You wouldn\u2019t move in with someone without dating them first \u2013 so why should you accept a job after just an hour\u2019s Zoom call? There\u2019s been a lot of chat about recruitment lately \u2013 through some recruitment I\u2019ve been supporting, with contacts about the recruitment challenges in the sector or going through recruitment myself. There\u2019s no doubt the charity sector is really struggling to recruit, so what do I think would make the difference?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An hour\u2019s Zoom call is not a lot of time. And it\u2019s even shorter when someone\u2019s using it to decide whether it\u2019s right to risk their livelihood, adjust their caring responsibilities, change their commute, move their pension etc because of your organisation. It\u2019s a huge life decision and it would be great to see more organisation reflect that \u2013 information sessions, open days, opportunities for informal conversations before AND after applying. Publish a Team Guide or similar for more of an insider\u2019s guide to the organisation. Respect the space and time needed for you to find out about each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re asking questions \u2013 consider giving them in advance. How many times in your workplace do people not have the opportunity to check a policy, run something by a manager, sound out a colleague or even Google something?! Is the job ever going to require a test of memory or pre-prepared answers? Reflect real life better in your recruitment and have at least some questions sent in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Great conversations are two-way. I don\u2019t know about you but I\u2019m not at my best in a formal interview with an expressionless panel (I\u2019ll never forget that interview) \u2013 I want to engage and connect. I want to feel warmth and encouragement from the people I\u2019m talking to, because what faith have I got in the organisation\u2019s culture otherwise? I want to see a good fit from the start of the process, I don\u2019t want to roll the dice and risk finding out too late that it\u2019s not going to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This isn\u2019t just about an organisation scrutinising an individual. It\u2019s also about giving individuals opportunities to scrutinise the organisation \u2013 the structure, the culture, the strategy, the policies, the governance, the finances, the leadership. Expect and encourage lots of questions from candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How many organisations pre-publish key policies like flexible working, maternity\/paternity\/adoption or study leave? If you\u2019re not proud of your policies, why have you got them? Informed decisions require decent disclosure. Giving people core information upfront demonstrates openness and invites people into that conversation of what working for an organisation is really like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether it\u2019s the application criteria, tasks set or interview questions, if an organisation can\u2019t outline specifically why it relates to better performance in the role, why are they asking it? Does a role really, honestly require a degree? Do 10 \u201ctell us a time when\u201d questions give a genuine representation of that person? Swapping them for something like tasks or scenarios means you\u2019re far more likely to get a genuine insight into their approach and less likely to get a pre-planned answer that\u2019s regurgitated on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A set of criteria is a tough way to interpret a job. It\u2019s better if you can categorise these into core areas of responsibility, and it\u2019s better still if you can weight these to demonstrate how a role is split. But the magic happens when you share what someone will actually be doing \u2013 when you take the time to outline some of the tasks that they can expect to be doing, or even key projects that are coming up. There\u2019s also a case study of a service, a blog from a colleague or a video diary from a manager \u2013 they\u2019re all about making it real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately a recruitment process reflects on the whole organisation. Rushed, scrappy and disorganised? Welcome to the organisation. Recruitment is an opportunity to set the tone from the beginning and it\u2019s never been more important in the midst of a huge recruitment crisis. Right now there\u2019s a huge opportunity to exploit this\u2013 to be the ones that offer that openness and transparency, that provide a welcoming and inclusive process, that thrive on questions and scrutiny and that have great conversations built on respect and curiosity. It might not be easy but it\u2019s possible and it might just be the way to stand out in the recruiter crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You wouldn\u2019t move in with someone without dating them first \u2013 so why should you accept a job after just an hour\u2019s Zoom call? There\u2019s been a lot of chat about recruitment lately \u2013 through some recruitment I\u2019ve been supporting, with contacts about the recruitment challenges in the sector or going through recruitment…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24],"tags":[13,11,12,21,10],"class_list":["post-503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sector","tag-charity","tag-consultant","tag-freelance","tag-non-profit","tag-start-up-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t