Changing conditions of academic and scientific labour markets challenge the current conceptual thinking about the mechanisms of academic promotion, selection and recruitment. This paper explores the models of academic promotion and recruitment of professors in a comparative perspective using the examples of Poland and Germany, and addresses the challenges faced by the reformers in both countries. It focuses on promotion, selection and recruitment processes--their mechanisms, rationale and potential for change and then critically reviews arguments used in the discussions on reforming the models of academic careers, and in particular the abolishment of habilitation.