences taught me to understand different work cultures and hiring processes firsthand. Today, that helps me deeply connect with candidates.

I know how it feels to apply for both blue- and white-collar roles (tbh I hate those terms) and that gives me an authentic, empathetic perspective in talent acquisition and management.

Talent Talk

1. What's the most unconventional thing you've done in recruiting that actually worked really well?

At eduki, we had a hard-to-fill CRM Specialist position and limited recruiting resources (just me).

So, I got creative: I brought in colleagues from our L&D and People Ops to support screening and interviewing. I held a crash course on CRM roles, built a diagnostic structure, and so we processed a large volume of applications together. The result? A high-quality shortlist and a hire.

Similarly, when we needed to define a salary range for a new role “Prompting Engineer”with no solid benchmarks (especially across Spain and Greece), I analyzed expected salaries from candidates who progressed through our funnel and calculated a median to build a provisional range.

We communicated transparently with candidates and it worked really well.

2. Would you share a (sourcing, interviewing, etc.) trick or productivity hack that makes your life easier:

I rely heavily on self-trained GPTs. I use three of them almost daily:

1. Feedback-GPT: Turns any message into constructive feedback using the OINR model (Observation, Impact, Need, Request).

2. Minto-GPT: Structures complex topics using Situation, Complication, Question, and Answer—great for explaining things clearly.

3. HSP-GPT: Translates messages into a tone that's appropriate for highly sensitive people, based on coaching with Kristin Kluck.

These tools help me communicate more clearly and stay highly productive, without fancy tech stacks

3. What's one thing about talent acquisition that you've completely changed your mind about over the years?

I never would’ve guessed how little technological potential is actually used in real-world recruiting and how often decisions still come down to gut feeling.

At the same time, I've seen how powerful tech can be when used right: from automation to diagnostics to smart prompts. It’s clear to me now that great recruiting needs both: smart tools and even smarter people to use them well.

Community Connection

1. Who in your community inspires you and why? (Should we ask this person to share their story next?)

Definitely my former manager Conrad Kleinfeld. He not only gave me my entry into TA, but also inspired me with his rare mix of data-driven thinking and genuine empathy. Without him, I probably wouldn’t be on this path today.

👀 What's one question you've always wanted to ask other talent professionals?

How do you identify the areas you need to grow in and how do you actually tackle them?

I think self-reflection and a growth mindset are crucial in talent work, but rarely talked about openly. I'd love to hear how others approach this systematically.