As we remain in a candidate driven market, for most of us long are the days of the traditional recruitment process of a closing date and somewhat one sided interviews, where it is solely up to the candidate to sell themselves against a number of peers.

I recently had a conversation with a new client of ours, who said they have found themselves in the position where most of the interview process has become them almost selling the role, their business and the future within the role, and they are finding candidates are still rejecting the job.

It really upsets me that the word ‘sell’ is used during any interview process; the biggest cost of recruitment by far is when it goes wrong, and that’s most certainly for both the employee and employer. It’s therefore so important that any interview process is designed to create a really transparent two sided environment that enables both parties to get a true and honest overview of each other, rather than just the ‘sold’ version.

As part of our process here at Thompson & Terry Recruitment, we conduct an hour long Teams interview internally before submitting a candidate to our client and confirming an interview. I always say to candidates at the start, this is not an interview but the goal is to ensure I give you a complete and honest overview of the good, bad and ugly (first 30 minutes), and you do the same with me (second 30 minutes) so if you meet the client there should be no surprises on either side, but also still feel the same 12 months after joining.

Without too many humble brags, c. 83% of the first CV we sent last year got the job (national average c.5%) but this isn’t because we are super talented, it’s purely because right at the start of client and candidate relationships, we really focus on the importance of complete transparency by all involved.

Whilst I have said it’s important not to sell, it’s equally important not to play down your company or your achievements as a candidate. I know from speaking to thousands of candidates over the years, that many of us struggle to talk about our achievements. The best way to counteract this is by trying to be quantifiable when talking; this is so easy for sales people to say I made X calls or my target was X and I achieved Y, but actually we can all learn from this and adapt to most careers. If the job is a receptionist, how many people will they typically see a day, or if you are an engineer, how many hours are invested, what is the value of the product and how many are you making.

Do you need a recruitment agency or recruitment expert to achieve a successful recruitment process with no surprises, and really good longevity of each hire? The short answer in most cases is ‘no’ – as an employer make sure your job adverts are compelling and at the start of an interview really put the candidate at ease and reassure them the interview will be a two sided honest conversation to ensure complete transparency.

If you are an employer or indeed a candidate, and would like some advice around this topic please do reach out. As a business, we are always really happy to give lots of complimentary advice.