Recently, I’ve done a couple of recruitment projects for clients. As a consequence, I’ve spent some time reviewing job adverts and recruitment processes. And I have to say, it amazes me how some organisations ever attract staff when a substantial number of adverts commit one or more of these recruitment “crimes”
- We’re not going to tell you who you’re applying to or where we are.
Why do recruiters think that putting out a vacancy for, say, a “manufacturing company in the North West” (or even, as I once saw, for “Anonymous Recruiter”) is likely to attract candidates?
Why wouldn’t you say who you are? Especially as we expect candidates these days to have done extensive research on the organisation if they come for interview. Who would consider buying or renting somewhere that was advertised as vaguely as “spacious property located in a large city”?
There’s a more serious point – you are potentially wasting candidates’ time. If I live in Macclesfield and find later on in the process that your company is based in Carlisle, (both in the “North West”) chances are that I’ll withdraw rather than face a 5 hour daily commute or the hassle of relocation.
- We won’t say how much we’re going to pay you.
Instead, we’ll put in a meaningless phrase like “£ competitive” or “attractive salary plus benefits”
You may think that your £30000 salary is ‘competitive’. The candidate you shortlist who is currently on £35000 won’t think so. If you want to be able to negotiate salary with the successful person that’s fine, but you should at least put in an indicative range so that again, you are not wasting people’s time.
- “We reserve the right to close the process early if we have sufficient applications”
What this says to candidates is “we’re so desperate to fill the role that we’ll take anyone who vaguely meets our criteria, so long as they apply quickly”. Your ideal candidate might not be actively job hunting; or away and not see your advert for a period; or may have missed your advert initially. If you’ve set a closing date, stick to it.
In my experience, most applications that come in on day 1 or 2 of an advert tend to be from people who haven’t thought about your role or don’t meet the specification anyway. Good candidates often want to take some time to prepare their CV and application.
- We have a never-ending list of ‘essential characteristics’
Having a person specification is vital to allow you to sift and shortlist candidates. Each criterion that you have will eliminate some applicants. So, the longer your list, the fewer people are likely to get through. If it’s more than 5 or 6, then chances are that no-one will meet your specification. I’ve seen job adverts with around 15 or more essential characteristics, which have led me to conclude that the person the employer wants doesn’t exist, or if they do, is probably the person who has recently quit the job.
Sadly, a lot of these practices seem prevalent in today’s recruitment market (and you’ll often see more than one in a single job advert). I’d love to hear the justification in recruitment or business terms for them, because I’m struggling to see one.