In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving industry, recruiting people with the right ambitions, skills and/or experience is crucial for companies looking to stay competitive.
To meet the unique demands of this sector, recruitment professionals are turning to innovative technologies that streamline the hiring process, attract highly skilled candidates, and enhance the overall recruitment experience.
Rowena Young, director of Coconut Lime, a recruitment agency that uses a head-hunting approach to source candidates, spoke to Moh Lalani about what she is seeing in the market.
Moh Lalani (ML): What are your main challenges when using recruitment platforms to attract candidates?
Rowena Young (RY): One of the main challenges when using recruitment platforms is ensuring that candidates are of high calibre and offer suitable experience. Another challenge is the fact that candidates who have posted their details on recruitment platforms are receiving calls from multiple recruiters each day.
ML: Have you found any skill shortages? If so, in what areas?
RY: We’ve not come across a role that we’ve not been able to find exceptional candidates for. There is a lot of opportunity for candidates at the moment and really outstanding telecoms professionals are able to be very choosy.
We take the time to make our clients aware of ways in which they can make their role and company really stand out from the competition and be appealing enough for someone to want to choose them over their other options.
For example, if we’re representing a client who’s offering a fully remote field sales role with uncapped commission and pre-booked appointments, this will be any candidate’s preference compared to a role based in the office when not on appointments, capped commission and self-generated appointments.
ML: Have you noticed any trends in terms of creating attractive packages for prospective employees?
RY: Working from home and hybrid working is important to people and we’ve all seen a huge shift in working patterns since the pandemic. I think what’s really important is a little trust and flexibility from employers. What really stands out to me with the people I speak with is that it’s important to them to be recognised for their hard work and commitment.
Some people like to be rewarded financially and others find it more important to be offered a day off work or an early finish on a Friday. Everyone has different motivators and it’s really important as a recruiter and also as an employer to find out what those motivating factors are and to make sure they’re fulfilled. Otherwise, your team may start looking elsewhere.
ML: What other evolving technologies are used to recruit?
RY: There is a lot of talk about AI and there are all sorts of platforms that use “intelligent” sourcing and messaging systems, although personally I don’t think anything beats picking up the phone and talking to people, along with well-worded and well-placed job adverts.
I find some of these platforms can treat potential candidates in quite a condescending and impersonal way and this is not how I feel people should be treated. Recruitment is all about honesty and trust and I feel using AI to start building a relationship seems to go against that.
ML: How can some of the challenges you’ve experienced be overcome?
RY: Using a sector-specific recruitment platform, such as Comms Business Jobs, means that candidates in the Channel who see your job postings are already working in the sector and generally have good telecoms experience. Comms Business Jobs has generated some outstanding candidates for us, including at director level.
Ensuring your adverts really speak to your candidates is vital. Having worked in telecoms myself, I know what telecoms professionals are looking for in a role.
At Coconut Lime, we try very hard to obtain exclusivity with exceptional candidates, in order to keep the recruitment process smooth and avoid counter-offers.
Comms Business Jobs is an industry-specific consultative platform for jobseekers and recruiters, not just a jobs board. Jobseekers and browsers can search and apply for the latest jobs within specific sectors, by function, location and salary band. If your requirements are specific, you can register to receive email job alerts, so that when relevant vacancies are published, you can easily apply for the best available roles.
For recruiters seeking to attract the best talent, all standard job listings are currently free to advertise until September. Your vacancies are automatically sent to relevant candidates who match your criteria in our database. Jobs are also searchable by recruiter, making it easy for jobseekers to find your company and latest jobs. We offer tiered packages, designed to suit every need. Featured jobs are listed within a special weekly email, sent to over 19,000 Channel subscribers.
This article featured in our July 2023 print issue. You can read the magazine in full here.