Articles From the Team
Processes aren’t boring…. Honest!
As some of you may know, I have recently returned from the UAE back to sunny Manchester. Of all the things I am grateful for with the move, such as being closer to my family and friends, the weather (honestly, it’s lovely having seasons rather than just 40 degree heat all the time) and being able to walk places, the thing I am most grateful for is processes!
As Brits, we are internationally renowned for adhering to a process. In no other nation, will people question if you are in a queue or moreover get the hump if you try to queue jump. Having been stampeded many a times in the supermarket in the Middle East, I am so grateful to be able to shop in places where everyone queues (not just me)!
That all being said, it baffles me how we are able to follow a process in our every day life however once we get to work, we seem to forget the importance of processes.
In a candidate led market; where there are more jobs than candidates, it’s so important for firms and businesses to really sell themselves to applicants and the easiest way to do this is quite simply being organised, setting up timeframes and adhering to them. It’s so simple but really demonstrates professionalism and ultimately, this will set you above from your competition. Also ensuring you are giving feedback is so important to candidates as they have made the effort to prepare by researching your business / team and have taken time out of their busy schedule to meet you. It’s really important for them to understand why they might not be suitable. We are all adults and this isn’t dating, so why do we all get scared by simply saying, I won’t be hiring this person because I don’t think they are quite the right fit for the team at present? Or they haven’t got quite the right experience. When we are recruiting, we tend to forget that first impressions are important and whilst this person may not be suitable now, they may be suitable for you in your next team or in the future at a different level.
Moreover, as a candidate it’s so important for your reputation to adhere to the recruitment process. As recruiters, we spend far too much of our time, chasing people unnecessarily. We all know how the process works, as a candidate you register and speak to a specialist recruitment consultant. Our job is to market you and find you the best available role that matches your expectations in a firm you want to work in. To do this, we do speak with our clients who are actively looking, but we also contact those who aren’t and who might consider someone like you. At which point we will arrange interviews on your behalf and you will attend them and hopefully be made an offer. However why is it when people start looking, they forget this– you wouldn’t allow a friend or the bank or the doctors to call you 3 times and ignore them, would you?
It’s so so so important for candidates to be transparent and honest. As a recruiter, I spend most of my life saying to people we are on your side! I genuinely believe that somewhere between the 1990s and today this has just been forgotten. We aren’t trying make the process harder for you and we don’t have a secret agenda so it’s so important to tell your consultant if your situation has changed, you are no longer interested, you CV has already been sent to the firm or you cannot make an interview. We are all human and we change our minds, we won’t be upset if we know what you are thinking and moreover we are more interested in our long term relationship with you rather than just “making a quick fee” today.
Working for BCL Legal is such a breath of fresh air as we do operate in a very professional way and promote good processes. We will always revert to candidates within time frames we have set together and we always aim to offer a consultative approach. If a position isn’t right, we won’t offer it to you and we aren’t there to hinder your process.
So as I said PROCESSES ARE GOOD!
For more information, please contact Azara Roger at BCL Legal.