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What are the best ways to hire ‘tough to find talent’ in a competitive market?

Sphere Digital Recruitment

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May 27, 2015 | 5 min read

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If anything was clear from the DTA’s at the end of April it was that the industry is in great health and that businesses within this space continue to grow and revolutionise the way that media is traded. And as businesses evolve, pioneer and adapt to the ever changing environment it seems only logical that those who “win the biggest” will be the ones who can hire and retain the best talent.

It is a competitive candidate market place

Having worked with many rapidly expanding businesses within ad tech over the last 10 years, as well as the leading agency networks and brands directly, it is clear to see that there are some hard and fast rules when it comes to securing the best talent. Especially in what can be a competitive candidate market place.

Whether you are 1 person or 20 people there are some steps that you can take to make sure that you secure the best person for the job, in the least amount of time, meeting the fewest number of suitable candidates.

Have a great brief

Just as you receive 10 CV’s and only want to see the top 5 candidates (based on the CV) candidates may receive 10 job briefs and only interview for the best 5 jobs (based on the job specs). Make sure your brief sells the job, the business and the importance of the role – avoid merely listing the responsibilities.

Additional sales collateral, including case studies and success stories from your existing team, are a great help too.

Start with the end in mind

Hiring somebody in a time efficient way takes planning. Set clear timeframes to conclude first, second, third interviews. Communicate these time frames to your recruiters and the candidates you are interviewing. Candidates like to know where they stand and if you clearly communicate your interview process it helps make a candidate feel engaged in, and important to your business from the start of the hiring process. And this means when you offer them a job, they are more likely to say yes.

Do what you say you are going to do

Most hiring managers are busy and, although important, recruitment is something that is easy to put to the bottom of your list of priorities. It is not always as urgent as the “crisis management” that you deal with on a day to day basis.

Drastically changing an interview process or the timeframes that you have communicated to a candidate can take the momentum out of the process.

You can go from being a candidate’s favourite choice to second or third favourite choice very quickly. When processes change or fluctuate we often see clients miss out on their top choice candidate. Even when businesses do get to the point where they make an offer to the candidate. This is frustrating for everybody involved and is totally within your control and easily avoidable.

Engage your candidates

It may be the fifth interview that you have done this week yet it is the first time that this candidate has met with you.

Be interested and engage in them. You stand the best chance of seeing if they are right for your business by doing so. And if they are what you want you will have increased their interest in your business. If you do not like a candidate and you learn this quickly you can always politely draw the interview to a short end.

Be prepared to sell

If you manage a candidate well throughout a process you can avoid a “bidding war” (which we always strongly discourage).

Introducing candidates to the key people in your business, spending time with candidates, having informal meetings (coffees etc), being interested in them and showing them why you are the right business for them, all make it easier for you to secure your top targets.

And one more thing…

Build relationships with your recruiters, make them feel valued and help them learn about your business. Recruiters who feel important to clients will work harder to understand you and they will work harder for you.

It is up to a recruiter to develop such relationships and repay your trust, yet you must give the right ones the chance to.

For any other information on hiring trends and the very best ways to secure the very best people for your business, do feel free to get in touch with us below.

Ed Steer, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Sphere Digital Recruitment

Tel: 020 3728 2973

Email: hello@spherelondon.co.uk

Web: www.spherelondon.co.uk

Twitter: @SphereDigRec

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Sphere Digital Recruitment

We recruit for digital jobs in digital media, creative, marketing and content. Our clients are ad technology providers, brands and agencies 

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