Looking to recruit a new expert to join your finance team? Unsure of how to attract the top talent? Want to make sure the right person is hired? I have outlined my 5 top tips I would recommend when recruiting within this candidate short market:
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Write an attractive yet precise job description
You want to start the hiring process by identifying the experience as well as the technical and niche skills you are looking for in your new member of the team. To help you save time, we have created a template to aid with structure and outlining what to include (…………)
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Be different – How to advertise
In a candidate driven market, you want your brand to stand out from your competitors and to make sure you are attracting the attention of the talent in the industry. Be different in advertising the position and use social media to your advantage. Think to yourself and ask if you were a candidate looking for a new position what would make you apply for the role? I would start by posting on LinkedIn as it is such a powerful tool especially in a passive candidate market and the top talent won’t be on out there on job boards.
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Application process
So, you now have potential candidates that have applied for the position but now must decide who to I interview and what should be the process? Don’t overlook soft skills when hiring for finance positions. Finance is not just about the numbers. You need to think about cultural fit and what they can bring to the table too. Usually I would suggest a one stage interview but for more senior roles, it is always best to have a second opinion. You don’t want to lose the candidate to numerous tests and interviews as this will increase the number of potential dropouts. You want to ensure you get the balance right of keeping the candidate engaged whilst ensuring they are the right fit for your business. I would aim to review candidates asap and have dates/times for interviews in mind, so the candidate is not lost during the application process.
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The interview
Great you have completed a shortlist and have candidates booked in for interviews. You need to get the candidate excited about the role for them to choose this opportunity over other potential positions. But how? Avoid the Q & A format and reading from a piece of paper. Treat the interview as a conversation and about getting to know the person rather than it being a test. Ask questions about their career and understand their journey, for culture fit ask the team what they would like to know about the person, this could be anything like their favourite film or book.
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If using a recruiter - use a specialist
A general/ High Street recruiter won’t always understand the industry and will only rely mainly on job boards. Industry specialists will spend all their time within that network and will already know the most talented professionals in their sector. The specialist recruiter will be headhunting potential candidates via their network of inactive and passive candidates as well as use their database and industry contacts.
If you would like to discuss more and how you could attract the top talent please get in touch.