01 / About

I have fun helping organizations build the teams and cultures they desire.

For 8 years, I have been building Teams with data, empathy, and a bias for action. From scaling diverse talent pipelines across DACH to project managing within global transformation programs with 150+ senior leaders, I enjoy both strategic thinking and hands-on execution in different contexts.

My work lives at the intersection of HR, DEI, and organizational change, translating complex people challenges into scalable, measurable solutions that stick.

Annika Schlendermann

Career Goal

I am a People & Culture professional with deep roots in talent acquisition and change and now excitedly expanding into broader HR generalist work.

I believe that culture, inclusion, and organizational clarity are not soft topics but real business drivers. I thrive where strategy meets execution and where people are taken seriously.

02 / Experience

Jul 2024 – Sep 2025·Zürich, Switzerland

Avanade Switzerland

DACH Lead – Candidate Engagement & Inclusive Hiring

  • ▸Designed and executed an inclusive hiring strategy across Germany, Austria and Switzerland that became the top-performing diversity program across all European markets.
  • ▸Built a structured candidate engagement model combining DEI events, women-in-tech academies, and university partnerships.
  • ▸Partnered with senior leadership to embed inclusive hiring practices into every stage of the recruitment lifecycle and support social media engagement.
DEI StrategyDACHEmployer BrandingInclusive Hiring
Mar 2023 – Jun 2024·Zürich, Switzerland

Avanade Switzerland

Talent Acquisition Lead Germany

  • ▸Drove end-to-end TA performance and team stability through a major restructuring, balancing strategic hiring priorities with operational rigor while significantly reducing agency dependency through a pivot to direct sourcing.
  • ▸Led and developed a high-performing recruiting team of 6 people, coaching recruiters through uncertainty, standardizing processes and tools, and strengthening stakeholder partnerships across business, HRBPs, and Finance.
Talent AcquisitionProcess DesignCost Reduction
Feb 2021 – Mar 2023·Germany

Avanade

Project & Change Management Consultant – Global Business Transformation

  • ▸Facilitated a global senior leader change network spanning multiple business units and geographies.
  • ▸Coached teams and stakeholders through complex organizational transitions, maintaining trust and momentum throughout.
Change ManagementConsultingAgile / Scrum
Nov 2017 – Feb 2021·Germany

Avanade

Senior Recruiter & Employer Branding Specialist

  • ▸Led an end-to-end employer brand relaunch that drove measurable uplift in internal brand identification and external referrals.
  • ▸Built and scaled inclusive hiring pipelines across niche tech roles, consistently exceeding DEI benchmarks — while co-leading early talent academies that brought women into tech roles at scale.
  • ▸Led the full DACH employer brand relaunch from agency management to company rollout, driving measurable improvements in brand identification, referrals, and retention — and subsequently got an opportunity to join the global EVP leadership team to scale my learning experience.
Employer BrandingRecruitingSocial Media

Languages

🇩🇪 German (native)🇬🇧 English (C2)🇫🇷 French (A1)

Education

Goethe University Frankfurt

B.Sc. Economics & Business Administration

03 / Metrics

Numbers that tell the story. Every number is sourced directly from reporting systems.

Cost & Efficiency

300K

Annual Savings (CHF)

Agency cost reduction via direct sourcing

−27%

Time-to-Fill

From 57 → 45 days

−30%

Admin Time / Recruiter

Through process optimization

DEI & Inclusive Hiring

54%

Female Hire Rate

DACH region · highest in Europe in 2025

100+

Women in Tech Placed

Via early talent academies & diversity focused hiring decisions

+22%

Diversity Hires YoY

DACH region growth

#1

EU Diversity Rate

Highest across all European countries

Pipeline & Reach

250K+

Candidate Reach

Social Media · year 1

40%

Sourcing Response Rate

Active outreach campaigns

30%+

Event → Interview Rate

DEI recruiting events

Team & Transformation

150+

Leaders in Change Network

Global transformation program

90%+

Stakeholder Satisfaction

Post Info session feedback

−20%

Sprint Delays

As Scrum Master

Employer Brand & Retention

+40%

Brand Identification

Internal uplift post-relaunch in DACH

+38%

Employee Referrals

Post employer brand relaunch

98%

Trainee → FTE Rate

Early talent academies

04 / Projects

Featured Project

Inclusive Hiring Program — DACH

Designed and scaled a full-cycle inclusive hiring strategy across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — achieving the highest female hire rate across all European markets in 2025.

54% female hire rate · #1 EU diversity rate · +22% diverse hires YoY

Employer Brand Relaunch

Social-first talent brand — 250K+ social media candidates and +38% referrals within 12 months.

250K+ reach · +38% referrals

Recruiter Efficiency Transformation

Replaced agency dependency with direct sourcing — CHF 300K saved, −27% time-to-fill.

CHF 300K · −27% time-to-fill

Global Change Network

Facilitated a 150+ senior leader change network supporting major company-transformation work → 90% after-session satisfaction with information flow.

150+ leaders · 90% satisfaction

Trainee-to-FTE Pipeline

Early talent academy — 100+ women in tech placed, 98% trainee-to-FTE conversion.

98% conversion · 100+ placed

05 / In Progress

Google Project Manager Professional Certificate

Sep 2025 – ongoing

In Progress

This Portfolio — Next.js + Claude Code

Building in public

In Progress

AI Tooling in HR Workflows

Claude, Perplexity & Notion AI in people ops

Exploring

Vibecoding Problem Solutions

Claude Code, T3 Chat, Gemini & ChatGPT — understanding the infrastructure and opportunities of vibe coding

Exploring

06 / Connect with Me

Let's talk
people strategy.

Open to conversations about talent, DEI, and organizational transformation. Whether you're building a team or rethinking how people work — let's connect.

  • →People & talent strategy
  • →DEI program design
  • →HR transformation projects
Connect on LinkedIn

07 / What I do in my free time

🥋

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Rolling on the mat — where ego goes to die and resilience is built.

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🏋️

Weightlifting

Consistency over intensity — showing up even when it's hard.

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🥂

Hosting

Bringing people together is one of my favourite things to do.

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🧶

Crafting

Making things with my hands — a rare and necessary slowdown.

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🍳

Cooking

Good food is love made visible — especially shared with others.

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🥾

Hiking

Anywhere with a good view and a challenging trail.

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✈️

Travelling

New cultures, unexpected detours, and the stories they leave behind.

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🎿

Skiing

Mountain air, steep slopes, and the best kind of quiet.

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🚴

Biking

New addition — exploring routes and clearing my head.

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What I believe

“Occasional failure is just the natural thing to happen when you always opt for growth.”

“You are the kindness you give, not the kindness you receive.”

“Feedback is a gift. How it's wrapped determines whether it gets opened.”

Currently reading / listening

🎙️

The Happiness Lab

Podcast
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The Righteous Mind

Jonathan Haidt

Book