Employers adopt more rigorous recruitment processes
Stories of recruitment freezes need to be taken with a pinch of salt. The reality is that employers are still in the market for talented accounting and finance professionals.
Employers are still eager to attract top-flight talent.
Research by Badenoch & Clark across a number of industries reveals that despite the economic downturn employers are still eager to attract top-flight talent. But with a larger number of candidates on the market, employers are adopting more rigorous selection tactics to ensure they make the right hiring decisions.
Added to this is the increasing trend to expect accounting staff to act as ‘business partners’ within their organisations, building strong working relationships at many levels and demonstrating real commercial value. This is leading employers to be much more demanding in their recruitment processes.
Thorough selection processes, involving a broader range of interviewers from across the organisation and possibly a range of tests, can mean extended recruitment times. This may well serve to mitigate against the risk of making a wrong decision but can sometimes mean that really strong candidates are lost to rival employers who are quicker off the mark.
For candidates, longer recruitment processes can mean the added pressure of having to demonstrate relevant skills and experience and to show how they can add real value to the organisation at every stage. The really great finance candidates will think carefully about the varying requirements and expectations of interviewers from different parts of the organisation and tailor their approach accordingly.
Employers on the other hand will want to ensure that they derive the maximum value from the process. This means ensuring that their recruitment consultants fully understand their requirements and that their short listing process is effective in delivering a small number of appropriately qualified professionals.
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