What's in your briefs?

Over the years, I've taken many job specs from my customers; in 2022 so far we've taken almost 100 job briefs already and with our team growing, we expect to have almost tripled that number by the end of the year. So what makes a good brief?

What do we typically get?

There’s a huge variation around what information companies share with us as their initial outline. Some clients provide pages and pages of info, sharing their company overview, organisational structure, role background, key competencies, desired skills, etc. Others drop us a two-line e-mail and are happy to define the role based on what candidates are available within their price range.?

Either way, we always like to get on the phone with the hiring manager to properly understand requirements and ask questions. We often find that job specs need a bit of rejigging - they maybe ask for legacy certifications or don’t reflect the exact role that you’re hiring for. Once we get chatting though, we can help you restructure and refine those requirements, which allows us to effectively sell the vacancy to your next hire.

So what do we need?

I thought I’d be selfish and pull together a useful guide to help you to help me do my job more effectively. You see, having a strong brief means that we can find the best candidates for your business and we can save you time by screening them upfront for you, based on your criteria. Your recruitment partner is normally the first introduction to a candidate for your business, and sometimes we only get one shot at enticing a candidate who isn't currently active in the marketplace that you have the best opportunity for them. The more informed we are about what makes your company and your role great, means we have a better chance of gaining that interest for you.

So what things should you be talking to your recruitment partners about? And what things do you need to consider when making your next hire? Let’s look at some of the key questions…?

Role Overview

It's important that you've got an idea of exactly what the role is that you're hiring for. A Security Analyst in one company can be something completely different in another industry so you can’t just rely on the job title.

Why has this role come about? Has someone recently left the business? Or have you got an influx of additional work? How is this resource gap being filled currently?

What will this person be coming in to do? Is this a specific project or is it an additional person for the team? What problem will they be solving for you?

Candidate Requirements

Understanding what you want from a candidate is key to helping recruiters find the right person for your organisation. Having an idea of what technical skills a person requires to be successful in their role is integral, but it’s also important to understand what you’re looking for in terms of a cultural fit for your business

What technical skills are essential to do the role? Are there any specific certifications you expect the candidate to have? Why do they need those certifications? If a candidate was working towards that certificate would you consider this? Can a training budget for the cert be considered as a benefit?

What professional skills are essential for the candidate to have? Will it be a customer-facing role? Will they primarily be working as part of a team or individually? Who are the key stakeholders they will be liaising with? What are their personalities and backgrounds like?

What will be the most challenging part of the role? What will the first 1 month / 3 months/ 6 months/ 12 months look like for this hire?

How big is the team this tole will be hired into? What type of roles and skills make up the team? What is the team culture like? What?would/ wouldn't fit into the environment? When did you last hire for this role? Can you describe the background of that person?

Why should a candidate come and work with you?

The current market is highly candidate-led for experienced hires meaning candidates don’t have to be looking for work; they get calls and messages about opportunities every day. This means your recruitment partner needs to be able to sell your role to the candidate, and your recruitment process needs to be slick throughout to make sure you don’t lose candidates in the process.

What is the salary range on offer? What are the benefits? Things like holidays, pension %, flexible working, medical benefits, or any other benefits. How does that compare to the market average?

What is the working pattern? Can the work be done from home? Do you have core hours or can the candidate pick and choose start times? Do you offer compressed hours? Could the role be part-time for the right candidate?

Why is your company a great place to work? What are you doing better than your competitors?

If a candidate has 3 offers on the go, why should they choose your company? What is the progression route for this new hire?

What's the interview process? Can you mobilize interviews quickly for in-demand candidates? Have you got dates reserved for interviews? Good candidates are snapped up within a week - can you move that quickly to interview and offer?

Are there any onboarding tests or checks that need to happen before someone can start? How soon can you wait for someone to start? Once the offer is accepted, do you want the recruitment team to keep in touch during that notice, or can you assign someone to also check in regularly during that process? Remember those job opportunities that candidates get contacted about? They don't stop just because they have accepted a role.

A lot of this information isn't necessarily information for the job specification, but it is this extra detail that helps your recruitment partner to sell the role for you, especially in a tight candidate market with plenty of demand.

As always, if you want to talk about hiring or advice on the market, drop me a message, and let's chat!