I have little experience, I know there's not many of these roles out there, but find me a job!

Over the last few weeks I have spoken to over hundred candidates and held countless interviews. The over-arching theme I have uncovered is that candidates have unreasonable expectations. I have spoken to candidates with among other things: no experience, not the right qualifications, a belief that they should just be given a client list, and wanting to change careers. But they all have one thing in common - the expectation that it will be easy, and that prospective employers will happily give them a go. That employers will conveniently cover the cost of their employment while they get the experience, settle into a new career, have a "hot" client book just waiting for them. To be fair though, it most cases the candidates realise that their wish list is just that, but they just need to hear it from the consultant.

As their consultant I explain to them that it's not that easy, that I have been where they are currently, that they should put  themselves into the employers shoes for a moment and think would they do what they're expecting the employer to do? I advise candidates to come back to me with a revised resume, targeting the role they're after, giving me more background information on their experience and why they would be well suited for a particular role. All this makes them think some more, and makes my job to sell them to the clients far easier. I cannot rightfully recommend a candidate to a client for placement if I know he/she would not be suitable. You may get the placement, but you'll then have to replace that person soon after they start

To the candidates I say - please be realistic, with a dash of empathy. To the consultants I say - do as your title suggests, and consult your candidates. Always remember - "today's candidates could be tomorrow's clients"

Embracing the Global Job Market

There's a lot of talk in the market at the moment about a wide ranging skills shortage. I don't think this is something limited to Australia, but rather gaining momentum globally as trained professionals in developing nations such as India and China find themselves find career opportunities in their home countries. 

Traditionally, these professionals have had to go abroad to study and then to pursue their chosen career. However, increasingly they are going abroad for training, but then deciding to return to their country of origin, not only because of nationalistic obligation, but also because there's great opportunities arising. There are an increasing number of companies in their country developing, growing, and offering similar career paths to what companies in developed nations have been doing for years now.

Previously, when faced with a skills shortage, developed nations such as Australia and the UK would look to tap into the Indian and/or Asian labour markets to find a ready supply of recruits. While this option may offer a lesser degree of success these days, the globalisation of the world economy and the feeling of a global village suggest that offshore recruitment can still be an effective solution for companies facing a shortage of skilled employees. The internet and its social media tools have brought the world closer. Global trade, and the ability to work remotely means that foreign talent can be recruited with greater ease. Well regarded Universities and Colleges have been establishing offshore campuses for over a decade now, ensuring that there's a larger pool of appropriately qualified graduates available for recruiters.

Hiring managers will start to look at recruitment as a global exercise, as opposed to a locally focused effort. Using social media such as Facebook, and LinkedIn will make this process easier. Online job boards and SEO will also play an integral role in broadcasting a role in the global market, to attract a deep pool of well credentialed applicants. Online advancements can also assist with foreign employees being able to gain the appropriate visas in a timely manner, finding suitable accommodation easily, arranging schools for children, and ensuring the moving process runs smoothly, so as to avoid delays in the successful applicant starting in their new role.

Sure there's a skills shortage, but that just means that recruitment needs to become a bit more creative. Embrace the move to start viewing the job market on a global scale, rather than stubbornly continuing to advertise across the old mediums of local print, and online job boards. More than ever, you just don't know who's looking, from where in the world, for that particular role which you're looking to fill.

Interviewing the Referees as well as the Candidate

So too often, employers or hiring managers will conduct the final interviews, finalise their choice of candidate and then look to do the reference checks - almost as a final, but inconsequential hurdle. Or how good is it when you hear the interviewer say at the end of an interview, "ok, we're just going to call your referees". That's "job talk" for "you've got the job, unless ofcourse your referees tell us your an axe murderer!"

The problem here is that the decision maker has already invested a considerable amount of time by this stage, so they really don't want to find out anything bad. They would rather have the process compromised, than have to go back  to their second or third choice, or even back to the pool of candidates and have to invest additional time.

Conversely, those who view the reference check as a serious part of the recruitment process will often call the referees before narrowing the shortlist to a handful of candidates. By making the reference check like an interview, and talking to referees of 4 or 5 of the candidates, they approach this crucial step with a completely different mindset.

Ofcourse, this argument needs to be weighed up against the thought of needlessly bothering an applicant's referees, and also the fact that numerous phone calls is a time consuming task. I still think though that a different mindset needs to be adopted in the case of checking references, from what has been the traditional approach.

When talking with referees, it's not enough to ask them if they liked Tommy, or if Tommy was a good worker who always came to work on time. Just like a candidate interview, referees need to be asked a structured and standard list of probing questions. Questions should take into the account the required competencies of the new role, along with probes into the candidate's personal traits, such as: how they get along with others, general intelligence, how hard they work and their productivity, punctuality, and even their level of sophistication. If the candidate is going for a leadership role, I also suggest talking with their former team members, over whom they had direct management responsibility, thereby getting a better idea of their leadership abilities.

Reference checks help us to join the dots following our interviews and psychometric testing of candidates. They should be seen as an important tool in the selection process, not just as a rubber stamp of our "gut-feel"

Trends in Recruitment Heading into 2011

Today, everyone is looking for specialists. And they are being asked to prove themselves through ‘case study’ style presentations in interviews.  When it comes to looking for new positions, especially on the service provider side, it’s definitely becoming less of an art and more of a science.


Starting in early 2010, we slowly saw a realignment back to what we’d been used to seeing before - a demand for sales oriented general managers – people that would drive growth. 


Another indication of the return to better times is the fact that in 2010 it was not unusual for a high-level candidate to be lining up two or three different interview scenarios, effectively playing multiple opportunities off against each other.