Finding the right candidate can change your entire business. They can increase your profitability, make your business more competitive on the market and win new business. People are a company’s biggest asset.

Having worked in both internal and external recruitment, I have seen many issues that can arise on both sides of the recruitment process. Refining and defining your recruitment process will ensure that the whole process is a smooth and easy one for all parties involved. As someone who has been both a hiring manager and a recruitment consultant, here are my top tips to ensure the best outcome for every recruitment process;

Look internally first:

A good company culture is a major selling point for candidates, and one of the most compelling aspects of company culture is a “promote from within” culture. Prior to reaching out to an agency see if there is already talent within your business who could fill the role.

If the role has become available due to an internal promotion, be sure to make this known to the market or your recruiter – it’s a genuine selling point!

Make a plan and stick to it:

If you have partnered with an agency to recruit a role, set expectations and a timeline at the beginning of the process.

Prearranging interview times and identifying who will be in attendance can help move the process along ensuring you don’t lose your ideal candidate.

Clarity:

Be clear in what you are looking for; be it the level of experience, skill sets, qualifications, or culture fit. This will help your recruitment consultant find you exactly what you are looking for. Changing the goal posts will only delay the process and your recruitment consultant may miss the best candidate for the role.

Interviews:

Be prepared, be on time and ask the right questions. Remember that, in such a competitive market, strong candidates are interviewing you and your business just as much as you are interviewing them.

Sell the role:

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a hiring manager is to forget that you need to impress the candidate as much as they need to impress you! In this market, good candidates usually have multiple interviews or offers lined up and if you don’t highlight the benefits of the role, you may miss out on your top candidate.

Onboarding:

Congratulations, you have found your candidate! Now it’s imperative to ensure that your new hire has a smooth and impressive onboarding process. Have a training plan in place, ensure they spend time with their new team – make them feel as welcome as possible.



Great candidates are out there – albeit sometimes they are hard to find! Having a smooth recruitment process can help promote your business and your brand, can aid you in securing the best candidate for each role and it can make your list just a little bit easier!