So your company is growing and you’re in need of some recruitment action!
In a perfect world you’d post your company’s job ad and in 1 hour you’d get 10 perfect CVs that totally fit the profile you’re looking for. But (there’s always a but, right?) this simply doesn’t happen, and when it does it’s with 1 CV, not 10 and it’s just sheer good old fashioned luck.
For someone who likes a job well done, I am one of those who looks for the “purple squirrel”, but having worked in recruitment made me realise that sometimes you just have to give up on some job requirements, otherwise at the end of the day you won’t have anyone to fill that position. One way to do it is to prioritise your needs for the vacancy. Sometimes some of the requirements that would be awesome to have are bendable and finding them will make your recruiting life a lot easier!
In a job posting you generally have some basic requirements like academic background, experience, proficiency with some online tool, etc… What your Manager isn’t telling you is that these may be indeed justifiable, yet still surmountable. For instance, if you’re looking for a “Swiss army knife” (that perfect candidate who does everything and more!) that just doesn’t exist on the market or, if it does, is asking for a salary your company is not expecting to pay. Probably the best option is to bring down your expectations regarding their experience. Maybe a lot of the requirements you’re asking for aren’t really that necessary and if they are, maybe a little bit of training will fill in those knowledge gaps.
If you give new incomers more extensive training, then the experience and knowledge they lack can be easily overlooked, but not all companies are willing to do it. Well… maybe you need to do a priority check on what you want your company to become. In my book, a good person who works hard but still has something to learn is worth the try.
So, to all you fellow Recruiters I say this: Don’t close your eyes to a perfectly good and valid candidate that is sitting right in front of you just because someone “above” you told you that person is not worth it. Maybe someone had to fight a teensy bit so you could have your current job, it’s not that hard and if your company truly values you and your insight they will at least hear out what you have to say about that candidate.
I believe in a straight forward approach to recruitment and at Runtime Revolution I’m allowed to speak my mind and give candidates the most personal and fair recruitment process. If you’re interested in getting to know us don’t be shy and contact us!