Candidates + Companies view the recruitment process very differently

One of the reasons highly professional businesses so often don’t secure their first-choice candidate is because they fail to understand the recruitment process from the candidate’s perspective. They assume they have the upper hand and make little attempt to appreciate the candidate’s needs. And the two parties’ needs are significantly different.

RATIONAL V EMOTIONAL

For employers the process is primarily rational, based initially on reviewing qualifications, experience and track record. The potential employee will also need to be liked by the interviewer(s), in due course. For candidates, however, the process is much more emotional. Any good candidate will usually have other opportunities to explore, with all the rational boxes ticked, so what makes the difference is the candidate’s perception of the employer.

Prospective employers should also be aware that a candidate’s impression of their organisation is formed over many more stages than most seem to realise. The interviews themselves are only a small part of the overall process. The candidate’s experience of the total recruitment process is often affected by the weakest episode.

The box at the end shows how each side typically views the recruitment process. This simple portrait of the different perspectives should ring alarm bells. Recruitment is a much lower priority for employers, but they also often fail to understand how many other options good candidates will be exploring. Also, for the candidate, the process does not necessarily stop once the new job starts.

So what can employers do to ensure they give themselves the greatest possible opportunity of finding and securing the best candidates?

PLANNING

Before any recruitment project begins, consideration should be given to:-

• What precisely is the position?
• What is attractive about it (i.e. what is required to sell the opportunity)?
• The ideal candidate profile.
• The budget.
• The target start-date.
• The recruitment time-frame.

Once this process is completed, the business will need to decide whether or not to use a recruitment consultancy. The vast majority of appointments are effected via a consultancy, but some businesses do conduct the process themselves.

INITIAL COMMUNICATION

The process really gets under way with the first piece of communication. If a business decides to recruit directly, this is likely to be an advertisement or a piece of direct mail.

Given the current level of recruitment activity, candidates are absolutely inundated with ads and mailers, so be under no illusion: any communication has to fight incredibly hard to cut through. Blandly stating the facts is never enough. An approach that is creative and different is not only likely to generate a better response, but can also create a favourable impression of a business. It is therefore well worth giving the initial communication serious thought.

HANDLING RESPONSES

Response-handling is crucial: it is the first point of actual interpersonal contact. Always remember: regardless of who responds, the candidate will associate them with the prospective employer. If you are using a recruitment consultancy, never forget that it is representing your business, and ensure that the impression it creates is one you would be proud of. At this point it is, effectively, your PR company.

FILTERING

As it arrives, each and every CV should be reviewed against the person and job specification while bearing in mind pre-agreed competencies.

Irrespective of the CV’s appropriateness, a swift reply is imperative. It is both courteous and pragmatic, and reduces the chances of good candidates becoming disenchanted and going elsewhere.

ASKING QUESTIONS

Candidates frequently find the recruitment process repetitive and disjointed. This stems both from a lack of communication between different interviewers, and from the fact that different interviewers often cover exactly the same ground.

If someone started asking you the same questions over and over again, you would think that either they were not interested in you or simply had not been listening.

BRIEFING MATERIAL

Good briefing material is very rare. Most organisations think that their company brochure and a copy of their latest report and accounts is enough. But candidates are really interested in items such as a clear and attractively laid-out job spec, a departmental or divisional brochure and a sheet of information designed to give them real insight into the potential working environment.

It might seem a lot of trouble, but it need not be, and it has often helped businesses to attract the best candidates.

THE SHORTLIST

Once the CVs have been filtered, the business should have a shortlist of candidates to interview. If you are using a recruitment consultant, bear in mind that a CV will only tell part of the story, so the consultant – who will have met each candidate – can complete the picture by making you aware of anything of particular relevance that is not in the CV. If you are recruiting directly you will need to judge solely on the strength of the CVs.

Either way, the business must, once again, respond swiftly. It is worth remembering that the quicker the feedback, the sooner the interview and the more the candidates will feel valued.

INTERVIEWS

The business should now have a shortlist of high-quality applicants ready to interview. The interview is crucial, as it represents the best chance to sell the job in question to the candidate. Make sure that whoever conducts the interview is properly trained in competency-based interviewing, as well as being capable of making the position on offer sound attractive to candidates.

As first impressions count, be certain that reception is primed. Do not keep candidates waiting, and think carefully about the interview from the candidate’s perspective. All too often prospective employers treat the candidate’s CV as a route map – they start at the top of the first page and march on tirelessly until the bottom of the last! This is usually a symptom of a lack of preparation. A more personal approach will often pay dividends. Why not consider a short tour of the office, followed by a drink in the company canteen, rather than interviewing in a standard, stereotypical situation?

FEEDBACK

Employers should ensure that candidates receive prompt feedback, as good candidates will invariably have a number of options to pursue. Never forget - candidates see silence as negative rather than neutral.

At this point, if a recruitment consultancy is being used, the consultant should feed back the candidates’ reactions and where they stand with their other options.

OFFERS AND NEGOTIATION

An effective offer strategy can best be summarised as ‘right first time’. Clearly, any approach that undervalues a candidate is unlikely to be successful – but it would be foolish to pay over the odds. The keys to the process are negotiation and positioning, which need to be handled sensitively.

STARTING WORK

Many businesses seem to feel that once an employee is hired the job is done. Far from it – the first few weeks in a new job are absolutely crucial, and a three-month probationary period can be tense for both sides.

Careful thought needs to be given to the induction process, providing an escape valve for any potential problems, and how to go one step further to really make the new employee feel welcome and happy with his or her choice.

LOOK AT BOTH SIDES

Paying attention to all stages of the process can make an enormous difference to the success of recruitment. Are you still in any doubt about whether it is worth working so hard to understand the other party’s point of view?

The two different perceptions of the recruitment process