Accepting an imperfect candidate

While there is a general sense of lots of candidates for not many jobs at present, it is not necessarily easier for recruiters to find the right person. The first step is making sure you define what you need properly. It is worth taking the time to really think about what skills and personal attributes you need in this person. It is fine to think about what kind of personality would work well doing the role in question and fit with the team you have already, as well as the experience or qualifications you require.

If you are anticipating lots of applications it can be tempting to try and reduce the field by requesting lots of years’ experience. Avoid doing this. It could be discriminatory against younger candidates who are less likely to have lots of experience, plus it could mean you are ruling out your perfect candidate. Remember it is possible to sit in a job for 20 years with mediocre performance, and also possible to be in a job for a couple of years giving outstanding performance. Which candidate would you prefer?

If the absolute perfect candidate does not come along and you need to compromise slightly, be sure you are compromising on the right things

Similarly, avoid putting in lots of ‘essential’ qualifications as an easy way to cut down the field. This could be seen as discriminatory against older candidates who are less likely to have been to university, and again could be ruling out great potential employees. If you are considering putting in something like ‘degree-educated’, think about why. What is it you need that you are expecting a candidate to have as a result of doing a degree? Is it something that could possibly have been gained a different way? As a rule of thumb, if you can’t specify what the degree must be in, you probably do not need to require it at all.

Instead of using the number of years’ experience or qualifications as methods to cut down your field, be as specific as possible about everything else you need, which will help candidates who would not be suitable to self-select themselves out of the process. Think about exactly why you need the skills you are listing, and what the person will be doing that requires those skills.

Despite the current economic climate, many people still struggle to find the perfect candidate for their role. In this circumstance you could look again at where you are searching for candidates. If you are confining your search to, say, sector-specific websites or agencies, but your candidate might not be looking there, think again. Be sure you are making full use of social media in your search, particularly if your organisation is seen as a desirable place to work. It is particularly attractive to the younger demographic or someone who is active on social media generally.

If the absolute perfect candidate does not come along, you may want to think about compromising. Do not do this lightly, as getting the right person is more important than having someone right now.

Compromising effectively is more about being a bit more open about who the right person is than recruiting the wrong person for the sake of it.

People often compromise on what I would describe as the wrong things, then wonder why the new employee does not work out. If the absolute perfect candidate does not come along and you need to compromise slightly, be sure you are compromising on the right things. Experience in the sector, skills with a software package or knowledge of something specific are all things that can be sorted out in a relatively short space of time, but the right personal attributes to do that job in that team cannot usually be learned.

When interviewing, use competency-based or behavioural-type questions. These are questions that ask candidates for actual real examples of when they have demonstrated skills, qualities or successful experience of doing something. Past behaviour is the most reliable indicator of future behaviour, so avoid hypothetical questions which invite candidates to say what they think you want to hear. It is a lot more difficult to make up an actual real situation than it is to make up a hypothetical one.

Make sure that, as far as possible, you ask all candidates the same questions, and make notes throughout. Bear in mind that candidates could challenge your decision if they feel they have been discriminated against, and could ask to see any notes you make.

There is a common belief that asking questions about family plans or childcare is not allowed. In fact that type of question is not specifically forbidden, although asking discriminatory questions is unlawful. Therefore if you ask about childcare, especially if you only ask female candidates, you may find your decision more likely to be challenged on discrimination grounds. If you feel you need to know about childcare arrangements because the job involves travel, late nights or long hours, what you actually need to find out is if the candidate is fully aware of exactly what the job entails and will be able to fulfil those requirements. You could ask about this by setting out the requirements clearly, and asking whether travel abroad at short notice, late nights or weekend working would present any problems.

Recruitment is extremely costly in terms of advertising or agency fees, management and admin time, reduced productivity in the early months, training costs and many other factors. But poor recruitment decisions are even more costly, with management time involved in dealing with a poor new recruit, possibly dismissing them and starting again, and then all the recruitment costs incurred for a second time. So it really pays to get it right first time.

Eleanor Deem is Managing Director of face2faceHR.
www.face2facehr.com