The initial period of any recruitment process can be quite laborious and time intensive. Most businesses tend to delegate parts of the process to their administrative staff, who will usually handle initial responses to job advertisements, requests for CV’s, appointment scheduling and qualification verification.
While senior consultants and HR professionals will ultimately take the decisions on whether to forward a candidate for a specific position, it is also true to say that there are a number of steps that can be taken to make the whole process run smoothly and in doing so enhance the prospect of a successful outcome.
We spoke to Louise Manley and Ally Bowen, two highly experienced members of Spindler’s administrative team for their perspective.
Louise said, “Please always send your CV’s to us by email rather than by post, as posted CV’s slow down the process. When we receive an emailed CV it is forwarded to the consultant handing the assignment and we always send an acknowledgement within 48 hours, so it is worth following up if you don’t receive a response within that time frame.”
“It is important that you ensure that all contact information on the CV is up to date, particularly the email address and mobile numbers, as we will need this when contacting you to arrange an interview. Unfortunately, candidates who we are unable to find because we do not have the correct information may end up missing out,” added Ally.
Ally continued, “Too many contact details can also be an issue. If you have more than one email address or mobile phone number, you should state a preference to avoid confusion. You should also consider leaving a personalized message on your voicemail. If we get put through to a standard voicemail message then we are reluctant to leave messages for confidentiality reasons. If we cannot be 100% sure that it is the right person then we won’t be able to leave a message.”
“Similarly the reverse is often the case where candidates are reluctant to leave messages on our answer machine because they are worried about confidentiality. However, all our answer machine messages are treated extremely discreetly and responded to promptly. If it is more convenient, it is certainly worth leaving a message as it can speed the process up – particularly if contact during office hours is a problem.”
“To help us manage the interview schedule, please advise us of any dates when you are going to be away on holiday or business. We appreciate that it is not always convenient to talk to us when we call, so giving us an alternative time to call back is always helpful. This helps smooth the process and can avoid unnecessary delays, which is better for all parties,” added Louise.
Louise concluded, “One of the main issues we face is the scheduling of interviews. We do appreciate how hard it is for you to rearrange your diary, but clients will often give us specific times and dates – so being flexible can really help. We are simply trying to manage the process in a way that works for everyone.”
