Behind the Scenes of iGaming Hiring — Interview with Stefan Muehlbauer

Shows do indeed feel like family gatherings, something most of us love. But the industry is too big for everybody to know each other. Additionally, many people do not even appear publicly, and most importantly, candidates and hiring companies often do not know about availability or job openings. I would say the biggest help is when it comes to checking the reputation of people, but of course, you also find talents in your professional circle. A problem appears if somebody applies who currently works for a big partner or a good industry friend.

No. 1 should be your own contacts and the referrals you get from team members. You just need to watch out for a halo effect when you know the person. After that, it should be referrals from your business circle. And then come us, the recruiters! A lot of roles that you cannot cover with your connections are best sourced by our guild. Your hourly rate multiplied by the time you need for HR is, in most cases, far higher than the fees, and we do nothing else.

From our perspective, and from most of our befriended recruiters, it’s definitely media buyers, preferably from CIS or RU. That is, by the way, the same across all verticals and accounts for around 30% of our placements. We hired Irina, also a specialist for the region, and Angelo, a very experienced media buyer, as recruiters to keep an edge in understanding the demand and making a proper preselection for our clients. The fastest‑rising job, as you can imagine, is AI experts, and since the beginning of the year we have also seen a quite good lift in SEO and sales roles.

Having set clear expectations and communicating company policy from the start. Stick to your promises, have the bonus/commission structure clear, and lead by example. Additionally, rewards and salary increases should not only be done at the request of the team member but offered by the company. When they come and reach out to you, there is already a process happening in their mind: What will I do if I don’t get the raise? I saw similar jobs pay 10% more, etc.

First, I want to mention that I love the idea of using AI in every aspect of life, but when it comes to CVs, candidates overstretch it. If you get CVs and cover letters that are just a modified version of the job post, that is counterproductive. Use AI to tweak your CV, implement best practices, and even adjust it to every job you apply for—but it should still reflect your character. Recruiters have to read a bit between the lines to find out the real experiences and skills of the candidates to make a qualified decision on who to invite for the first stage.

The cover letter/intro in the email or on the platform is as important as the resume itself — it’s the first thing the recruiter or hiring manager sees. It should give a small summary of why you consider yourself a fit for the role, and if you are not ticking all the boxes, why you should still be considered. This anticipated handling of objections is not something you can put into a CV, and without it, you will not make it to the interview in many cases.

I would mention a few:

1. Delays in communication and decision‑making.
2. Interview processes that are too long. The record holder so far was 8 stages, including 6 interviews.
3. Lowballing the candidate — companies are happy to get a desperate guy for 20% under the requested rate, only to lose them at the last minute to somebody paying the market rate.
4. Aiming for the 100% perfect candidate. I had cases where companies refused top-notch media buyers just because they used a different tracker—something you learn in 1–2 days on the job.
5. Non‑motivating job descriptions, especially when they don’t mention a salary. You miss out on many applications if you don’t have that listed.