Many businesses are finding it hard to recruit the talent that they need. In this guest post Katrina Collier of recruitment transformation consultancy Winning Impression, looks at one part of the talent acquisition process that is often overlooked but could be key in making sure you get the right person…

“Anyone who has heard me speak knows that I believe that to truly succeed in hiring top talent you need to look at your Candidate Attraction & Experience, from source to application right through to offer, and ensure it feels welcoming & passionate.

This is no easy task for recruiters. You need to step back, look objectively at the whole process and get a feel for where things could be falling down. There’s no point spending lots of energy creating a great buzz on social media if job seekers are turned off by the reality.

It’s easy enough to resolve a technical issue with your application process if it’s say, a glitch in the ATS, but what if it’s something more subjective like body language. This could lead to some awkward conversations with colleagues.

Though I appreciate as an interviewer it can be a challenge to stay focused and engaged when a candidate is unsuitable, how do you ensure that your body language isn’t putting off the applicants you do like?

Here are some things to keep an eye out for:

• Sit up straight, I don’t mean rigid, simply appear interested. Slouching can send the wrong message even if it is comfortable.
• Avoid encroaching on their space, as this will feel intimidating to a potentially already nervous applicant. Are you standing or sitting too closely, did the applicant move back at all? Have they put something between you like their bag or coffee cup?
• Remember to smile; you’ll learn more about your candidate, as they’ll feel at ease.
• Watch your tone of voice; does it sound welcoming and enthusiastic or harsh and bored? Continue reading “Is Your Body Language Putting Off the Best Talent?” »

One of the issues increasingly discussed at recruitment events is that of the ‘candidate experience’ – primarily the impressions that a jobseeker will get of your company when going through the process of applying for a job to work there.

We wrote about this last year, and talked then of the negative impact on a business – both their image and profitability – from a poorly constructed candidate application process.

At the recent TruLondon 5 this topic formed the basis of one of our livestreamed discussions, and the views were wide ranging, looking at the whole journey the jobseeker takes, from identifying the vacancy to the handling of the interview process.

We bought together Katrina Collier (from recruitment transformation consultancy Winning Impression), Lisa Scales (CEO of award winning recruitment platform Tribepad) and Jobsite’s MD Mike Wall to talk about this and look at ways in which the current recruitment climate is also impacting on the candidate experience. Continue reading “Debating the Candidate Experience at TruLondon5” »

Today we have a guest blog post from Katrina Collier of recruitment transformation consultancy Winning Impression. Here she looks at a key area of the recruitment cycle that is often overlooked.

“Through the cries of high unemployment can be heard the complaints of companies struggling to hire quality talent, which seems strange until you hear how they sabotage themselves with convoluted application systems.

On Facebook, I read about Kris, a dynamic publisher, who was trying to apply for a role in the public sector role and though she expected a long-winded process she gave up for several reasons:

• The online form involved no less than 11 separate steps – the first of which asked for current details but did not allow for someone who wasn’t currently working.
• She was asked to complete 2 separate 750-word essays but the two links to the attachments explaining what was required did not work!
• She had to list no less than 3 referees, which seems rather irrelevant when fear of litigation keeps many from being honest, and
• The thing that made her give up… the role was advertised at £55k but on application was listed as £40k, so she decided that if the publishing department could not publish an advert correctly, goodness knows what they’d be like to work for. Continue reading “Is Your Application Process Preventing You From Hiring the Best Talent?” »