Conference News November 2022 | Page 63

63 Recruitment conducting first- and second-stage interviews . At least one of which should be in real life . You may want to start with orientation calls to discuss the essentials , such as expected working patterns and salary ( particularly if you have committed the sin of not putting the salary bracket on the job advert ). Don ’ t waste people ’ s time – more candidates does not equal better recruitment ; bigger is definitely not better ( when it comes to the number of applicants anyway ).

Week four ( hopefully sooner ) – you are ready to make a decision and offer someone the role .
Have verses want
Who are the people that have to be involved in making the decision , rather than the people who want to be involved ? Make this distinction and if the crucial people are not available , there must be a second person who is . You cannot wait just because you have a new client meeting and you are all out of the office . I realise that people go on holiday , but what ’ s your Plan B ? If now is the right time to recruit then you have to get on with it , never put it off .
Brand reputation
Once you start the recruitment process , your brand ’ s reputation is on the line . Job seekers will be looking at how well you respond , whether you stick to your promises , your flexibility and how well you communicate . Never ghost a job seeker if you have no news – no news is still news , and you can communicate this . Progressive companies will be flexible and consider the candidates needs and feeling in the process . If a job seeker has a bad experience of your company ’ s interview process , they will tell everyone ; people talk about their experiences and your reputation as an employer of choice will suffer .
Progressive companies will do out-of-office / hours interviews
If you are interviewing for a senior position , consider that people within you organisation may know the candidate , so to give them confidentiality and to protect their anonymity you should offer an off-site interview , plus recognise that after hours is easier for them to fit in .
So , in summary : it ’ s vital to set expectations , manage expectations and be flexible with your own expectations . Have some urgency and have some respect .
If it ’ s not important enough to do this , then don ’ t recruit . CN www . conference-news . co . uk