I am a foodie and I love food!
I love cooking food, I love eating food and I love discovering new food but the thing I love more than anything else is looking at the ridiculous things people come up with to describe food that is actually incredibly simple!
Be it “Pan fried fillet of cod with pea puree” (battered fish and mushy peas), “Wild berry infusion on wood fired organic sourdough” (jam on toast) or “Hand reared Gloucester Old Spot Pork encased in a butter flaked casing” (Sausage roll…), the ways of describing food are becoming increasingly creative and sometimes, harder to decipher!
The great thing about food is that no matter what you call it, the real test of the success and quality will be in the taste.
The concept of naming food got me thinking about how differently we can perceive something based on how it is described and how often we see this happen with clients in recruitment. When anyone sits down in a restaurant, the menu they are presented with is just like a shortlist. They look at the description and the one they like the sound of is the one they select to eat. Sometimes you end up disappointed and sit there with your meal watching any number of tastier looking dishes leave the kitchen wishing you’d taken the waiters recommendation.
Recruitment can be exactly the same. We provide you with a shortlist (the menu) of people we have met. People that we rate and that we think will do well in the role. We’ll then give you our recommendations and normally, talk you through the specials of the day (our wild card options).
Despite this, some of our clients still ignore this and just read the CV’s, taking them at face value, rather than the 1 dimensional document they are. Invariably, they don’t see a person they like and end up with a longer, less productive process. The clients that do listen are always surprised! They end up meeting someone they wouldn’t normally have seen based on the CV alone and 9 times out of 10, will end up hiring that person!
It’s fair to say that most people are not natural marketeers and approach their CV as a list of what their day to day responsibilities are (sausage roll), rather than a marketing tool to showcase and sell their skills (“Hand reared Gloucester Old Spot Pork encased in a butter flaked casing”)! We will always work to help people develop and tailor their CV’s but as with food, the real rubber hits the road when you are sat in front of them in an interview and can see their personality, drive and motivation to deliver for your business.
What does this mean?
A good recruitment consultant will know their menu. They will be able to make recommendations, tell you why each choice is right for you and help make sure you invest time in seeing the right people. With psychometric tools like Mindmill to wet your pallet and solutions like Macildowie One (your 5 course taster menu with wine), getting the right person for your business couldn’t be easier.
We’re not recommending that you over complicate CV’s with long words, just that your trust your consultants recommendations and enjoy what would translate to a 3 Michelin Star Service!
To find out more about our approach to a better recruitment process, get in touch!
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