Articles From the Team
What do recruitment and dating have in common?
Dare I say It… Christmas is fast approaching, we have already had our first ’86 days until’ comment. So, with the prospect of another single Christmas fast approaching It has got my brain ticking around to see If there Is anything we can learn from the successes of online dating and how I can bring that into my recruiting world. Lets face it, a large percentage of single people now-a-days are using online dating sites to find a partner, how does this compare to legal recruitment?
If we break It down a little; both processes attempt to fit / match two people together – be It a new job or a new partner.
Recently, In a meeting with a colleague and a candidate, the benefits of using a recruitment agency and more specifically BCL Legal was compared to online dating; “Just think of us as a glorified dating agency. We will endeavour to match your qualities and your criteria with the best possible fit in terms of role/firm.” Okay, so I am being rather brief, there was a lot more to it than that, a much more detailed discussion about presentation, articulation, questioning etc. but this is all part of our process in preparing candidates for interview. So how does this compare to online dating?
In years past there has been something of a stigma surrounding online dating; fear of the unknown perhaps, fear of others finding out or even fear of rejection, which has been somewhat paralleled in candidates’ reluctance to use a recruitment agency.
One of the main issues with online dating is finding the right site In which to find / meet your ‘ideal partner’, bearing In mind It IS a highly competitive market place, us singletons are looking for a site that’s easy to use, understands what I’m looking for and makes It fairly easy for me to understand where I can find what exactly I am looking for. These same challenges can be faced in recruitment – there are lots of agencies and online sites but which are ‘specialist’ and have the technological reach and understating of the market you are wishing to source that right match for you?
When you enter the unknown on a dating site you are encouraged to take a personality test, complete questionnaires on your lifestyle, what your experiences are what you are looking for and encouraged to actively engage and seek out your personality traits so that you can be matched with another user with similar visions, traits and aspirations. The overall goal is to match two like minded people. This is the most interesting part which is likened to legal recruitment.
Recruiters often post generic job adverts without highlighting the real needs the firm is looking for or without highlighting what will appeal to the motivators In which the right candidate would be looking for to encourage them to find that perfect role / match. Fundamentally a client / firm wants to hire a colleague who’s vision, beliefs and aspirations mirror those of their firm’s organisational culture and long term goals. If these aren’t highlighted in adverts and job specifications and made user friendly to easily seek out these roles then the process of finding the right match is lengthened If not made impossible to find.
It is essential we match candidate attributes to the needs of an organisation. Recruitment is a people business like dating is and we must not lose sight of this when we are attempting to match that perfect pairing.
So, to answer the question, “what’s the difference?”, I dare say not much. We are like a dating agency. We match your needs with our clients’ needs, striving for the perfect match and we will guide you through the process from start to finish. There is no longer a stigma around online dating and there is no need to be reluctant to use an agency to assist you in finding the right role, especially when that agency is BCL Legal.