A huge pile of CVs in response to your vacancy advertisement can seem in the first instance to be an ideal outcome, but how can you be sure that the owners of these CVs will actually have the skills required to do the job? How do you optimise the response to your advertisement so that you attract the perfect candidate? And when the CV of the perfect candidate lands on your desk, how do you ensure that it is your vacancy and your organisation they want?
Job specification
The success of many engineering industries is dependant upon their ability to accommodate change. Individuals must be able to adapt according to developments within their industry and, so too, must the organisations in which they work. Thus, a thorough review of each role and its requirements must be carried out prior to the appointment of new personnel so that their responsibilities can be properly documented and used to attract precisely the right person for the role.
It is important that you know exactly what the job entails. Just listing the title is insufficient. If you want to attract the right candidate you have to produce a clear job description, detailing the position of the role within the company and expectations of the successful applicant. If the vacancy has arisen as a result of the resignation of an employee, consider whether the requirements of the job will remain the same or whether it will be necessary to make amendments to the job specification.
At the same time, consider the salary or rate you will be offering to the successful applicant. Will you be offering an excellent benefits package? If so, tell your audience what this will be. Think about what will be included in the package – pensions, healthcare and company cars are commonly offered but an assessment of the competition might reveal that life insurance, holidays, laptops, subsidised gym membership or professional membership are being offered by other companies as incentives.
Obviously, the ‘rules of attraction’ are different for contract workers than they are for permanent roles. Contractors are inevitably hired for a specific role and for a pre-agreed length of time so the benefits, packages and other elements used to entice employees do not necessarily apply to them, so revising the rate offered for contract positions might help to attract the right candidate if you have been unsuccessful so far.
If the vacancy has arisen as a result of the resignation of an employee, an exit interview might help to establish where you can improve the appeal of the position. What were the reasons for the previous employee leaving their position? Were they able to earn a higher rate doing a similar job elsewhere? If so, it might be necessary to increase the amount you are prepared to pay. Similarly, if career progression opportunities are limited within your organisation, offering the chance to undertake training might increase the appeal of the role, especially for less experienced individuals. A clearly defined hierarchy within the organisation can also help to illustrate the candidate’s position within the company and their potential opportunities for progression.
Person specification
Now, ask yourself what your ideal candidate would be like. A person specification focuses on the skills, experience and qualifications that are needed for an individual to be successful. Consider what skills you are looking for in a candidate – would high academic grades be a good indicator of their suitability for the role or are soft skills more important? A good understanding of the type of candidate required will not only reduce the number of unsuitable applications you receive, but will also allow you to quickly and easily identify the most appealing candidates.
When it comes to the experience of applicants, think about particular skills acquired rather than the number of years, as this will ensure that you don’t unintentionally eliminate those who have gained substantial experience in a shorter period of time than usual. It will also ensure that you don’t inadvertently discriminate against candidates on the grounds of age, which became illegal in 2006. Think quality rather than quantity and you should be successful in recognising the ways in which a candidate’s previous experience meets the requirements of the position.
Both the job description and person specification are of considerable value when using recruitment agencies as part of your quest for the perfect candidate - the more information you are able to provide them with, the more successful they will be in putting forward suitable applicants for consideration. Maximise the effectiveness of your agency by providing comprehensive job and person specifications so they fully understand your requirements. Discuss the overall objectives of your company as well as the position in question. The more the agency knows about your business, the more accurately they will meet your needs. This is why is helps to form solid working relationships with agencies, increasing their value to the recruitment process.
Advertising your vacancy
Think about the level of response you would like to receive from your job advert. For graduate positions, it might be more beneficial to have a large number of applications whereas, for senior and specialist positions, receiving half a dozen excellent applications rather than hundreds of standard ones can be preferable. Word your job description so that it stands out. Using terms such as ‘leading,’ ‘global,’ and ‘unrivalled’ will work well in giving your company greater appeal than others.
Consider how and where you will be placing your vacancy advertisement. If you are using an advertising agency, ensure that they are properly briefed about your company’s corporate identity and that the design of the advert reinforces your corporate branding. Think about the way you will compose adverts for online use; descriptions must be punchy while including the same key words as you would include for printed advertising. Think about the sites that you will use for online advertising too – specific engineering sites, such as Just Engineers or Oil Careers, will enable you to reach a sector-specific audience, whereas ones such as Monster and Jobsite are more general.
If you are using the services of a recruitment agency, your vacancy may be included in their own vacancy advertising at no extra cost to you. A fully comprehensive job specification and person specification will increase the likelihood of your vacancy being used. Some recruitment agencies conduct managed advertising campaigns whereby they will negotiate advertising costs and co-ordinate the production of the advert, which can be a cost-effective method of attracting the right candidates.
With a managed advertising campaign, your recruitment agency will not only advertise the position on your behalf, but it will also conduct searches of internal and external databases, filter applicants, conduct first-stage interviews and negotiate rates. This is a cost-effective, efficient service, which makes good use of time and resources. The benefit of this service to you is that payment is dependant upon the performance of the agency, so if they are not able to locate a suitable candidate, you will not pay a fee for their services.
Consider whether you will arrange an agreement with agencies through preferred supplier lists or whether you will adopt an open approach to recruiters. The benefits of the former are that reducing the number of agencies you work with will reduce the number of people you have to contact with relation to the vacancy. Those you do contact will have an accurate understanding of your business, the role and the type of person that would suit the role. Conversely, an open approach to agencies will enable you to obtain potential candidates from a variety of different sources. Decide which of these options would be best for you and know which you will be using before you approach any recruitment agency.
First impressions count
So, now you have reviewed the requirements of the job, described the qualifications and skills of your ideal candidate and produced an eye-catching, attention-grabbing advertisement to tell the chemical engineering world about your vacancy. If you think this is the time for you to sit back and relax, then you are mistaken. The groundwork has been laid but unless the interview stage reinforces the positive impression you have already created, there is still every chance that your perfect candidate could reject an offer.
It is crucial that, during the interview stage, every candidate who visits your premises is positive about the possibility of working for your company. Think ‘back to basics’ here; choose a suitable room for interview, greet candidates with a smile and a firm handshake and wear a smart suit. Remember that interviewees are assessing you and your company too, so pay attention to detail and you should be successful at creating a good impression. Be positive about the opportunities that will be available to the candidate as well as their daily responsibilities.
Use a scoring system during interviews to remove as much bias as possible. Assess the competencies of each candidate and try to limit personal impressions. Considering a variety of possible interview techniques, including telephone interviews, psychometric interviews, panel and assessment centre interviews and evaluate each possibility to select the method(s) most appropriate for the position.
While an individual’s technical competencies are of considerable value to you as an employer, engineers must be able to convey their ideas both verbally and in writing, thus having excellent communication skills. They must also have the versatility to work both independently or as part of a team, as required and so must possess the interpersonal skills necessary to work well within your organisation. Interests and achievements, while not an exact measure of these ‘soft’ skills, can give some indication of what a candidate’s social skills and attitudes towards others are like, so a discussion about personal interests and activities could help here.
Following the appointment of the perfect candidate, ensure retention by maintaining the high expectations they have of your organisation. Carry out an induction to introduce new workers to the company and offer opportunities for questions that may have arisen since the interview stage. Follow up on promises made prior to hiring: if a company car, healthcare or pension were offered, make sure they are given to the worker when their employment commences. Similarly, if training and professional development was offered, ensure that employees are given the opportunity to undertake any training that was discussed.
Attracting the right candidate involves a series of stages, each of which must be applied carefully in order to be successful during the recruitment process. Describing the roles and responsibilities of the employee, ensuring that your advert appeals to your target audience, promoting your company during the interview stage and retaining candidates after they have been appointed are all vital if you are to attract the right candidates to your vacancy.
