We have always made sure that we have a two way communication with our clients. Our clients to us for trusted recruitment advice rather than only CV generation, and we support them all the way through the recruitment process. 

Quite often we are asked for our ‘recruitment tips’ for a successful recruitment process, we have over 10 years of experience and can provide detailed advice – but here are a few basic tips we can provide to our Blog readers.

Write an accurate Job specification

Throw away your generic job specification!!! A decent job spec needs to be relevant to the role you wish to fill and the candidate you wish to attract!  Before writing the specification talk to those in the role already or the line manager to make sure you have their ‘buy in’ and cover all skills that are required. Then separate the skills into ‘must haves’ and ‘desirables’.

While writing this specification be honest with yourself, realistically you won’t find a candidate that fits all the requirements. Keep in mind which skills are necessary from the kick off and which ones can be learnt or developed while in place.

Don’t rush it!

We all have time pressures but don’t be tempted to rush through the recruitment process as soon as the position becomes available. There have been many examples where recruitment processes have been rushed and ended up with the incorrect candidate – this doesn’t help anyone and results in a loss of time and money,

The whole recruitment process, from drafting the job spec to the candidate accepting will take a minimum of 6 – 8 weeks.

  • Confirming the job specification – 1 week
  • Advertising the role, gathering candidates – 2-4 Weeks
  • Setting up and conducting interviews – 2-3 Weeks
  • Placing an offer / getting an acceptance – 1 Week

Choose wisely – do your research

The first thing you must do is review all the CV’s and covering letters carefully – are they tailored to your job specification? Are they any obvious red flags? Do some initial research on the candidates and review social media profiles (including Facebook and Linked In). Ask candidates to provide copies of ID and all qualifications or memberships.

An initial telephone conversation / interview can also be conducted to reduce an initial larger list of possible candidates into a smaller list of select candidates for face to face interviews.

Preparing and Performing – The Interview

Many interviewers make the mistake of not being prepared before an important interview…it’s not just the candidate that need to ‘know their stuff!’ It’s important for the interviewers to also be prepared and to represent the company in a professional manner. Initially discuss the company, the team and position with the candidate before starting with the ‘important questions’.

Don’t ask ‘fluffy’ questions, make sure that you ask specific questions based on the role specification – including competency based questions and establish their experience and skill base. Listen to the candidate but also ‘read between the lines’ – ask questions to get specific answers.

Ending the Interview

 At the end of the interview you may need to encourage the candidate to ask questions. After this take a minute to review your notes and make sure you have received answers for all of your questions, if there are any gaps rephrase the question to get the information required.

If you are considering the candidate for the position confirm details such as expected pay and their notice period.

This is the most important bit….NEVER offer a candidate the role or make any ‘informal offers’ during or at the end of the interview! It’s important to have reflection time, for you and the candidate.

In summary, prepare and practise, if you require additional support ask a colleague to attend the interview with you to take notes or just as another set of ears. At JSM Associates we also provide recruitment support and can attend interviews with you as a second attendant...

JM Pic

Written by:
Jeremy Money
Director, JSM Associates

I have worked within the Environmental and Sustainability sector for 20 years, making me one of the most established and well connected networkers in the market.

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