Talent Spotlight — Bastian Raphael (No. 4 — 2025)

Welcome to Talent Spotlight — where every 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 realised 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 shape our company's sustainable growth, with heart and pragmatism.

Your Story

A big-lesson moment:

One defining moment for me was my struggle to finish high school. I failed twice on technical programs with poor grades. On the third attempt, focused on economics, I made it. Not with flying colors, but solid enough.

"Resilience beats perfection!"

It showed me 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.

Something from a completely different field that helped your talent work:

Before 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. 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.

Talent Talk

The most unconventional thing you've done in recruiting that 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 L&D and People Ops to support screening and interviewing. I held a crash course on CRM roles, built a diagnostic structure, and 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 "Prompting Engineer" role 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.

A trick or productivity hack that makes 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, Answer — great for explaining things clearly.

3. HSP-GPT: Translates messages into a tone 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.

One thing about TA you've completely changed your mind about:

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. Great recruiting needs both: smart tools and even smarter people to use them well.

Community Connection

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.

One question you've always wanted to ask:

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