Remember what it was like when you were looking for your last role? It’s time to think about that experience and put your candidates first.
A lot of my clients don’t have that thought process. They operate with a ‘me’ mindset, thinking, “Why wouldn’t someone want to come and join us? We’re amazing.”
I agree, some of our clients are amazing.
But some of the job descriptions and adverts you provide seem to expect people to flock to your door without any effort on your part. That’s just not the case.
You need to sell the role.
Imagine you’re a Treasury Analyst or Manager looking for your next opportunity. You need to sell the dream and really attract someone to join your team.
What makes you special? What’s going to be career-enhancing for someone?
Here’s a practical example:
One of our consultancy-based clients, who advises Treasury Departments, wanted their consultants to write a case study right at the beginning of the recruitment process, detailing how they would approach a tricky problem.
Blah blah blah.
That was completely the wrong way round.
As a client, you need to entice someone to want to join you first, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND! Frustrating!
We changed the process and it proved to be very successful.
We said, “We will find some good people for you, people we feel would be good in consultancy. We will explain the role to them. That way, they will be bought into the process.”
Still nervous? What do you do next?
You do the really tough thing of saying, “Would you like to come and get to know us over a coffee?”
Amazing!
You have a coffee. They think they like you; you think you like them. It’s an equal sharing all round.
Or the other way around, you go for the coffee and think, “This person wouldn’t work in consultancy, but they might be a future client.”
Nobody’s lost out. You’ve not wasted your time or theirs.
During that coffee, you’re assessing culture fit. You can start to assess the person.
Then, you can hire for fit and look at competency. Are they going to be a good person? By then, the person wants the job and they’re happy to demonstrate their skills.
When you read through this article, remember: think about their fit first, not yours. Yours comes secondary.
The candidate comes first. It’s not about you anymore; it’s about them!
