You’ve identified the value of working with a specialist IT & Tech recruiter and found the one you want to work with - now what? While there’s a lot written about the importance of working with a specialist recruitment partner, there’s less information about ensuring that partnership delivers value.
In this blog, the nufuture team draws on experience working with long-standing clients to reveal some of the key ingredients that go into a winning talent partnership.
- Let us help you craft engaging job descriptions.
One of the first areas we try to nail with clients is the job description. All too often, job descriptions get reused over and over again. We get it; they may have worked well until now, but if a specialist recruiter has recommendations on making them more engaging, hear them out.
We recruit hundreds of IT & Tech roles every month, so we know what candidates at various skill and experience levels are looking for when they glance at a job. And glance they do. Did you know that the average human attention span is now just eight seconds? That’s less than a goldfish, which emphasises the importance of an attention-grabbing job advert.
The time spent crafting job descriptions is also vital to ensure the recruiter has clarity on the exact skills you require for a role. We need to know what tech skills are mandatory, the minimum qualifications required, and the ideal industry experience you’re looking for. While this information is necessary to identify the best person for the job, it also provides an opportunity to highlight any red flags. For example, if you’re looking for a developer with 5+ years of experience, but we know there are talented professionals with 3 years of experience on the market who will excel in the role, we can point it out and amend the job description before it puts off a potential applicant.
- We need to get to know you better.
You will more than likely already have a person specification that outlines the personality, behaviours and attitudes you’re looking for from an employee. This is great, but we need to take that to the next level and get to know you as people.
It’s not about finding carbon copies of your current team, but more identifying personality types that will complement your values and dynamic. A key part of this is understanding how you measure staff performance and your expectations of what a new hire will deliver in their first year with you. The more we know, the easier and faster it will be to place someone who can hit the ground running.
The team at nufuture makes no apology in preferring to work directly with hiring managers. A 30-minute conversation with a hiring manager is often enough for us to gain an accurate understanding of how a professional on their team will slot in and what they need to deliver. Pre-pandemic, we would do this face-to-face on their premises to get a feel for team dynamics and the working environment. Until then, Zoom it is.
- Define your selection process with us.
As soon as we get all of the information about you and the role, we want to get cracking! However, that only works if our processes and timelines are agreed upon and aligned from the start. That’s why we tend to pencil in dates and times for interviews before you’ve seen a shortlist to ensure we maintain momentum and don’t miss out on the best tech talent (especially as the good ones don’t stay on the market very long).
Candidates appreciate companies that don’t mess around when it comes to hiring, so having established dates and times in place will reflect well on your employer brand.
- Let’s keep the conversation going.
Any specialist recruiter worth their salt will provide progress updates at regular and agreed points while offering feedback on elements of the process that can be improved as well as any relevant market data that could shape hiring strategies. We ask for the same level of communication in return. It means we need to know about any changes to the job description or selection criteria, hiring personnel, or other relevant shifts in the business as they happen to ensure we’re always on the same page.
Additionally, we ask for a quick turnaround on CV and interview feedback. This not only means that we can refine our search criteria in real-time, but it also contributes to a positive candidate experience. Remember, someone doesn’t have to be an employee to leave you a review. A prompt response indicates to successful candidates that you’re serious about securing the best talent. Unsuccessful applicants receive the message that, while they’re not suitable for this role, you appreciate their effort and, crucially, respect their time.
- Tap into our knowledge.
As previously mentioned, a specialist recruiter will be able to provide you with market insights and salary benchmarking. Additionally, you can tap into their wider knowledge and expertise at any time. The nufuture team works with IT & Tech professionals within a range of industries and sectors across the length and breadth of the UK every day and have extensive knowledge that can help inform broader talent strategies. Whether it’s updates on market conditions, external perceptions of your brand or something as specific as what data engineers in Birmingham are looking for from an employer, we can tell you!