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 important to get this process correct.
Let’s start at the very beginning…
The Job Advert for Recruitment
This should be very clear.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 we have the candidates for you and you have their 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 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 in the Recruitment Process
This stage is often forgotten but if you think that 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.
- 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 show the candidate how much you value them.
Before Your New Employee Starts
This part is often forgotten about in the recruitment process. When the candidate has accepted the job offer, the recruitment process shouldn’t end. Your new employee may not be joining your firm for months due to notice periods and in this time, they could easily be bought back by their current employer or they could receive another job offer. As a result it’s important you keep contacting and engaging with your new employee before they start at your company. Email or call regularly, send them a congratulations card or present, invite them for dinner or company events. Keep the communication flowing to keep selling your business until they join.
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.
Our core values underpin everything that we do and guide us in how we treat our clients and candidates.
Written by Nikki Phillips, Legal Recruiter in the North West
To submit a job to us please click here, or get in touch to discuss your recruitment needs.
Further reading
How to write the perfect job advert to attract top talent to your firm
“I’ve worked with Nikki and Siobhan at Eventus and found them both to be, not just professional and helpful, but that they genuinely care about each individual circumstance. They listen and are empathetic and constantly made me feel like I had a good friend on my side during the recruitment process, always with my best interests at heart. I would recommend Eventus Legal in a heartbeat. Thank you for all you’ve done to help me!” – Successful legal candidate.