2024 in Recruitment
Lucy Honeyman
lucy@bamboofundraising.co.uk
2024 has been a rough year for job applicants and hiring teams.
Hundreds of applications for any good roles going, especially if flexible or remote.
Overwhelmed hiring teams have had to take longer to review applications and have often not delivered the ideal candidate experience.
Squeezed budgets have led to some organisations spend months failing to hire, believing this will work out cheaper than working with a trusted, fairly priced recruitment partner.
Applicants have been left without response for weeks, sometimes never even hearing back after an interview. This leaves applicants feeling bruised and gives a poor image of the organisation.
Many great candidates have been overlooked, discounted by bias or presumptions such as career gap = not a good candidate or disabled = less competent. There's temptation among inexperienced hiring teams to be brutal when faced with mounting piles of applications but you're actually just discriminating and limiting your options for great hires.
Too many candidates have been making poor quality applications, believing the scattergun approach might be the way to get an interview. Typos on CVs, generic cover letters, often AI generated and with little or no reference to the person or job in question are prevalent and will get you nowhere.
Your application is your chance to show your communication skills (required in just about any role) and present how you have what's necessary for the job. Sloppy applications don't show this and quality over quantity will save you time and get you opportunities much faster!
My advice to help with all of these trends is to focus on the people you want to work with.
Candidates -
The best move I ever made was to Bamboo. I took time to find a team I really wanted to join. The feeling was mutual and Graham and Tim created a new role for me. It's worked out 😊
Other teams I spoke with had excellent offers but the values didn't quite align. For me, inclusion and honesty are non negotiable.
Stay true to your values, anything else can be adjusted.
Have questions prepared for your interview panel and probe the values/ethics/culture side.
Notice how people evade answering questions by talking 'around' the topic instead of just answering.
Hiring Managers -
Focus on creating an inclusive and welcoming environment and hire the people who will help nurture that. Skills can be taught, experience can be gained. Wherever possible and practical, allow for some upskilling for the best person who shares your values and has enough background to work with.
I genuinely see the benefits of working with great people and ensuring everyone enjoys the journey. There's nothing quite as exciting and rewarding than working with people at their best, finding hidden potential and matching up minds that will complement each other and fuel team development.
This year, I've had the pleasure of working with some absolutely delightful, successful and happy teams that have high standards but also know how to attract and retain excellent people with the values and work ethic needed for a thriving workplace culture and to bring out the best from everyone.
If you asked Santa for a great 2025 and plan resolutions to be more positive, I cannot recommend enough that you surround yourself with positive and inspiring people! Be at your best and know that your colleagues are there with you!
Be the change you want to see in the workplace (inspired by Ghandi! ;))