Transcript 114. Understanding the Recruitment Process: A Guide for Job Hunters (Rebroadcast).

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Renata: [00:00:00] Hi, I'm Renata Bernarde. And this is the Job Hunting Podcast, where I interview experts and professionals and discuss issues that are important for job hunters and those who are working to advance their careers. So, make sure that you subscribe and follow and let's dive right in. 

Hello, everyone. I hope you're having a lovely festive season. As this episode goes out into the world. Christmas 2021 is behind us. And the new year is a few days ahead. There are so many dreams and hopes we have postponed for the past two years. I am sure many of you will agree that the end of 2021 and the beginning of a fresh brand-new year is a very exciting and hopeful prospect. 

I wish all of you listeners all the very best in 2022 and hope [00:01:00] that you make your dreams come true. Live your life purposefully and enjoy the journey as well as the destiny. It's summer in Australia and I'm taking a break from weekly podcasting to spend time on the beach and relax with my family and friends. 

So today we're, rebroadcasting a special episode that I think is a good one for this time of the year. If you don't have a job, it will help you set your expectations and make powerful and achievable goals for the year ahead. And if you have a job and you're considering moving on from it, this episode will help you set your goals pragmatically.  

It's a win-win for all listeners. This episode and the comprehensive blog posts, that is a companion to it, which you can find on the link that's available in this episode, show notes, it's still linked to my websites block. They are an extract from one of the lessons from my online course and group coaching program, the Job Hunting Made Simple Program. Job Hunting Made Simple is coming back in February. And some of you may be ready to [00:02:00] join this great program that has been so successful to past professionals who attended it in previous years. So, if you want to learn more and register your interest in participating in the next group coaching program that starts in February, please go to my website, https://www.renatabernarde.com/ 

There's a link to find out more about it in the episode’s show notes. Okay. So, let's listen and learn more about the recruitment process and how it affects you, the job seeker. Happy new year everyone! 

Job hunting usually takes longer than you think. I know you don't like the sound of that. However, I did not start this podcast to sweeten the pill for you did I? I started to tell you like it is, and in this episode, the first episode of our 2021 series, I am going to take you behind the scenes, into my job. Hunting made simple online course and group coaching program in this lesson, which is lesson one of the recruitment and selection module, which is module four of the program. 

I explain how [00:03:00] positions are typically designed, approved, and advertised. By organizations being aware and understanding the whole recruitment and selection process is an essential aspect of a successful job-hunting pursuit. If you want to play the game to win, you need to understand the rules of the game. 

Am I right? It's also important to understand the process or game from the other player's point of view. Why was this role advertised? How, what is the organization trying to achieve by having this role, this specific role? What does it mean for the organization? Time money and resources to advertise this role and have this position on board in the job. 

Hunting made simple online course and coaching program. We start each module by raising awareness of the problem at hand. In this case, the recruitment and selection [00:04:00] process you're about to hear is the first lesson in that module for this. What we do in the next lessons is we focus on how to play the very best game to win. 

How do you become the best candidate going through the recruitment and selection process? So usually, each module has between three to five lessons so that we can really dig deep and ensure that by the end of each module, the candidate is ready. Feels confident and can activate a great game, a pitch. And in this case nailed the recruitment and selection process in the weeks ahead so that they can get that great job that they want. 

Okay. Now, you know what this episode is all about. I hope that you're curious to hear about it. So let me tell you, let me tell you. What it really takes to find a job through a recruitment and selection process from start to finish here is less than one module, four of the job hunting [00:05:00] made single program. 

Hello, let's start lesson one of week four recruitment and selection. So today we're going to go through a whole series of rules of twos, and we will very simply understand the selection process in a very complete and accurate way, not just from the point of view of the candidate, but really thinking holistically, comprehensively what's going on. 

Behind the scenes on the other side of the wall, when you're sort of thinking about your applications so much, but you know, I want you to have the confidence and the sense of control that you know, what's going on. On the other side of the field. In this lesson, you will learn all the steps companies go through in order to advertise a role, how hiring decisions are made and how the selection process unfold. 

Two ways rules let's break the entire [00:06:00] process down to very simple actions and go through it in detail. So, the two ways a job vacancy is created, there is a vacancy that can take up to three to four months to be approved. Or there is a neat, completely new role that can take up to a year or more to be approved. 

Okay. So, a vacancy is when somebody resigned, somebody is very sick and unwell. Um, somebody is, uh, structured out of the position, you know, um, let go, because they're not performing well fired on the performed or there was some, um, very, uh, challenging situation the person had. Even then, um, depending on how bureaucratic the organization is, it can take a long time for that role to be advertised again, if it's a new role, um, the budget approval for that can be quite time-consuming if the organization is [00:07:00] complex and big and bureaucratic. 

So as you can imagine, there is a lot at stake, both when there is a vacancy of an existing role, or if it is a new. The two ways a job vacancy is filled is through a promotion internally, a position field by an internal candidate. So as a position is made vacant or a job, a new role is being designed. 

There's a lot of people already sort of being considered for that role. Succession planning is a big part of team development, human resources, and fashionable development engine turn. And there could be people that are keen to apply for that role or being considered for that role by their managers. 

However many times either there isn't somebody internally, or there is also a need to advertise externally either because policies and procedures, protocols [00:08:00] require the position to be advertised or because they want to make sure that the. Very best candidate for that role is the one that gets the position. 

So they want to compare and contrast the internal candidate with whoever advertised from an external environment and they see who the best candidate is. So it is advertised internally or externally. Sometimes organizations are so large and complex that even an internal advertisement can bring in lots of interesting candidates. 

And made to be filled by an internal or external candidate, as I said. So those are two, two ways a position can be filled two ways a job vacancy is promoted. So if it's decided that, um, a job will be advertised externally, it can be done. So in-house, so the manager and or HR handles the process. They develop the job ad they develop the position [00:09:00] or the position description is possibly already developed and approved by them. 

But the job ad is done. They will then go to platforms like LinkedIn or Sikh or indeed, or other platforms that we will soon address in this presentation. And they will. By space on those platforms sometimes pay for specific ads and advertise, or they made the side to hire a recruitment agency to support the manager and the HR team with initial recruitment stages, because that can be very time consuming or if it's a senior role, they may instead, um, have two. 

Outsource this to a search company. So those are what we call headhunters or search professionals, and they will find level heads of candidates to be considered for those roles. Sometimes, uh, search companies. [00:10:00] Even advertise, they will just look within their pool of candidates and within their networks, sometimes they will advertise those roles. 

It really depends on, on the position. And, um, what's at stake two ways. A job vacancy is filled through formal application. The applicant is an unknown applicant. Nobody knows that applicant's deposition was advertised on LinkedIn, indeed newspapers, and nobody knows that candidate until they apply or another way a job, a job vacancy is filled is through. 

Uh, referral the candidate is known to someone, to the manager, to somebody in HR, to colleagues inside that organization, the recruitment agency or recruitment agency contacts. In fact, there are incentives for company staff within [00:11:00] recruitment agencies, for recruiters to identify great candidates and present them for those opportunities. 

So I have worked for organizations where if I presented and recommended great candidates for a specific role, that. Um, advertised and that person then got the role. I would receive a compensation, a bonus of a thousand dollars, $2,000. So, the compensation is quite good. $5,000. I remember at times never got one, but yeah they were there. 

If you recommend good people for four positions, three steps before an ad is made public. What happens before you even get to see the job ad depending on the size of the organization, the job ad can be drafted, finalized and [00:12:00] reach the internet in a matter of hours. So, if it's a small organization or a very nimble organization that works in a flexible way, a very startup way. You know, a position is made vacant or open. A new position is approved a few hours later, it's advertised or in a large organization, the position description and job ad need to go through a very thorough approval process that can be very lengthy, and it takes forever between the approval coming through and the job actually reaching the market. You know, that's more of my experience. Remember, I've worked in a public sector, not for profit, so it needs board approval. It needs to go through a whole internal red tape.It could take a while, three months, four months. 

In a large organization, the position description, job ad, and request to [00:13:00] advertise a new or existing role can take months. It may need to be cross-checked to see if it is really required and, or. Uh, internal candidates that may transition into the role and or if there are affirmative action candidates, that is minorities, not where we're presented in the company that need to be given a first go through special channels. 

Now these are very important, um, policies and procedures that need to. So, for example, if an organization is really launched and there is a strategy to reduce, um, an existing structure. So let's say there is a subsidiary that is going through a restructure and. They are considering making people redundant. 

There could be some people sitting on the bench that could transition into other parts of that larger organization. And if opportunities are made, then we need to [00:14:00] consider, are there people here sitting on the bench that could transition into those roles? So it's an important cost effective. Way to consider moving good people around, but also a way to keep your great employees, keep the corporate knowledge internally, make sure that people, um, that you want to keep, uh, you are able to keep and transition them into good roles. 

And then the other aspect of. Of course minorities that are not well-represented and there could be opportunities, uh, within specific channels that the organization works with to see if they can be identified and brought in for interviews prior to the opposite, the position being advertised. More widely. 

So, you know, going through all of that, if you really want a candidate to come through quickly can be very time-consuming for the whole department. And, but a lot of things in staff [00:15:00] on standby, but it needs to be. In a larger organization when a job is given the green light, a lot of ground has been covered possibly 70% of the energy and resources, you know, happen even before the position is advertised externally in a small organization, advertising for a role is a very big thing. 

Even if it happens quickly and fast and it's less complicated and bureaucratic, it's still a very big investment for small organizations to bring in somebody new. There is a lot of expectations to be met and usually the person coming in needs to make sure that they can add value to the team in more ways than one and be very open to, you know, do all kinds of different jobs. Even if the position descriptions, is specific in a small organization, sometimes it's all hands on deck and it's a big deal to [00:16:00] include a new member of the team. It's a big budget consideration, three types of job postings. Now let's look at how job ads reach the interweb job ads are posted in traditional channels. 

LinkedIn jobs, Seek, Indeed, and companies' websites are the traditional ways that jobs are advertised and how also candidates look for jobs traditionally, and, and the majority of candidates would quickly go into LinkedIn or a seek.com. Now, indeed, this is widely used as well, but job ads are also shared on personal and company, social profiles. 

So LinkedIn, personal and company. Profiles, both the hiring organization. So for example, let's use as an example, Erickson. Okay. Big international company. They will have a LinkedIn profile. They may even have. [00:17:00] Pull that out of my head, but they may even have country's specific LinkedIn profile. They could have an Erickson Australia. 

Um, they couldn't Bosch another company. They could have a Bosch and they could have Bosch Australia. If a position is made available, it's very, very likely that those organizations would write a. Job, uh, a post on LinkedIn to, to advertise that job. It's also very likely that the individuals in that company that are close to that position either because they work in HR or because they work within that team, that's hiring that they would write posts so that people within their network know that they're hiring and they, they can within their circle of influence, they can bring in good high-quality candidates. 

Also, if the organization decides to outsource part of the recruitment and selection to a recruitment agency or an executive [00:18:00] search company, those organizations also have LinkedIn profiles and they will be posting on those LinkedIn profiles. And those. Partners or consultants that work for them who also in their personal LinkedIn profile be promoting those opportunities because it's in their best interest to promote it as widely as possible. 

And they know that people that follow their company links and their personal links are people that are interested in their careers, people that are looking for jobs. So. Posting there as well. Now, Twitter, same as LinkedIn in both personal and company accounts, depending on your sector. Um, Twitter can be quite a good way of identifying good job opportunities, Facebook and LinkedIn groups. 

Now I have seen more and more. Positions being advertised on Facebook, private groups. I am not yet a very big [00:19:00] fan of LinkedIn groups. I haven't seen LinkedIn groups be as intimate, exciting social. Community oriented us, the Facebook professional groups. I am involved in quite a lot of Facebook professional groups. 

I have tried the LinkedIn professional groups. I have found them really bland, really, you know, not exciting and very static. Whereas the Facebook groups are much more interactive and add, add more value to me as a profession. And on those groups, I have seen more and more people placing job opportunities. 

There both small business and large businesses placing them their job opportunities with links to either LinkedIn or seek.com um, on the Facebook posts. Job ads are also shared on special boards. Now I really like special boards for job opportunities. I think [00:20:00] that employers that take that step further into identifying the best job boards for the. 

Positions that they are advertising or a special employers, and they are looking for the very best candidates. I also believe that if they take the time to find those special boards, that they will give a higher importance to the job, uh, the candidates that come through those boards because they have. I know they kind of self-select the candidates. 

So if you apply through those job boards, you will be perceived as higher quality candidates as a former recruiter or somebody who, as a manager used boards like that. I did that. And as. Colleague and, uh, somebody who network or the recruiters, that's the feeling that I had also from my counterparts in other organizations. 

So the boards I'm talking about in [00:21:00] Australia, there is a website called Provo. And that website is a newsletter is a think tank for the not-for-profit sector. It's a really great website to follow if you're interested in the, not for profit sector in Australia and they have a great job board for the sector. 

So that is a good one to follow ethical jobs, not just for the not-for-profit sector, but for every. Organization out there that is interested in identifying candidates that care about working for ethical organizations. And that's a good one as well, to look into alumni job boards, especially if you're early in your careers. 

And by early, I mean up to six. Six years post-graduation I would go into the university alumni platforms and check those, uh, Monash and deacon and no-one university I'm based in Melbourne. So I'm [00:22:00] using those as examples. They have great job boards and I'm assuming many other universities also do. 

Professional and industry associations also tend to have great job boards. So if you are a member of a professional association, check out your website and see the job boards that they have, if any, and if they do have a look at those, they tend to be very good quality. So in this lesson, what we went through was what's happening behind the scenes. 

At the organizations that you are applying for, how hiring decisions are made, which means you need to be creative and resourceful in how you get noticed for promotion and job opportunities. It's not just going to seek.com and applying randomly and high numbers that you will get opportunities. You will get opportunities. 

If you remember how. The opportunities come about in the first place and all the [00:23:00] step that opportunities go through before they're actually advertised on seek.com. So there you need to be somebody who is high networked internally within your organization, so that you know, that job vacancies are available, that you know, that new positions are being designed, that internal candidates are being considered. 

And then you need to be ready to apply once that jobs are out there. And remember that if you're applying on seek.com or LinkedIn or any of those job boards, you are applying at the tail end of the process and you need to be patient and interested in. Have a very high quality application to stand out because everybody's already excited and ready for whoever is the best candidate to start as soon as possible. 

So you've learned how the selection process unfolds and you can then now empathize with the team, running it and [00:24:00] understand all the different places. And all of the different aspects of a great process and a very complex process happening that puzzle. Hello, again, I hope you found it useful learning about the recruitment and selection process. 

And also taking a sneak peek inside my online go-to program from start to finish the recruitment and selection process is quite complex and it takes much, much longer than from a job candidate point of view. In my experience, once the job hunters know the challenge and the complexity of hiring new professionals for the organization, they become more mindful and more empathetic and switched on to. 

The employers and the recruiters need. If you are interested in learning more about the job hunting made simple online course and coaching program, I will be running it again as a group coaching program, starting February, it's a seven week program. [00:25:00] And it's ideal for people who are really came to job hunt, find a new job, uh, rediscover a new career path and really take their career. 

You know, further and to that next level. So, if you're interested, go to my website and register your interest to attend. It's renatabernarde.com, R E N a T a B E R N a R D e.com. If you're not yet subscribed to my newsletters, go to my website and sign up. Now there's a link in the episode to subscribe or you can Google my name, Renata Bernarde 

And you will find me if you're new to this podcast, don't forget to subscribe and check out backlog of episodes because there could be an episode very exciting for you to waiting to be heard. And if you're a regular listener and you enjoy the content, please take a couple of minutes, and leave me a review on iTunes for Google. 

It means the world to me. If you can show your appreciation for the [00:26:00] show, thank you so much for listening. Bye for now.