Not all job descriptions are created equal. Some do an excellent job of ensuring you are recruiting the best-fit candidates for your positions, but some employers rely heavily on weeding out candidates through the interview process. This is a significant waste of time. Ensure that you find the best-fit candidates for the job you are hiring for and not just the job description for these three reasons.
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Fit Doesn’t Mean the Same Thing For Everyone
Working with a staffing partner can be a little tricky sometimes. If your recruiter thinks you are looking for a candidate with certain skills and abilities. Still, in reality, you are looking for someone with a very different professional profile and background; that’s a problem. Recruiting and hiring are hard enough without having to navigate the incorrect assumptions and expectations of your recruiter. That’s why it’s so important to partner with a staffing agency that knows your business and understands what a good fit candidate actually looks like from your perspective.
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Fit goes beyond technical skills
Recognizing that there’s more to a great candidate than what they are skilled at technically is important to understand, both as a recruiter and employer. What are the soft skills that your business needs to succeed? What is your team dynamic, and how do you work most effectively together? Looking at the needs beyond what’s likely to be listed in a resume is important to identify qualified candidates. A big mistake is waiting until the interview phase to find out someone won’t be able to be effective on the job because they are great on paper but not in reality. There’s a fine line to walk between hiring people you like and hiring people who will be strong in the role, but the line exists. Seek to understand your own business needs before asking a staffing partner to define them for you alone.
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Understand that a good fit goes both ways
Just as an employer is looking for the right fit candidates, candidates are looking for the right fit employer. For example, if you are looking for a long-term hire, but your candidates are expecting and prefer contract work that lets them explore and develop their careers quickly, you are sure to be disappointed. Look at your job descriptions from the eye of a job applicant. Would you want to apply for that role? What expectations would you have of the position based on how it’s being presented? Thinking about your hiring in this way will greatly influence how successful you are at bringing people in and how successful someone is in the role.
Do you need someone who is a strong communicator, but your candidates tend to be shy or quiet in person? That’s a key indicator that they are unlikely to be a good fit. They will also likely be disappointed or dissatisfied with the work because it’s about more than just what they are technically asked to deliver. Always evaluate your recruiting efforts with an eye toward what your ideal candidate needs to bring to the table and expect in return.
