Recruitment and hiring can be confusing. In a bid to help job-seekers and hiring managers alike, I’ve put together a glossary – albeit a bit tongue in cheek – of commonly used words, phrases and terms to help everyone understand recruitment a little bit better
The Job Specification
THE PERCEPTION A hallowed document painstakingly crafted then inscribed on a tablet (stone not electronic) which perfectly articulates everything about a job.
THE REALITY A cut & paste effort cobbled together from previous incarnations which looks like every other job of its type in the industry. They often read like employment ransom notes ‘You must have…’ ‘You will do…’ ‘You will know’
P.S. There’ll be nothing on there to sell the role or make it stand out in any way.
How’s on your books
THE PERCEPTION Recruiters work by moving a bank of active job-seekers around. A quick couple of phone calls and a few emails here and there and hey presto – there’s your candidate short list.
Companies often think that Recruiters have a selection of active job seekers they can simply pick from, but this isn’t exactly the reality.
THE REALITY To find candidates for many roles, a professional Recruiter will speak to hundreds of candidates through a variety of channels to get to the right ones.
Reqruitment isn’t rocket science
THE PERCEPTION Recruitment is as easy as falling off a log, you know it’s not rocket science, anyone can do it.
THE REALITY as industry trainer Greg Savage says: everything in the world which isn’t rocket science isn’t rocket science, but recruitment is incredibly difficult to do well consistently.
Jobs board
THE PERCEPTION A website where you can apply for selective jobs you’re interested in.
THE REALITY Press ‘upload’ and welcome to the Wild West. Every Recruiter in Christendom (including the unscrupulous ones) will now have your CV, not just the one who advertised the role you applied to.
Find a dream job or open yourself up to a job nightmare.
They’ll probably indiscriminately spray it across the marketplace. Fingers crossed it doesn’t land on your boss’ desk and prompt an awkward conversation.
CV / Resumé
THE PERCEPTION Another hallowed document, this time emanating from the mind of the perfect candidate. The perfect candidate knowing the role (as of course they’re perfect) writes their CV in exactly the way the hiring manager would’ve written a CV, clearly identifying themselves as the best person.
THE REALITY People don’t always write brilliant CVs and who can blame them when there’s so much conflicting advice on how to do it? We put far too much weight on CVs; a CV is not the person, it’s merely a representation of them.
Top Tip: if in doubt, meet people you have a positive gut feel about – you’ll often be pleasantly surprised.
The interview
THE PERCEPTION A one-way street where the interviewer gets the information they need. The perfect candidate arrives completely sold on the company and the role, with no other job prospects. They are then prepared to sit and wait patiently until the company gets around to make them an offer in five or six months’ time.
Interviews are a two-way street
THE REALITY The ‘perfect’ candidate has options in the marketplace. You haven’t got the time you think you have. It’s vital that you sell your role and your company and show them why the ‘grass is greener’ on your side of the fence. Sitting someone down and asking them why they want to work for you just won’t cut the mustard these days. A good proportion of the interview should be you selling your company and opportunity to a star candidate.
‘Yes’ doesn’t always mean ‘yes’
THE PERCEPTION You’ve got the perfect candidate, you’re excited, you can see them really fitting in. So you offer them the job there and then and they say yes. Great news…
THE REALITY ‘Yes’ isn’t always ‘yes’ (even if the candidate thinks they mean it). The man from Del Monte says ‘Yes – but actually your car allowance is worse, as is your pension and bonus plus there are fewer holidays – so on reflection – I’ll stay where I am.’
Not quite as snappy as the ad is it?
A ‘yes’ to a headline salary figure without comparing benefits packages in the round isn’t a real ‘yes’. This is one of the main reasons we DON’T recommend making job offers during interviews as it’s unlikely all parties will have all the right information to hand.
‘I’ve covered the market’
Giving the vacancy to several agencies
THE PERCEPTION Agencies will gleefully fight to the death, like modern-day corporate gladiators, to fill your vacancy. The victor will emerge from the fray clutching the perfect candidate bloodied from battle but sharpened by this competition.
THE REALITY Filling many roles with quality candidates is challenging. Good Recruiters partner with clients and prefer not to work on vacancies where their odds of success are 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 to start with.
Would you go to 4 or 5 Accountants and ask them all to do your books and pay the one who did it quickest? What would that speed say about the quality of due diligence and process in the way they worked?
Instructing several Recruiters prioritises speed but not quality. It also places Recruiters in a position where they can only do relatively superficial work which is unlikely to deliver the very best candidates.
Ready! Set! Recruit!
What would you think of a company if you were approached about the same job with them by 4 or 5 people in quick succession? It feels a bit desperate doesn’t it…
‘We’re waiting for jobs to land’
THE PERCEPTION Now is the perfect time to start recruiting. If we can line people up for interviews they’ll be ready to be plucked off the ‘supermarket candidate shelf’ when projects start.
THE REALITY The stars rarely align for ‘project-dependent’ recruitment. Projects don’t always start when we think they will, the resource required doesn’t always match expectations and unexpected challenges will always crop up meaning expectations, as well as timelines, will need to quickly adjust. Keep in mind also that top quality candidates are unlikely to hang around waiting just for you.
Much better to start the process when you know you can definitely push the button on a hire
Recruiter
THE PERCEPTION A charlatan pretending to be a professional, inhabiting a philosophical space somewhere between a poor quality used car sales person and a thief. To be avoided at all costs.
THE REALITY Good professional Recruiters are worth their weight gold. They work hard to find solutions to business problems and facilitate significant career moves for people.
Lots of things in recruitment aren’t always quite what we might think and if you’re not sure what to do or think of a Recruiter, simply ask around; people who’ve done a good job for others can probably do a good job for you too.
