12 reasons you may not be attracting top talent ! Written by Abigail Fitch

In an age where disgruntled employees and candidates can take to social media, it’s easy for your company to be overshadowed by a bad comment or two.

The current market is candidate led; candidates have information at their fingertips and the power to pick and choose within the sea of opportunities.

What are the factors that affect a candidate’s decision?

Recruitment agencies

How well agencies sell your company and which candidates they sell it to, is often dependant on the size of the fee they receive- coupled with the fact, that they may be aware you are working with other agencies on the same vacancy.

Companies who work with agencies on an exclusive basis and work retained, get the best talent ! End of! Is your cost-saving, costing you the best candidates?

Companies House

The most seasoned candidates will take to Companies House to look up your finances; name changes; growth and net worth, all of which may ring alarm bells.

Glass Door

This is a forum where candidates and employees/ex-employees can give opinions on everything from the interview process, company culture, and career development. The unfortunate truth is that unhappy candidates/employees are more likely to use this forum than those who have had a positive experience.

“My friends, sisters, cousin said”...

Candidates/ employees that were unhappy with the interview process and/or working life whilst at your company will spread the word- if I had a pound for every candidate over the years who declined an offer or interview because of this, I would be a rich woman.

Job adverts

If your adverts are 5 pages long, with lots of recruitment catchphrases and an old school tone, you may not be top of the list.

Do you have a diverse senior leadership team?

This is not only gender but all diversity: if your senior leadership is not diverse, your dream future employee may feel they don’t fit and won’t apply.

Search engines

When a candidate uses a search engine to look up your company: the good, the bad and the ugly will be coming up for all to see- again, you may be losing candidates from this.

Initial contact

If initial contact is made from an internal or external search firm who doesn’t have an overly enthusiastic tone; no idea on the detail of the role and opening the call by pronouncing the candidate’s name wrong: the candidate will be thinking twice on attending an interview.

Do you offer flexible working?

The future is flexible and its all about output not input, so if you are opening your interview with: “you must be at your desk by 8:30am and we will have a late night on Thursday, I take it that this is fine with you?” I can assure you, your candidate will have already concluded that they will not have a work-life balance .

Do your values match?

If you want the candidate to trust in your company values which are plastered all over your website, make sure they match in practice. 

If you lead with: “we are a non- hierarchal company”, then at interview your PA picks up the candidate with the opening line: “Mr Smith will see you now” and leads the candidate to your cordoned off office with a name plaque on the door, you will have already lost trust.

Are you Family-friendly?

If you don’t look Family-friendly, candidates may have already decided family comes first and you may be out of the running.

Do you have lots of roles advertised?

The first thing that springs to mind is why is everyone leaving? If you don’t state your vacancies are due to expansion, this may ring alarm bells for your candidate.

My next article is: 12 ways to ensure you are getting the best talent to interview.