Articles From the Team

How to win the recruitment war

I am working with five different businesses, all based in Manchester, who are looking for the same qualities in their next legal hire.

• 2-5 years PQE • Strong academics • Reputable training • Some industry experience (ideally)

These businesses range from a FTSE250 technology business to a well known multi-sector plc- what they all have in common is the type of lawyer they would like to find.  All have exciting opportunities and lots to offer and so the individuals I am working with who fit this particular bill have something else in common- choice. So how do you go about securing the perfect individual in a highly competitive market?  A few things will help:

Speed: Moving quickly has never been more important.  Businesses who find themselves tied up in bureaucracy during recruitment will often find themselves losing out to more agile organisations.  If you see someone you like… secure them!  It may be that it is no longer realistic to expect an extensive shortlist and more and more we are seeing businesses that are happy to make a decision based on one candidate, using previous recruitment processes as a comparative guide.

Process: The interview process is now much more two-way, it is important to make sure that the meetings themselves leave a positive impression on your interviewees.  Even if they don’t get the job they are in a position to affect the perception of your business.

Package: Whilst a move in-house should never just be about money, in a competitive market it can be the thing to make the difference.  Budgets will always exist but does it make sense to lose out on the right person when the time it takes up to re-recruit could cost your business just as much as the shortfall?

Flexibility: It’s a part of life now, people can log in at any time from anywhere and a recent LinkedIn survey stated that those individuals who were afforded more flexibility were more inclined to work hard to repay the sentiment.  An adult culture will attract the best candidates and should produce results.

BCL Legal is placing more lawyers in-house than ever but the challenge of providing good-quality commercial lawyers in volume continues.  You can give yourself the advantage.

For more information please contact Alison McKee at BCL Legal.