Whether you’re new to the hiring process or a seasoned hand at it, there are some top things to bear in mind before you begin the process in order to ensure a smooth and successful outcome and to give you the best chance of securing your perfect candidate. We take a look at some of the top things employers should consider when hiring.
1. Prioritise and commit to the recruitment process
It may sound simple, but often its sadly not the case and can end up causing serious delays and frustrations for all involved. Think in advance about who needs to be involved and make sure they are available for interviews when the time comes. Also ensure you give timely feedback from all interviews and keep the process moving along smoothly.
Candidates can be lost through slow and protracted recruitment processes. They will often be interviewing for multiple roles and may have multiple offers to consider. Good candidates will get snapped up fast, so don’t miss out on your ideal hire because you were too slow.
It’s also important to fully commit to hiring someone from the start. It’s not cool to ‘test the market’ just to see who is out there. This doesn’t give a good impression to candidates, or recruiters, if you’re unsure and non-committal. Only begin the recruitment process if you truly have a need to fill a role, otherwise it can do more harm than good to your brand.
2. Time
Think about it carefully - how much time do you honestly have to commit to hiring someone? Can you handle all of the CVs you’re likely to receive? On average we receive 90–110 CVs for every role we advertise – do you really want to sift through each one and decide if they should be selected for interview? Then contact the others to reject them? All whilst juggling interview times and managing your normal every day responsibilities and tasks within the business.
Perhaps you’d prefer to hand the rest over to a quality recruiter, and you can just handle the interviews. Using a specialist recruiter should always add value to your hiring process, taking away the hard work so you can focus on what matters most – running your business. A quality recruiter should always short list, register and pre-interview, so that you only have a quality selection of applications to choose from.
3. Be clear about salary from the start
Did you know, job adverts which specify a salary can attract up to 30% more relevant candidates (and help sift out those who it’s not relevant for)? Using terms like ‘competitive’ or ‘market rate’ implies you’ll want to pay bottom dollar for your hire, and while that may not be the case, it’s the impression candidates are given. Some jobs also vary hugely on salary, depending on size of the firm and location. Better to give a range if you can’t specify an exact amount. And you can always write in the job advert that the salary might be negotiable for the right person. Better to include the salary than risk missing out on that great candidate.
Many employers don’t want to include a salary for fear of the competition out bidding them, or worse, because their existing staff will want to be paid more. But if you’re paying fair market rate wages and are regularly benchmarking your teams then this shouldn’t be an issue.
Not sure if your salaries are competitive? We often assist clients with regular benchmarking exercises against other local business in your industry. The last thing you want is to get to the end of the recruitment process and find out you are miles apart on salary offered v salary expectation and have to start the process again. In our experience there is a much greater chance of successfully filling a role when both parties are open and honest with their aspirations and expectations. We can make sure everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet.
4. Realistic requirements of the role
It’s important to be realistic in expectations of the sort of person and experience you are looking for, and if this matches with the salary on offer too. Don’t expect a unicorn, especially if you’re paying peanuts. It’s also important to be realistic in terms of the role responsibilities – if the job description has enough work for 4 people, you’re likely to turn off good candidates. Think in advance about if you would consider someone with less experience and train them up? Is the role stand-alone or part of a team and therefore how does that change the sort of person you require? Is there room for growth in the role? A specialist recruiter can help guide you on expectations of experience at each level and role.
5. You need to sell your company and the role
Remember, an interview is a two-way street. You need to sell the role on offer and your company as a great place to work as much as you want to find out if the candidate is the right fit for you. Don’t expect that everyone will automatically want to work for you - they need to get a great impression from you too. Simple things like starting interviews on time, timely communication and feedback, smiling, asking people if they found their way to the interview ok, (if not done online) and being genuine are all helpful starters for setting a good example to job seekers. If you treat the interview purely as a one-way street of endless questions to candidates, you’re likely to turn off the best talent.
6. Using a specialist recruiter isn’t a cost, it’s an investment
Many firms are cautious about using recruitment firms because they see it as an avoidable expense in the hiring process. Unfortunately, many will often begin their search for candidates themselves, and then for some of the reasons we’ve identified above, will come to a recruiter later in the process because they’ve been overwhelmed with CVs or can’t find that perfect match they seek.
A specialist recruiter will have extensive experience in and knowledge of the markets in which you operate, so they’ll have a good understanding of current market trends and insight into candidate behaviours and concerns, all of which can greatly aid your search.
They will also have established networks of talented professionals (many of whom are not even looking for a job right now) who they can tap into to find you the best talent in the market. Whether that’s approaching individuals they know directly, or asking for referrals, they’ll often have access to a wider pool of quality talent from the outset, giving you a head start in your search.
So don’t waste time sifting through endless CVs trying to find the perfect hire yourself. Save yourself time and money by engaging a specialist recruiter from the start. A good quality recruiter will always be a wise investment.