The employer’s view

When planning a military campaign, no sensible commander at any level would fail to consider the point of view of other interested parties. It would similarly be sensible to look at the job hunt from the angle of the other very interested person involved in the transaction: the employer. What follows is an amalgam of comments and experiences described by a number of employers put into the first person to ram home the point that this is a very personal business – an agreement between you and them. Let us imagine the process from inside the head of an employer during the weeks leading up to an employment interview and an appointment.

‘I need a widget maker. I need one now because Charlie has suddenly upped and left, and I need one who can do the job as soon as I employ them. I don’t really care where they come from as long as they can hit the ground running.

‘Do I mind if they’ve been in the Armed Forces? Not really. As long as they don’t shout at other people in the workforce and can do the job without a sergeant-major standing over them like that bloke on the telly with the huge moustache, who cares? I don’t know the difference between a corporal and a colonel.

‘That prat from Personnel says that we’ve got to follow company recruitment and selection procedures. But I need that job filled or I’ll lose money. It’ll come out of my bonus and I won’t look very good when they consider the next promotion. Every day that I’ve only got three widget makers – and I’ll be down to two soon because Maisie is off on maternity leave – my profits fall and there’s nothing I can do about it. Can’t that berk see that?

‘I wish I hadn’t thrown away that speculative letter and CV I got last week from that bloke. He’d have been ideal for the job but it’s in the incinerator by now. I’ll never do that again – I’ll keep them for a few months in future. I’ve even asked around friends and family to see if anyone knows a widget maker looking for a job, but no joy yet.

‘I’m due to go on holiday in a month. My wife’s booked it and the children are looking forward to it. But I can’t leave the department without adequate cover; if I can’t get Charlie’s replacement in time, she’ll have to go alone and I’ll never hear the end of it. I’ve already had to cancel the training I’d organised for least week to cover Fred’s job while he was ill, and I know that I can’t leave us short-handed for two weeks without our output falling and my job being on the line.

‘Big trouble. The widget section shortage is now starting to delay the whole production schedule; and it’s getting noticed. I’ve used up all the stockpiled components, and we’re soon going to have to buy them in from competitors. The managing director isn’t going to like that one little bit.

‘At last. Personnel has come up with a shortlist of six candidates for the job. They’ve all been through the initial sift, although I sometimes wonder how efficient that is. I mean, its all very well checking the qualifications but what I want is someone who can do the job – I’m not interested in paper.

‘They want them each to have a one-hour interview, a tour of the plant and an informal meeting with the Production Director. Why? Do they think that I don’t know what I want? That’s a whole three days spent on selection. More wasted production time. I really hope we can get the right person this time round. I never want to go through this again.

‘Three likely lads and lasses, one drongo, one who somehow slipped through the Personnel suitability net and one who spent half the interview telling me that the way I run my department is wrong! No one is absolutely ideal but it’ll be hard to choose between the three who all fit about 85 per cent of the job description. Now we’ve got to balance age with experience, qualifications with employment history, easy compatibility with drive and energy. And we’ve got to obey all the niceties of employment law and practice.

‘Whoever we choose, it’ll be on a long probationary period or a three- or six-month contract so that we can get rid of them easily if it doesn’t work out. We don’t want to have another trip to the employment tribunal with a waste of space who complained to their lawyers. And we’ll start them on a lowish salary – we can always raise it quickly but it’s hard to reduce it.

‘After weeks of hassle, we’ve got someone in place who can do the job. Production volumes are restored, my boss is happy and my wife is speaking to me again. Benidorm, here we come.’

Never forget that employment is a two-way process. You may need employment but they also need the employee. Give them every reason to select you … and they will.