To the Ukrainian army according to… announcement

When traditional mobilization falters, creative methods can be quite successful. This is what is happening now in Ukraine, and may be of interest to Ukrainian men abroad.

How to choose a vacancy

You can now join the army not only by summons, but also… by advertisement. And, as the first results showed, there are quite a lot of people willing. What is creativity? Thousands of Ukrainians now have the opportunity to choose their place of service, position, and even their future commander. There is no need to wait for the summons at all. This is recruiting tells Air Force.

“I chose the best job,” says 25-year-old programmer Anton. He decided to join the APU last fall. I chose a dozen vacancies published online, went through several interviews, during which I received offers. And then he chose the best for himself – in the field of communications – and signed a contract. Anton says:

“Out of all the vacancies where I was approved, I chose the one that best suited my skills and where there was prospects for development. I am happy, I am able to get along with people and fulfill my responsibilities. And, of course, there is a feeling that I am contributing to the victory. It’s inspiring.”

They prepare in advance

Volunteers choosing to recruit do not stand in queues in front of territorial recruitment centers, as was the case at the beginning of the invasion. But they prepare in advance for joining the army: they undergo physical training, become theoretically familiar with weapons, study units, and select vacancies in accordance with their interests or civilian profession.

Over the past year alone, according to the Ministry of Defense and job search platforms cooperating with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the number of people interested in such mobilization amounted to tens of thousands. This, of course, is not the 300-500 thousand announced by the president, but the trend is eloquent. So the Ministry of Defense has already demonstratively taken the new form of recruiting under its wing.

Another example – in peacetime, Kiev resident Vsevolod worked in a creative agency. He came up with commercials and names for new products. In the summer of 2022, when it became clear that there would be no quick victory, he first thought about voluntarily joining the army. He recalls:

“I signed up for the gym, read various specialized military communities about survival, weapon characteristics, and combat tactics. So that if a “military commissar” came for me, I would know at least something theoretically.”

It is worth noting here that for potential recruits there is a kind of “bonus for consciousness” – the opportunity to change their mind. Vsevolod recalls that in November 2022 he actually passed a competition for a suitable position, but at the last moment he felt that he was not ready:

“I honestly said that I was scared, although at that time it was an artillery brigade, and now I serve in a motorized infantry brigade.”

But on the second attempt – in September 2023 – the man finally joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He directly contacted the unit where his comrade served and which he knew about “first hand.” Now he holds a position in the press service, shoots and edits videos, and helps communicate with foreign journalists and volunteers, since he speaks English. He says:

“The war has not gone away, it is very serious, and a moment may come when there is no place to serve in one’s specialty. “I have taken my destiny, including my military destiny, into my hands, and I am grateful that I am doing what I know.”

One of the key problems with traditional mobilization through the TCC is the lack of a personal approach, when people are “scattered” among positions and departments without taking into account their specialty. Therefore, even lawyers, financiers and doctors, who are in short supply for the army, can be used for other purposes. And if a new recruit is placed in a position that is not according to his profile, it is very difficult to transfer later. Legends are made up about paperwork for transfers in the army, soldiers joke.

The Air Force is aware of cases where servicemen who had legal grounds for dismissal in order to transfer to a more suitable position in another unit quit and re-mobilized to a new place. The translation procedure is so complex and lengthy.

Volunteers in a new way

The opportunity to mobilize directly for a specific position appeared shortly after the Russian invasion, as a private initiative of individual units and online job search platforms that undertook to post military vacancies. After reviewing them, you can immediately apply for the one you are interested in.

If the unit is interested in the resume, the recruit undergoes an interview or testing procedures, depending on the specifics, and then can join the unit or continue the search if he feels that this place is not suitable. You can enlist in the service either by mobilizing – for this, the commander writes out the attitude with which the recruit goes to the TCC – or by signing a contract. After the TCC, you will have to undergo a military medical commission and training at a training center, and only after that begin your service.

How successful is recruiting?

After a few months, it became clear that this form of mobilization had potential. In January 2024, the Ministry of Defense reported that over the past few months, more than 46 thousand potential recruits responded to such online vacancies from the Work.ua, Lobby X, Robota.ua and OLX Work services. Vladislav Grezev, founder of the CEO of the Lobby X platform, which was the first to launch a new recruiting format, says:

“Every week we have a new record for the number of responses from volunteers. Every month there is a record number of vacancies posted. The dynamics are soaring. It’s efficient, effective and popular.”

According to him, over the past year, the number of responses to military vacancies on Lobby X alone has increased almost 10 times – from 1,400 in December 2022 to 10.6 thousand in December 2023. The number of departments that are looking for people through such platforms and the number of vacancies they post are growing. Over the past six months, the number of job openings at Lobby X has grown from 150 to nearly 700 in January of this year.

He clarifies that one vacancy is not equal to one position, unless we are talking about niche areas related to programming, the work of the press service, and the like. If we are talking about combat positions, medical or infantry, there may be dozens of positions for one vacancy. The most popular among applicants are staff vacancies, IT, UAVs, press services, niche specialties such as cooks, explosives technicians, and divers. The next most popular are medicine, ground reconnaissance, transport, communications and infantry. Not all military units are open to such experiments, but those who try are generally happy.

3rd separate assault brigade

The 3rd Assault is one of the earliest and most successful examples of independent recruitment. In addition to vacancies on external sites, the team has its own advertising, an active website and social networks, as well as several recruiting centers. Those interested can select a vacancy on the website, fill out an application, undergo an interview or get advice at a recruiting center and take a physical test.

After this, if the person has no doubts, he can immediately receive approval for the chosen position and begin the procedure of mobilization or signing a contract. But you can weigh everything. For this purpose, the brigade has the possibility of a test week and a test week of an attack aircraft. The head of the Kyiv recruiting center of the 3rd assault Daniil Koval says:

“A person trains for a week, gets a load and tests himself. And then, if desired, he moves into the general group. “We have 70% of the stormtrooper week moving on to the general group.”

General Group is the training that the brigade provides for its recruits before they even get to the training center after TCC. This is an additional opportunity to prepare for service and finally weigh everything. At this stage, you can take a break to close things out in civilian life or just be with your family, or change your mind about serving altogether.

“We haven’t run out of volunteers, people just need to be motivated,” adds Koval. “We had a surge after the New Year, several dozen people came every day, motivated, immediately with things. Also, every time there are spikes after large shellings.”

Koval calls the system of the 3rd Assault unique, but says that it did not arise from a good life, since the brigade was not initially staffed by the TCC and had to look for people on its own.

The authorities spoke openly about the shortage of people and the need for broader mobilization at the end of last year, when it became clear that the much-publicized offensive in the summer did not produce the desired results and the war was dragging on. Vladimir Zelensky said that the military command allegedly requested to mobilize an additional 500 thousand recruits to compensate for losses and ensure rotation for those who have been serving for a long time. At the same time, the issue of recruiting more people into the army has become one of the most inconvenient and unpopular for the authorities.

The Ministry of Defense launched Recruiting Centers in test mode

Late last year, the Department of Defense signed memorandums of cooperation with key job search platforms. They were also allowed to conduct recruiting training in military units so that the military could independently look for people, and not wait for “supplies” from the TCC. Vladislav Grezev from Lobby X says:

“We teach the military how to properly organize escorts for people during mobilization or signing a contract, to ensure that they get a position in their unit, and how to translate correctly so that it doesn’t take forever. We intervene if there are problems. We advise those liable for military service on all issues.”

In February, the Ministry of Defense launched in test mode Recruiting Centers separately from the TCC system, where potential recruits can get advice and choose a vacancy for themselves, and then weigh everything and join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Deputy Minister of Defense for Social Development Natalya Kalmykova explains:

“The Army needs motivated people who consciously choose to serve in a specific position in a specific unit. We will scale our recruiting activity as much as possible.”

Fly in the ointment in a barrel of honey

A separate issue: the sphere of voluntary recruitment is almost not regulated by law and largely depends on the goodwill of a particular TCC, Olga Marko, a lawyer for the public organization Legal Hundred, tells the BBC. An attitude, that is, written confirmation that a recruit is expected to serve in a certain unit, increases the chances of getting into that unit, but does not provide a 100% guarantee, she explains:

“The term “relationship” does not have a clear definition in the law. Its use is also not regulated. Accordingly, there is no mechanism to appeal the TCC’s refusal to take this document into account.”

Several Air Force interlocutors immediately admitted that they had problems at the TCC when they came there with an attitude towards a specific unit. In most cases, the situation was resolved, but a third party was often involved. For example, Lobby X promises mediation for its vacancies, and the 3rd Assault generally purposefully sends recruits only to certain “friendly” TCCs.

The most guaranteed way to get into the desired unit is to sign a contract, says Vladislav Grezev. But people often avoid such a scheme because they believe that it is a much more serious commitment to the state than mobilization due to martial law.

Another important issue is the formation of the image of the army as a good employer and the image of units in general, recruiting experts say. People are afraid of the unknown; it is important for them to understand where they will serve, whether the team will be professional enough, whether they will be well prepared before performing tasks: “People want to serve with the best, with those who win. It gives them confidence.”

*Recruiting (employment, personnel selection) is the process of searching, attracting and selecting candidates to fill vacancies. The recruiting process includes steps such as posting vacancies, attracting candidates, conducting interviews, and assessing and selecting the most suitable candidates for the job.

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