It's the season of trick or treating and when it comes to recruiting you certainly want the latter. With such tough competition to attract the candidates that possess those skills that many companies are after, with the character to match your company culture too, it can be a nightmare to find these potential employees. How do you make sure that once the perfect candidate has been found you attract them in like the clown Pennywise and not transform as IT does, into what they fear most in an employer?
We take you on a journey through the horror movie classics to show you how to overcome the fatal pitfalls that lurk throughout the recruitment process that can stop you from employing the candidates you deserve.
Scream
This horror franchise is based around a murderer who uses horror film cliches to carry out their murders. This is to cover up the identity of the criminal as they do not possess a distinctive characteristic, hiding behind a mask to cover their true self.
It is crucial that when attracting candidates organisations promote their unique selling points through their brand and character and this starts with the job advert. Stating your unique attributes will not only set you apart from the competition but show potential employees why they should apply for your position over others; inevitably leading to more job applications. What made you want to work for the company? Is it the culture, the people, working hours, type of role? What attracted you to the position and organisation may be what attracts others.
Saw
Jigsaw, the central character of the cult 'Saw' films famously puts his victims in a situation that tests their physical and psychological strength to see whether they can survive their limits being pushed to the brink.
When hiring you want to be sure you are hiring the best placed person for the role, who has the skills, tenacity and character to develop within the business. Creating assessments that push your candidates beyond what is required of them in their role and asking questions that are purposefully testing them past the necessary knowledge and skillset for the position could easily result in a favourite candidate rejecting the role and being put off due to the unnecessary pressure placed upon them.
The Others
You've found the candidate (or candidates) and confirmed with them their new position and start date. Your work is done, right? Not quite. Do not forget about the unlucky candidates who were not offered the role. Make a conscious effort to contact these people, informing that they sadly weren't right and offer feedback too - do not leave them in limbo, unsure and possibly waiting around to hear back from you instead of moving on.
Contacting unsuccessful interviewees will also help your brand and decrease the risk of a negative review through word of mouth or placed on an online review website for all to see. You also never know when you may meet these candidates again or want to hire them later down the line. Don't ruin future opportunities by forgetting about people who gave their time to you.
28 Days Later
A lot can happen in a short space of time and this Halloween favourite proves it. Once you have offered the position, it would be a fatal mistake to not contact the new employee until their first day. Diminish the risk of a drop-out between accepting and starting a role through regular communications. Personally email their contract over, congratulating them and stating your happiness that they are joining the team and can't wait for them to start. As the weeks edge closer to the employee's start date send over material about the company, the role and any research. Creating and sending their induction schedule will show the lengths you have gone to in order to prepare and integrate them into the company.
By not contacting your newly accepted employee until their first day of work you could end up in a ghost town, unsure of what happened and unable to contact them for answers.
Never Forget
Unlike Nightmare on Elm Street, it won't help to forget the horrors of recruitment if you want to succeed in attracting candidates rather than repelling them. You want them to remember you, albeit for the good, not the bad.
Make sure your hiring doesn't turn into a horror movie by working with Brook Street. We're able to provide you with the latest in-depth knowledge of your local market, meaning that we can stop you from falling into the hidden dangers and revenue damaging traps. From what salary you should offer to bespoke candidate attraction strategies we can help you solve your recruitment needs time and again.
