How to attract the right talent
FutureHeads’ Be Kaler explains how to write a killer job spec
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.
Whether it’s creative, technical, 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 where to go next.
A little lick of polish goes a long way
In short there are more jobs than people – its 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.
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, use your company tone – HR teams often aren’t that brilliant of using the language you use in your team or your industry.
• Always talk about the current process and methodologies you are currently using, or likely to use.
• Talk about the type of person you think would suit the role, what will have expected them to deliver in a previous role.
• Discuss the culture of your business and team – what makes you special and a nice place to work.
• If you have benefits in the business, list them – big or small.
People move jobs because they want to work on different projects, with different people or they want to change their salary and package. Ensure these 3 points are loud and clear.
To find out more, check out FutureHeads’ YouTube channel and blog posts for useful insights into the digital media market.
image credit: flickr/shehan365