Something tells me you are 'The One'

An article in Third Sector entitled 'Unstructured interviews are a bad way to recruit' by Gill Taylor got me thinking yesterday.  Gill is right, going on your gut instinct alone when recruiting could result in you employing the best blagger rather then the best candidate for the job.   The problem with interviews is that they are an unnatural environment - stressful for the candidate who will probably be very nervous and on best behaviour giving answers that will impress the panel. The panel in amongst scoring the candidates experience will be thinking, is this person a good fit for us?   Will their personality work with our team? That is where gut instinct comes in, can take over and get it wrong!

To give yourself the best chance of hiring the best candidate for the job you need to make sure you have a robust job description that clearly sets out the role responsibilities and has a measurable person specification.  Whether you use an application form or CV and a covering letter, drilling down into what someone has personally achieved is key to determining if they can do the job.  In the case of hiring fundraisers, a CV that shows 'personally responsible for raising millions for x cause' is great, but finding out what part the individual actually played in bringing in the money is crucial as fundraising is often collaborative.  Finally, whether its through face to face, a direct mail pack, a corporate pitch or a trust application fundraisers need to inspire. Inspiration and passion for a cause are not an easy things to measure but a presentation and a well thought out work exercise could help make it more visible.  Put all the above together and you'll certainly make it easier to find 'The One'.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to one and all. For many of us, today is the first day back in the office after the Christmas break and perhaps your career is right where you want it to be, but for others the holidays may have been a time for some career evaluation and 2014 will be the year you make a change.

Before you start filling in those application forms, here are a five to do’s:

1. CV - is it up to date and ready to adapt depending on the job you are applying for?
2. Linkdein - does your profile mirror your CV? Do you have a profile? If not, 2014 is defiantly the year to change that, Linkedin in is an incredibly powerful tool for both recruiters and job hunters.
3. Social Media - its not very difficult to prospective employers to find you, make sure that your timelines and status updates are sending out the right kind of messages.
4. Be strategic - a scattergun approach to job hunting is exhausting, far better to be selective in what you are applying for and tailor each application to suit.  
5. Make friends - if the job is being advertised by a recruitment consultancy or HR department, there is no harm in trying to build a relationship with them - anything that helps to make you stand out from the crowd in going the extra mile is a good thing.

Happy Job Hunting!