With digital skills in high demand in London, it’s important for companies to put their best foot forward when looking for their next hire. The average recruitment process for a permanent hire takes about six weeks, so getting your job spec right is critical to attract the right applicants and maintain a healthy, efficient hiring process.
Whether it’s creative, technical, digital marketing, user experience or any of the other roles in the digital space, we are in a candidate-driven market with most people interviewing in many places before making a decision about where to go next. Here are some tips on how to best get the right feet through your door.
A little lick of polish goes a long way
In short, there are more jobs than people – it’s competitive, so a lick of polish when hiring goes a long way.
It always amazes me how many people haven’t yet put together the brief, or how many line managers leave that task to recruitment teams, or worse – they “dig one out” from a couple of years ago.
A job description is also a briefing document, and your pitch to find the right person to join the team.
Fix up and look sharp
Keep your content fresh and in a tone that you think will invite the best candidates to apply and get excited about your business, your teams, and finally, your work.
This is the first introduction your potential hire is going to have to your business – so fix up and look sharp!
The key points
Candidates rely on a page, branded with some information from the employing business on what the role is. As a recruiter, I will also have a separate set of notes from meeting with a client which will be asking some additional questions – but don’t rely on this.
People move jobs because they want to work on different projects, with different people, or they want to change their salary and package. Ensuring that you communicate these points clearly early in the hiring process is essential as it builds the foundation for a good match.
Hiring managers- what do you make and how do you make it? Make this clear in your job specification and think about including the following:
• An outline on the business you work for, its vision and plans for the future – new products, growth.
• Explain the department, personalities, how you work together and your culture.
• Talk about the key deliverables for the role, using your company tone – HR teams often aren’t that brilliant at using the language you use in your team or your industry.
•Always talk about the process and methodologies you are currently using, or likely to use.
• Talk about the type of person you think would suit the role, and what kinds of things you expect them to have delivered in previous roles.
• Discuss the culture of your business and team – what makes you special and a nice place to work? What sets you apart from the other companies that are looking for this kind of hire?
• If you have benefits in the business, list them – big or small.
Ultimately, getting the right talent through your door is about communication – asking the right questions and giving enough information about you and your company to get candidates interested. A killer job spec will take you most of the way in that respect, so take the time to get it right and you should see an improvement in the calibre of candidate you’re attracting to your company.