Previously, we looked at some of the reasons that hiring takes so long. Some you can’t control, of course, but what about what you can do as an employer or a potential employee? Let’s break it down into
Stop looking for perfect
Perfect doesn’t exist, stop looking for someone who has everything in your job description. You can teach people things. People who are looking for a job are looking to progress and learn, and as such you will have a far more motivated hire than someone looking to move horizontally to another company or even someone internally. In fact, you can even state in your job description that you are more than willing and able to teach someone if they don’t know absolutely everything – this could even bring you far higher quality of candidates from avenues you didn’t realise were there.
Looking for your next role? Is there a job description that has something on there you can’t do but you can do everything else? Apply. If you are that concerned, take one of the myriad free or paid courses that might help you get that job. Showing initiative to get better and have a wider tool kit will work wonders for you. Whilst this is important for your ongoing development anyway, remember that you can always learn on the job, and that you should say that. If in doubt, apply anyway, the worst that can happen is a straight no – right?
Fail fast and often
For both employers and employees – why not take a leaf out of the software world. Don’t think about being perfect, if something isn’t working, learn from it and start again slightly differently. Are the hoops that you’re having to jump through really necessary? You can’t change someone else’s notice period, of course, but you can work to make things more efficient and less red-tape-bound on your end. This could well mean the difference between getting that person for your role, or indeed missing out on giving them an offer.
As a potential hire, think about your application. Don’t agonise over the perfect formatting of your CV, or your covering letter. Get yourself out there, make sure you’re applying to the right person, reach out to the right person on LinkedIn – see what you can do on a quick and easy basis to stand out. If it doesn’t work the first time, adapt your strategy and see if you can get a quicker answer the next time. Hiring is hard enough on both ends, but if you make things easier for a company, that’s a big bonus that’s on you already.
Consider widening your net
As an employer who might not be using a search firm, there are a few things to consider. Are you using the same job boards? Are you using the same old staid hiring practices that were de rigueur years ago? Are you using the same firms that you have used in the past simply because you have used them in the past? Are those websites you’re using really serving you the best they can? The world has moved on, your company should too. Consider using niche job boards, targeted job boards – your business function deserves as much input and advancement as marketing or engineering, so why aren’t you taking advantage of it?
If your job search is taking too long, then maybe you should be looking elsewhere too. Have you considered looking for roles on specialised websites such as this one; Women in Defence? Maybe it’s time to not put so much trust in the old traditional websites that you trawl day in and out. The world moves at a fast pace, and it may seem daunting at first to put yourself in the category that you may have fought to get out of – but it could well play to your own advantage. Do you have a highly specialised set of skills that you can offer? Do you have a different background to the majority of your current peers? That can make a huge difference, and you should be taking advantage of it.
The war for talent is very, very real. If you make a few tweaks to your job advertising and job seeking strategies, you can get better results, and move forward more quickly than you thought possible. Do away with what doesn’t work, push what does, and continue to improve – that’s all anyone can ask!
