Article

What your future employees/colleagues want to know about you

What your future employees/colleagues want to know about you

12 months ago, the questions that we found candidates asking before going forward for a role were varied but of a theme:

  1. Package and benefits
  2. Prospects and opportunities
  3. Business culture and ethics

Although as we have previously talked about what motivates a candidate to move the subject of what is important for them to consider your company are now slightly different. The first hurdle for all candidates who do not need to move, or we are approaching on behalf of our clients is the question of ‘stability and flexibility’.

What exactly is meant by these questions and what can you do to attract the best people to meet with you?

Well the question of stability I think is a question of what your future looks like not what your past has been. What are you doing as a business to move through the current crisis? What plans do you have in place to continue to navigate through what is going on? Finally, is being able to demonstrate agility to change and adapt. The important thing in your response to this question is having already thought it through and being able to demonstrate you have a plan.

The second part of the question is around flexibility which is a question that requires two responses. The first response is how flexible has your business been during the last 6 months and where possible have people been able to work from home. The second response is how flexible is the plan moving forward? Most people are now looking for a blend of working from home and in the office, if the role allows. Also, people are interested in knowing what happens if they cannot come into the office because children are sent home or you have symptoms.

In our experience as recruiters once we have managed to demonstrate our clients have worked well through the crisis and are prepared for the next phase the standard questions are then asked. So with this in mind our advice would be to think about how you have positioned yourself through the last 6 months and what is next, then share this with your recruitment partner and the candidates you are meeting with.