Interviewing in a candidate driven market

Dated: 14 Nov, 2019

We quite often hear the term “candidate driven market” but it isn’t until we need to recruit that we realise and understand the true meaning; where candidates can pick and choose their interviews and their employers, quite literally.

 

So, you are looking to recruit; you have worked for your company for several years and you know what you are looking for but often you are looking at the negatives without realising.  You are looking at what you don’t want or what the candidate might need to accept or deal with if they join; You might have a few awkward staff members, you might need to work out of hours occasionally, you might have a demanding Director or you might also have a disorganised warehouse or production facility or there is no promotion for a while and you really need to know if the candidate can deal with that so you ask them “what would you do if…” etc.  This is great and is needed but too much can be overload for the candidate and off putting.  You then shake hands and you think your candidate is wonderful, so you call the Recruiter and ask for a second interview. 

 

This is where it gets tricky...

 

The Recruiter calls the candidate who then says “I have had a think and I was really put off by…” Yes, sometimes people can be put off by small things which means that they probably weren’t right for the role and more suited to something a little more tame and less demanding and yes sometimes their honest feedback is best for everyone i.e. after looking at the role in more depth it isn’t for them which is fair enough but sometimes as a Recruiter you know that they were right for each other  but it just went a bit wrong.

 

Yes, candidates need to know what they are walking into, but you also have wonderful things happening in your company and that needs to be celebrated.  Candidates need to be made to feel welcome from the start, a cup of coffee, friendly reception, warm office and an interview that starts off by describing what a wonderful job this is and what a great team they have etc. Then discuss a few negatives as you are right you need to ensure the candidate can handle these then finally end the interview on a high, tell them you like them and tell them you think they would be a good fit if that is what you are thinking.

 

At Arlington Moore we make every effort to get to know our clients and we ensure that the positives as well as honesty about some of the challenges that might lay ahead are relayed to the candidate in full.  When they get to you for interview they are prepped and eager to learn more about the job role and opportunities that you have to offer.  We are also honest with our clients and quite often are involved in the thinking process on the type of person/spec that would work in your company.  We can do that because we have been in this industry for many years working across different sectors, so we have a bit of wool on our backs!  (Not literally)

 

If you are looking for a dedicated team to handle your recruitment give us a call; 01482 690330