Do you find that you are struggling to fill a current job role? It could be that your current spec is too restrictive. Here are some reasons why your own job spec could be costing you top talent.
Can you make any adjustments to your current job spec?
Is the perfect candidate who meets 100% of your job spec out there? Is your current job spec asking too much for one person? There are a lot of other talented individuals out there who could potentially grow to meet your job criteria and who could provide more long-term stability to your company.
What if only one candidate makes it through the narrow filter to get to the interview stage, and for one reason or another, they still do not get through as they do not fit in line with the company’s job spec? All the effort to find that one person is burned out. Does HR now go all out to find someone of the same ilk? Or will the next best candidates at least get a look in? In the end, you should consider whether your own job spec is actually costing you quality candidates.
Essential criteria
Of course it is necessary to have essential criteria, but sometimes even if you do find that rare species who fits the entire checklist, this still may not prove to be enough, as they may not fit in with the company’s culture. The candidate’s ‘perfection’ could increase the likelihood that they will not stay for long, and they will also have a much higher demand from other companies.
Even if you take out one of the essential tick boxes, it is likely that only 4 or 5 candidates on the planet will currently fit within this excessive checklist.
Is every job quality on your spec absolutely essential? How long will it take for a new candidate to pick up a missing skill, versus the time you will have to wait having to find someone with this particular skill? From experience, it can take months or even a year to get a new candidate. Even after all that time of waiting, the company may finally decide that they can’t get anyone in, so they have to relax their standards.
Working with recruitment agencies
If you are using a recruitment agency, you might only see one or two names make the shortlist for your current role. Yet underneath all of this, there are many more candidates who could have been put through.
This is not necessarily a reflection of the recruitment agency’s inability to find candidates. Instead it could be down to the stringent criteria that you have given the agency to work with. They are not miracle workers, they can only work off the guidelines they have been given, and most likely, if they have been given the same criteria that you have been trying to source candidates from, then the results will not be any different to when you conducted the search yourself.
Not only are you wasting your own time, but if you are using an external company, you are also costing them valuable time and money, which also has a knock-on effect on their own performance in delivering you the highest standard of candidates. This can also lead to a strain in relations and a loss of trust for any future job vacancies. Communication between both parties is key.
Next time you have a new job spec - whether you are sourcing for candidates yourself, or through a recruitment agency – take these tips on board to see whether your job criteria allows you to get new candidates in the most effective way.
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