Job seekers are provided with a wealth of advice on how to position themselves to find their ideal role.
There is information available on writing a great CV, how to conduct oneself within the context of an interview and how to present previous work history. Many of those tips are undoubtedly useful and plenty of candidates will be grateful for the availability of such advice, which will have enabled them to secure positions that might otherwise have been filled by others.
But what about the preparations that should be made by organisations, prior to recruiting?
This is an area that appears to receive considerably less attention, although it’s clearly a critical topic to consider. Recruitment, when handled correctly, can boost efficiency within an enterprise, leading to increased profitability. By the same token, however, a poor recruitment process can actually become a drain on existing resources. It’s easy to fall into the trap of spending too much time reading through a broad set of CVs, before interviewing unsuitable candidates and then taking an ill-judged recruitment decision.
Before you decide to recruit, it’s important that you should carry out an appropriate level of preparation:
Clarify the role
The role that you have in mind may seem obvious, but a failure to clearly identify the role that you are looking to fill can soon lead to meandering interviews and recruitment difficulties. If you are creating a new position within the organisation, then have you considered exactly what tasks the successful candidate will be expected to undertake? Are you clear on where they will fit within your existing corporate structure and what level of responsibility they will have?
Have you also thought about how much flexibility you are able to offer? Do you, for example, require someone to work on a full-time basis? Might there be scope for a new recruit to work fewer hours in the office?
Getting the role clarified in advance will save you a lot of time in the overall process. Here at Mselect, we’re well positioned to be able to advise you on how to really pin down your definition of what you will require.
Salary and benefits
Candidates will naturally be interested to understand what sort of salary, bonuses and benefits are likely to be available. Many employers like to take a flexible approach, allowing them to offer more money to the right candidate. Similarly, there may be scope to help with relocation costs, particularly if you feel that this will enable you to attract someone who will be the perfect fit for your business.
Such flexibility can be hugely beneficial, but you do need to have some figures and thoughts as a starting point. It’s likely that you’ll want to be able to state what would be included within an indicative package and you’ll certainly want to consider what competitors are offering. Once again, this is an area where we can help: our experience within the local Iraqi market means that we can offer advice on packages that are likely to prove enticing.
A good cultural fit
You’ll occasionally find yourself presented with a candidate who has a great CV and who clearly has the experience to perform the required role. But there may be a sense that they aren’t quite right for you.
This is a feeling that shouldn’t be dismissed. Just because an individual works well within one corporate culture, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they will be perfect within your business. Think carefully about your current method of working and the approach of existing employees. Finding someone who will work well within the environment is important and should influence your recruitment process.
If you’re unsure of how to proceed with the recruitment process, then get in touch to receive guidance from local experts. Talk to our Recruitment Consultants at consultants@mselect.iq