Simon's job log: 6

The story so far... Simon works for a small IT firm in North Yorkshire, and runs marathons to raise cash for Alzheimer's research.

The black art of recruitment 

Many times when I was an unemployed student, I was frustrated by the whole process of job searching. The problem was that from the point of view of the applicant, the entire practice seemed shrouded in mystery. I never got to see what happened to my application inside the companies I applied for. To use a computing metaphor, it was a black box; you don’t get to see what happens inside the box, you must work out what’s happening inside it by analysing the inputs (like my CV) and outputs (like rejection letters and employer feedback). Now that I’ve got a job, I can view the whole process from the other side - and let me tell you, it’s shed a whole load of light on the process.

It just so happens that one of our team has left for greener pastures (though I’m not sure Hull can be said to have any pastures at all). This was a real disappointment, not least because he had all the right skills for the job, but also because he fitted in so well with the rest of us. Oh well.

So now we’re a developer down and desperately need another one. This is an excellent opportunity to shine some light on how employers view the recruitment process. I say ‘process’, but there is virtually no process or protocol at all. Decisions are often made on little more than first impressions, gut feeling or past experience.

So how do we go about employing someone?

Step 1: Cast the net

The first step is to get the word out. At my company we use a range of methods to get this done. Mostly we rely on recruitment and employment agencies to do the hard work for us. We formulate a job description, which we forward to them, and then they forward the CVs of anyone who might be what we’re after.

The interesting part here is that, because we are based in a small town on the coast, there is frequently a lack of good, skilled, candidates from the local area. So we are quite flexible about the kind of CVs we choose to look at, even if they don’t immediately seem to have what we need.

Another source of local talent we often tap is nearby universities. We always get a few CVs from graduates looking for experience and a job. However, the main disadvantage we find is that they are frequently too inexperienced and need to be trained up, so they can’t hit the ground running.

We also occasionally advertise full-time positions on the internet, mainly graduate-focused websites. We always prefer to hire local people though, because they won’t need time to move to the area and get settled in before they can start.

Finally, good old networking also gets a look in. If someone in the company knows a friend of a friend, they have a far greater chance of being employed than a random stranger from off the street. Familiarity trumps talent if it means we can reduce the risk of employing someone who may be an unknown quantity.

Step 2: Select your CVs

Whenever we receive a CV, we always check if the main bases are covered. If not, we then see if the person has potential to learn the skills we need. If so, we put them on the back burner, just in case we can’t find anyone more suited for the role. It may sound harsh, but that’s business for you.

Those that are obviously not what we need are rejected straight off. Sometimes it only takes a minute or two of browsing someone’s CV to establish if they have what we want.

Of course, a candidate may be perfect from a skills point of view, but there may be questions about the person. Employers hate unknowns because they represent risk. Gaps in employment history or unusual or anti-social hobbies in the ‘Personal Interests’ section are all warning signs which we look for.

When looking at a CV, we are seeking hints that will answer the two main questions which decide whether you will get the job – Can you do it and will you fit in?

Step 3: Interviews

Interviews are about answering the two key questions as I suggested earlier. One way we try to gauge the skill level of candidates is to give them a short quiz on web development. It’s just another tool we use to help us work out which candidate is best.

The interview is make or break time for the ‘possibles’ we’ve chosen. We’ve already conducted two interviews for our vacant developer position. I can’t say much about those particular interviews, but generally, the outcome of each will decide whether we need to do anymore. If a candidate blows us away, they could be offered the job the next day. That doesn’t happen very often though.

What tends to happen is that each of the candidates is really good in one or two of the areas we need, rather than in all. So there is some weighing up to be done over which skills are needed the most and who fulfils those requirements best.

Step 4: Choose your candidate

The final step is to choose which candidate we think is the best of those we’ve interviewed. That doesn’t mean to say that the job will go to someone we’ve interviewed. We may still decide to revisit other CVs, or even go straight back to the beginning. Like many things in business, it depends on how much time we have, how desperate we are and how much money we have.

After all that we haven’t found our right candidate yet. Time is running out though so we will need to make up our minds soon.

My earlier job logs 

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