About job ads

I am a voracious reader. And besides books, I also have read thousands and thousands of job ads. I say that gives me enough credit to put my opinion here, in the open.

 

I proud myself with being inspired with the outside world. You can read such an article here, but I must acknowledge job ads are my favorite.

The between the lines is always something that amuses and amazes me more and more.

 

Here are some of the highlights that I found while browsing through the latest job ads:

1. To be able to work under pressure

Isn’t that a given? I mean, we have been working under pressure for years now (even more so now with the COVID-19 pandemic). There isn’t a job out there that does not also imply some level of stress or pressure. Whether to calibrate your velocity to a faster way of doing things or to slow yourself down, count the sheep and hope that all goes well with your projects, we are all under pressure when trying to adjust to new roles. And how does one vouch for one’s experience of working under pressure? How do you go to interviews and explain your ability to do that? Here’s food for thought for recruiters that write such ads.

 

2. Flexibility

The candidate should show flexibility in managing work situations. I am sure you have all read this in an ad before. Again, how does one prove that? Whether I say it, believe it about myself or not, it will only be shown in the way I work (thus, it cannot be measurable and I cannot prove it beforehand to the recruiter). Wouldn’t it be better to just come out and say: your day-to-day working hours might change frequently or you will be receiving with delay the ‘go’ for your projects or we don’t usually have a plan that we stick to, we just do things as we go? That will be more honest and set the right expectations.

 

3. Original

There is a high demand for originality these days. I should say, if I have to quote my fellow writers, there isn’t a topic out there that has not been already addressed. There cannot be ‘an original content’ anymore, thus. But there are ways to innovate the old or the so much promoted. Don’t get me wrong, I do not have a problem against the word ‘original’, but to always consider originality regarding one’s content means that one’s expectations are not accurately set.    

 

My experience as a recruiter is slim. I participated, from time to time, to various job interviews as helper of the human resources specialist or the manager looking for a candidate. But I do have quite an experience as a candidate, and I am pretty sure that having the best interview experience goes two-ways. Considering both the interviewer and the interviewee’s point of view, that is. So here are my kind recommendations to those looking to implement changes in their current recruiting/ job interviewing style:

 

Before the face-to-face interview (the ad)

• Be concise and factual. Meaning just that, make a summary of the main responsibilities and requirements and let the candidate come back to you with questions. Less is really more in almost any situation, but precisely in this case. Giving more details than necessary will only mislead the candidate. Be factual – don’t enumerate pompous words, just make a summary presentation of the skills (measurable skills, not flexibility and originality) that you want to see in a candidate.
• Make your selection. I know that some of the resumes are not always up to date, but favor those that are (you can even include a note in the ad stating that candidates that do not have an updated resume will be disqualified) and make a fair selection of the candidates you will be calling for the interview. It will be highly appreciated and not time-consuming.

 

At the face-to-face interview

• Don’t, I repeat, don’t ask the candidate her/ his five-year plan! It’s so old news and not practical for your objective that I won’t dignify it with more words.
• Test. Well, most of you know about my aversion to this word. Nevertheless, I consider it a very good exercise to get to know your candidate’s sparkle. But please do not send them a test that takes more than half an hour to solve. More even, you can test her/ him while on interview. There are a lot of creative ways to do that and you could thus also test your candidate’s response to the unforeseen.
• Time. This is a sore point. Test and time are related here. Do test the candidate, but always consider the time. It’s precious, both for the company and the candidate. Also, be in time and have a lookout for those candidates that show up in time or earlier to an interview.

 

After the interview

• Even if you have made a promise or not (more so if you did), please send a response or feedback (it will be highly appreciated and the candidate will reconsider applying for the company for future open roles). I am fairly aware of the fact that time is a scarce resource, but even more so candidates should know that they have not passed the interview/ test and be able to move on. I know a recruiter sees sometimes even thousands of people for a role, but there are ways in which a candidate that was not suitable now, to be let down easy. You can make a template email and send it to let the candidate know they have not been selected to go forward. It shows respect to the time given by the candidate and also creates a trustful connection, making sure that the candidate will come back on your company’s job posting.