When You See That ‘Perfect’ CV……

My last blog was about my experiences with snappy, fast reacting, sharp candidates who reacted fast & made sure they got there first in the queue for the best jobs in the best employers…….

….and so it made sense to blog about the opposite side of recruitment: employers. Just what goes on ‘out there’ for you to get that edge, be the employer of choice & succeed in grabbing that candidate that’s really caught your eye & how not to fall into the trap of faffing or power play & risk losing ‘That One’ you really had a good feeling about.

I’m aiming this blog at SME’s – not organisations that adhere to PSLs or large HR Depts with vast numbers of candidates to recruit. The Office Support to £30k market. It’s all my experience. My market.

Just to add, this isn’t a ‘how to recruit’ blog. It’s more a ‘how to recruit when you get tons of CV’s which is what this market is like & you want to secure that VERY best candidate so that no one else gets them’ blog!

Firstly – use a bloody good recruiter. Just sayin’……

Secondly, OK, you don’t use a recruiter, here’s some tips for you to mull over that may help you secure that candidate:

If you get an exciting, very well-matched CV pretty fast after advertising, contact them. Don’t wait till you get more. Trust your gut. It rarely fails me. In my job I find that the CV’s that come over fast to apply for jobs tend to be the ones most likely to get the job. I have no idea why & it’s likely to be a due to those candidates being more serious & tenacious about their job hunting. I guess it’s because they’re just more ‘switched on’.

It’s 2020, it’s a fast paced working environment & so I urge employers to please consider seeing candidates outside of work hours if at all possible. Stop with the ‘well they can fit in with me’ mentality. Its detectable, it can be seen as power play & off putting to potential applicants & don’t forget – you want this candidate right? You do not want to lose them to a competitor. In short, in the fluid & modern working week, isn’t a 7:45am / 5:45pm meet acceptable? If there’s a second interview, that can mean 2 half days off. And think: some employers insist on a weeks’ notice to book holidays. You hang on a week – you risk losing the candidate.

Try & not ask that candidate to jump through what seems to be unnecessary interview hoops at first stage. In my experience, the more employers & candidates simply take 35 mins to get to know each other, the better. Grilling them really doesn’t work & I’m of the mind that that it’s an old-fashioned way to interview (certainly at my levels of candidate & role). You can end us focusing on the wrong traits & signals. And again, it can be off putting for potential candidates.

Give feedback as fast as possible. If that candidate senses that you’ve really been excited by them & you’re speedily getting in contact to call them back in – they love it. There’s a strange group of employers that think going quiet somehow makes the process ‘cool’ & plays into their hands. Trust me; it doesn’t. It looks like you’re playing a game, it hacks candidates off & they won’t hang around.

Do not EVER EVER EVER* under offer.

*The only way you can do this & it not being perceived as tight it is if a candidate genuinely & surprisingly much less experienced than you’d ever anticipated comes along & wows you. I accept that then you can justify a slight drop with an incentive built in, but it’s still a big risk & it can cool the candidate’s ardour. It can disappoint. It can sow seeds of doubt. Lots.

Finally – stay close to that candidate during notice. People might think my job stops at offer but goodness this bit can be the trickiest part. It’s a fine balance too – do you leave the candidate alone or check in & maybe invite questions? I think if you make yourself accessible to that candidate the weight of questions has got to lie with them but make it clear you’re happy & open to communicate.

And really these soft skills – this extra attention to the detail should secure you the candidate you want. Genuinely it’s such a competitive market & if you see that CV you need to be sharp, quick, accommodating & move on them. Fast.

(Or your competitors will)

I’m Roseanne & I successfully run Nu-Recruit– I place permanent & temporary candidates of the very best quality into great local employers & jobs in Chester, Liverpool, & Wirral. In a no-fuss, no-nonsense way.

And I love what I do.

Call me if you think my experience will help you get the best candidate for your job!

And please feel free comment on my Blog…..