I personally don’t like the labels ‘candidate’ and ‘client’ but in this piece, they serve the purpose of identifying job seeker and the hiring party.
In an environment where the candidate is increasingly in short supply because the best talent is being nurtured in their current roles, clients are finding it more difficult to recruit into their vacancies.
As a recruiter with (too many!) years of experience, here are my five tips for positioning your opportunities to ensure you are attractive to the best talent in the market:
Present both sides of the opportunity
Many businesses purely focus on presenting a document that asks (or more accurately demands) key skills, key experience, key qualifications. Ensure that you are presenting the opportunity for the individual as well as what you need from them. Paint the longer-term picture of career development and hook the candidate on the potential in the role in the future.
Hire for attitude as well as skills
Ensure you are positioning from the outset what the behaviours are that ensure someone will be successful in your organisation. Stand out from the crowd with a job description or advert that focuses on how it feels to work in your business, what your bigger purpose is, what the culture is and your values set that creates a common bond among all employees.
Get the interview process right
Ensure the interview process (often the first face-to-face experience) is warm and engaging rather than an interrogation. Prep the receptionist to expect and welcome the candidate, be on time, ensure the room is comfortable and smile!
Provide feedback in a timely manner
Many recruitment processes will have more than one interview stage. Make the whole process efficient. Communicate well, manage expectations and adhere to them. Engage the candidate on the whole journey and you will have a very happy employee when they join you.
Be constructive
For those candidates who are ultimately not successful throughout the process, think about how they can become an advocate for your business. It is well known that if people have a good experience, they tell one person; but if they have a bad experience they will tell the world! Ensure that even when delivering news that they are not successful, you offer tips for further career progress that is constructive.
Finding and securing the best talent is hard work.
About the author
Jennifer Gaster is the Founder and Director of HR Heads, an HR recruitment agency that specialises in placing senior HR professionals in leadership positions across London, Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire, Surrey, and the Thames Valley.
Click here to connect with Jen on LinkedIn.
