HOW SME’S COPE WITH THE ‘WAR FOR TALENT’ – LOSE CALIMERO

If you are an SME in 2020, you should get rid of the Calimero syndrome! What I mean is that you not being part of a major group is no longer an excuse for not being able to recruit talent….

It’s true that in the 80’s, 90’s, and even in the year 2000 most graduates and more experienced candidates wanted to work for large corporations where they could build their careers.

Now here’s my wakeup call: This is no longer the case!

Here are some of the trends that we have been noticing at M18 Executive Search:

  • Not all graduates that finish their studies are in the market for corporate careers. On the contrary, many are rather drawn to start/scale-ups and smaller companies where they can be true entrepreneurs and help build companies;
  • Even some more experienced leaders prefer an SME environment where they can have a lot of impact and make a difference;
  • Director level candidates at major organizations often ask us for general management roles at SME.

So here’s my advice to SMEs if you are looking to attract such entrepreneurial candidates:

  1. Use your size to its advantage , put it in the spotlight when publishing a new function in the market to attract talent, help develop the organization and contribute to its success;
  2. In your publications, on your website and social media, you should position yourself as a flexible and dynamic scale-up with growth ambitions that is looking for talent to help further develop the company.

All of this which shows that “small can be beautiful” will be combined with more tips that are to follow in the coming weeks in order to help you differentiate in the “war for talent.

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