Finding & Attracting Talent

As I mentioned before, talent is very hard to find these days and getting harder.  You may be looking for months for that perfect candidate so what do you do to ensure that you find it and then you attract and engage it? 

Talented people won’t be attracted to you unless you have something amazing to offer that will entice them away from where they are, unless they are unhappy already and then your job is made slightly easier!

1. Spread the word
   Use every means possible to get the word out that you’re looking.  Use your contacts, brief your agencies properly and incentivise everyone to make it worth their while to spend part of their hectic schedules contacting people they know.

    

2. Assessing Candidates
   CVs are not always the best way to get the measure of someone – you may want to give them a call first off to find out a bit about them.  Keep an open mind when reading CVs – they may have been poorly advised how to write their CV but could be that star candidate you are looking for!
   
   Research shows that a method rapidly increasing in popularity for assessing candidates is accessing their details on social networking sites such as Facebook, Faceparty, Myspace and so on.  Around 20% of employers surveyed use this method to research candidates (68% use search engines and 60% would check a candidate’s blog).  This would seem a timely reminder to candidates to avoid putting up the vodka snorting shot on their page (or ensure they have set their privacy levels properly!)!  There are varying opinions about this but I personally would strongly advise against searching for candidates on these sites – they are what they are, social networking sites.  They are not meant to be used by potential employers to judge/see whether someone can do a job or not.  I would only use more work related networking sites such as LinkedIn. 
   
   However, if you do choose to vet candidates this way, any information that you do find on these sites should be used with great care.  You should avoid any hint of discrimination when you decide whether or not to hire someone on the back of checking out their latest party antics!  Job applicants can make a claim to a potential employer for discrimination in the recruitment arrangements or for deliberately not making an offer. There’s been no case law on this yet but its only a matter of time. You have been warned! 
   
   Interviewing candidates…next month
   (Research source: People Management, 9 August 2007)