3 Lessons I Get for Recruitment by Putting Myself in Their Shoes
These past weeks, I had the opportunity to participate in recruitment process of a youth organization I’m currently part of. By participating, I mean as a recruiter, not an applicant. I took part in selecting and screening the candidates.
Interesting enough.
The recruitment program for the next batch of my organization is mainly organized by the human resources department, but then they asked members from other department to participate so we could help them recruit the right candidate based on each department’s qualifications.
The recruitment process was quite general and pretty similar with the practices in actual work environment, starting from CV and motivation letter screening, focus group discussion, and interview. Actually, there is one more phase after the interview one, but it is still ongoing and it is unique to our organization so I think there is no need to tell the story about it.
Being a recruiter for my own organization, screening bunch of CVs, assessing FGDs, and interviewing some more candidates, I gained lessons that is beneficial and worth to implement if I am about to apply for work. I got the opportunity to put myself in recruiter’s shoes, to actually feel what they are really looking for from a candidate.
So, here are some lessons learned from participating as a recruiter in a recruitment process.
1. First impression is important
This may be one of the most common recruitment tips, but believe me, as a recruiter, I feel the significance of first impression.
CV and motivation letter are the first impression of the whole recruitment process. CV structure and layout is the first tollgate for recruiter whether to continue screening or not. But luckily, me and my fellow ‘recruiters’ have plenty of time to actually read every CVs despite how good or bad the design and structure is. In actual recruitment, a recruiter spends 5 seconds reading a CV and if it is not interesting enough, they will simply move to other CV. So it is very important to design your CV nicely and suitable for the position you are going to apply.
Another first impression once you passed the CV screening phase is most likely interview. I genuinely impressed with candidates that showed good attitude since the very beginning —coming on time, tidy appearance, greeting the interviewer, smiling, even asked my wellbeing, and said the interviewer’s name while greeting or about to ask something. I think it is a speedy, yet effective way to get the my respect towards the candidate I was interviewing, and later created a good ambience for the interview process that in one way helped the candidate in answering questions. Personally, for a candidate who demonstrated good attitude, event though their performance during the interview is not that outstanding, I often considered them to pass the interview session because I can see the good in them through the good attitude. But unfortunately, there were other candidates with good attitudes and outstanding performance during the interview, so I think the choice was obvious.
A good first impression is not a guarantee for you to get your desired position, but if you did not even try to impress from the first time, say goodbye to the opportunity.
2. Showcase your effort and get noticed positively
When you are about to apply to a position you desired, you most likely do the best. You crafted the CV, wrote the cover letter, even prepared for the interview. It will be a plus if you can make the recruiter see how much effort you put in order to get the position, especially the effort regarding to know more about the organization.
From the recruitment process, I was familiar with some candidates, like I had known them before. Actually, some of them had attended the previous events held by my organization, some others had connected with some of the members virtually, and some others attempted to network with the members with asking things about the organization. I personally appreciated those candidates who did extra miles to apply, beyond the requirement. It helped me to notice them from seas of applicants. I got the perception that this candidate had a strong will to join the organization, and wouldn’t you want the recruiter to notice you this way?
Networking is important, but be wise. To get recruiter or people in your desired organization notice you and put distinct attention in you is nice. It also makes you stand out among hundreds of applicants. But make sure that while building network, you showcase your good reputation. Me and my fellow at the organization knew some of our friends that were applying — good point that they were straight-up noticed by the recruiter. Unfortunately, we knew them good enough to know that they did not have good reputation, work ethic, or event attitude. Despite the outstanding track records they demonstrated on their CV or nicely written motivation letter, check-mate, we knew the true you. This is a side-effect of networking that is quite contrary with what we expect to gain. Networking is a way, but not the final solution, so keep in mind to do your best in every opportunity.
3. Know what the recruiter is actually looking
I’ll be straightforward: being good is not enough. First of all, you have to be suitable for the position you desired.
I found plenty of candidates with stellar experience and outstanding performance during FGD and interview. But not all of them were eligible to pass to the next recruitment phase. Why? Because I found out that they were not suitable for the position or the organization.
When I asked about their top priorities, they put this organization at a low level. When I asked about what they know about the organization and the position, not a few of them did not answered correctly or not adequately detailed. When I asked about their expectations, I didn’t think they could find what they seek here. What they visioned is different than the reality. They were outstanding, but what they had and proposed did not align with the vision of the organization.
Is it a loss? No, because even though they are high performing, if what they expect is not on point and the requirements are not met, they won’t perform either way. Me and my fellow at the organization think that their expectation cannot be met here and it may cause them to not performing here and eventually leave. So to let go that kind of candidates, it was hard, but I think it is the best for both the organization and the candidate themselves.
So, being good is a must, but first of all, make sure you are suitable for what you applied. Pay attention to the job description and requirement. Do some research about the organization you’re applying, including the business and the culture. Try to deduce what to expect from the ideal candidate and try to demonstrate it in the interview session.
So, there are 3 main takeaways that I get after participating in recruitment process in my organization. It is undoubtedly a fruitful experience, since I got so many lessons that eventually valuable for myself. I got to wear the glasses of recruiter in seeing candidates, and although not very similar, I think it gave me understanding a recruiter’s perspective in hiring candidates.
For everyone who happens to read this section, first of all, thank you for reading this far! And I hope that this writing can help you preparing your job application in any way. Good luck!
