Recruitment is all about finding the right people…. Doing so may seem obvious or easy, but is it really?
This year M18 turns 21 😊. With this “coming of age” I’d like to share our experiences on how to not only identify the right candidates, but also get them on board. In short, what recruitment is all about!
If you are just about ready to start looking for talent to strengthen your company and you are not sure how to go about finding your “golden nugget,” then this is our present for you.
- Determine what you are looking for, set your ‘must haves’. Check what type of ‘hard skills’ you can’t do without, such as level and/or type of experiences needed do a good job, the minimum required skill set….. It’s important but not rocket science.
- Then have a close look at your company culture. Are you a fast-moving scale-up or more traditional? Local or truly international? Define your culture and translate this into soft skills. You may think you know best what type of person fits within your company, just be sure to make it an explicit requirement. Why? It’s easier to teach people certain hard skills than to make them adapt their personality. For example: At M18 we put much emphasis on AQ. As a growing company we need team members that are flexible and embrace change. We look for agile team members that can work autonomously as well as together and have impact on the company’s success.
- Once the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ factors have been set, you are ready to start determining your recruitment strategy. This means identifying a target audience, and determining the channels you want to use to reach them. It’s just like marketing & sales, only this time your target audience consists of candidates.
- Once candidates show an interest, make sure to listen carefully to what they are-and aren’t-saying. Keep an open mind, ask out-of-the-box questions and be honest about the challenges they will face.
- Stay available for questions and communicate proactively. Keeping all parties involved and up-to-date helps you set the right expectations and keeps candidates interested and committed. Also when there’s no real news, it always pays off to call or inform someone. Candidates just want to be kept up-to-date and feel that they are still “top of mind. Stop communicating and you’ll take the risk of losing them. At M18 we practice what we preach, it helps us keep candidates motivated and ready to wait if needed. I can only advise you to do the same.
- Be flexible to adapt and change direction. Even when you are well advanced with candidates, you may realize that the chosen path is not actually what you thought it would be. Don’t be afraid to start all over again. It will be difficult for you in the short term but I guarantee you that it pays off in the long run! Keep your eye on finding the best solution for your company.
- When you have found your candidate, make sure to keep them! Give them a great onboarding experience so that they can integrate well into the company and learn what is expected of them. A great start makes all the difference!
Finally, I know for a fact that recruitment is very time consuming. Still, I advise you to make time for it, make it a priority! In the short term it may cost you some of your valuable time, but trust me, once your new recruit is onboard you can delegate and actually win it back in no time!
If you are new to M18 and interested to know more about recruitment, always happy to talk to you! Just reach out to me on LinkedIn or on our website.
Are you or have you ever been a client of M18? I would love to hear about your recruitment experience, just send me a message or give me a call. My number is still the same 😉 !
