We are witnessing a lot of movements going on in the job market, it’s very competitive! The hybrid working style is certain. So why Now is the best time to think about acquiring talents?
Most of the HR and hiring managers would consider cutting costs in the labour market when the downturn occurs is a must, to look after liquidity. That’s fine and it all depends on your short-term and long-term goals. Give a brief time of how long will it last, similar to our weight loss diet program, we need to know when we can have our treat.
I know that all of us have limited budgets and resources, every penny and minute counts when it comes to hiring. You also would worry about whether will bring a good return, loyal customers, and an increase in a reputation? There are so many questions in our heads before the recruiting even started.
What skills and traits shall we seek or look into when we recruit when we all feel a bit nervous? I’m not a hiring expert, however, I treat every meeting and networking as an interview for me and others, get to know each other better, looking for opportunities for collaboration.
I hope the following tips be useful whether you are hiring or looking for a role.
Someone truly cares
Unless you are sure that the function side of the role, and knows how many years of experience is required, I would suggest put care at the important part of the management role. Without that, hard to reach empowerment and ownership.
It’s hard to find this trait from CV and cover letter. Interviewing with a stress test (not killing tests) questions might be useful, and ask more why(s)s and why not(s) when you want to find out more about this particular candidate.
Allow the candidates to share more of their stories, and find the ones who care just as much as you do. I enjoyed reading this blog about remote job interviews; very insightful, hopefully, will be useful for your own good.
Motivation
Understand the fundamental motivation from the potential candidate, whether looking for learning from the experience, receive a bigger paycheque, more exposure for training, education, and networking. Do take time to know and develop that willingness of knowing both sides of motivation. Think this way, treat that like dating, the work-life is a partnership, combined with other feelings.
The alignment of goals will make the future work with a 1+1 > 2 outcome.
Authenticity
I have worked with a lot of people, and meeting people makes me feel happy because each one of us is unique. The key part of authenticity when I’m in the workplace is emotions. Most of the organisations are avoiding talking and dealing with staff emotions directly, often think this is a “thing” for the mental health department. I believe now it’s the time to bring emotions to the table. People deal with events and matters differently. Equally, the reaction various depends on the events. Try to avoid working with people too closely who are always faking their emotions, what goes up must come down. Same with the situation when you go for a job interview or hiring a new member. Two suggestions for the situation, 1. Open your mind and heart when it comes to working. 2. Remember rule number one!
More than an open mind, we need an open horizon
Thanks to the internet and virtual workforce expansion, we are lucky to reach out to talents from the globe in a very short time, and collaborate at the time we are comfortable with. This requires what Professor Kolluru mentioned in her paper, in which she and her team did research regards to strategy and human resources of Omani banks. She found the younger workforce are expecting decent basic pay plus the 21st-century mindset working environment, which means more meaningful work that generates positive impact.
As a manager, how do we provide the soil to develop that type of mindset?
As interviewers and hiring managers, here are some suggestions to help you to avoid some pitfalls:
1. Don’t fall for the “perfect candidate” trap
Believe it or not, finding the right peers is similar to searching for the right life partner. There are so many behaviours and traits you need to look out for, and importantly, liking and respecting each other will generate positive productivity.
2. Time can be your friend and foe
We need extra time to get to know the people, but equally, once we figure out that our values and culture don’t fit. Timing is everything, we need to let go of the people, help to deal with their feelings and ours.
3. Don’t feel bad and blame everything on yourself
Some situations are out of our control, everyone likes positive results and good ending of the stories. However, when a bad chapter occurs, don’t play the guilt card to yourself too quickly. Make firm decisions based on logic analysis, giving out explicit feedbacks.
You don’t need to be in a “perfect” situation to recruit, all you need is some help, advice and a little nudge to get it right during a positive uncertainty period.
