How to ensure your recruitment process is engaging

In a candidate led market it is even more important to make sure your recruitment process is engaging, as candidates are likely to be interviewing at more than one firm. So, it’s imperative to get this process correct.

Let’s start at the very beginning…

The Advert

This should be very clear.

1. Job Description – It’s imperative that the job description attracts the talent you are seeking.

Provide an overview of the role and the day-to-day responsibilities, don’t forget to include some interesting information about the role.

2. Person Specification – Be as descriptive as you can, you want to attract the right candidates.

Include the level and type of experience the candidate needs to demonstrate.

What skills do they need for the role? Don’t forget soft skills that are required.

3. Benefits and Rewards – Candidates who are actively looking will be interested in what you have to offer.

Make sure you list all additional benefits included for example enhanced holidays or pension contributions, healthcare benefits, death in service benefits.

Be sure not to include standard holidays or pension as a benefit, they’re statutory and shouldn’t be included.

4. Company information – This is where you showcase your firm.

Talk about the team, awards and why it is such a wonderful place to work.

We always discuss all the other points when working with you so that we can produce an enticing advert and we can discuss all those points with candidates as we approach them. It’s particularly important when trying to engage with candidates who aren’t actively looking, as we want to present them with as much information about the opportunity as possible.

Advert Response

Once you have applicants CVs you need to be responsive.

Regardless of whether or not you want to take that candidate to the next stage it is important to give feedback.

If you are looking to take the candidate to the next stage you need to get back to them within 24 hours. The candidate could start looking at what else is out there and you don’t want to lose the candidate to another firm due to a slow response.

The Interview

It’s important to remember this is a two-way process.

Prepare conversation starters and questions that will make the interview feel like a conversation.

Consider what you want to know about the candidate, their experience and aspirations and use this as a basis for your conversation.

Ask them what they know about the firm and add to this with anything else you feel it is important for them to understand or that will make your firm stand out.

Talk about the team and the culture, why do people like working there.

Once you have gone through your questions and conversation starters don’t forget to ask the candidate if they have any questions.

Feedback

This stage is often forgotten but if you think that the candidate might be the right one for you why would you leave them hanging?

Although you may not yet have made a decision you should give your candidate some initial feedback to keep them engaged (they could be interviewing elsewhere).

If you are working with us, we will have already spoke to the candidate and asked them how they feel the interview went.

The Decision

You should communicate your decision as soon as possible even if you aren’t hiring that particular candidate.

Give an indication of when the decision will be made at the end of the interview.

Make the decision timely. It is understandable you may be interviewing other candidates but don’t leave it too long before making your final decision.

If it isn’t a positive outcome for that candidate, give some clear feedback as to why it is a no. This will help them understand your decision and help them improve.

The Offer

As mentioned earlier, the candidates could be interviewing at various firms and this could mean they have multiple offers. We are seeing this increasingly in today’s market.

Explain why you are making the offer and don’t just base it around their hard skills and experience, also include why you think they will be a fantastic addition to the firm.

Make the offer clear and put it in writing – don’t forget to include the above information on the offer letter.

Don’t forget that the candidate is likely to be made a counter offer so make sure your offer stands out and shows the candidate how much you value them.

If they accept your offer, keep in regular contact with them during their notice period. Make them feel wanted and help them with any nerves they might have in regards to starting a new job.

About The Eventus Recruitment Group

The Eventus Recruitment Group are award-winning recruitment specialists in the Legal, Finance, Accountancy, and HR sectors. We have an experienced and knowledgeable team of industry experts, who can advise on your recruitment strategy and are passionate about finding the best candidates to help businesses thrive across the UK.

Our bespoke recruitment service will be tailored to your individual needs. We always take time to understand more than just your job requirements; we will get to know you, your business and company culture in order to provide you with an outstanding service that surpasses your expectations.

If you would like advice on your recruitment process or would like help recruiting for job roles, please click here to contact us.

"Eventus is our default recruitment provider because they understand our business. Time has been taken over the long term to really understand the various elements of the services that we provide, which means that the candidates they provide are capable of delivering what we need when we need it. In addition, we feel that we can pick up the phone at anytime to discuss potential developments and we know that Eventus will always take a long-term view of our requirements and put our business needs first." – Lancashire Law Firm.